Fitness through lockdown

One thing that the previous 18 months has shown me is this; adaptation is key for long-term progress.

Whether it’s planning your meals ahead of time so you can get the whole weeks’ worth of food in one shop to avoid non-essential outside trips, or re-structuring your training program to account for the training equipment you own (or don’t own), if you can’t adapt to the situation then the progress you have made in the gym can very easily be lost.

Here are the key areas to look at with your training and nutrition to ensure that you maintain your results – and stay on track for your goals.

Training

Something is always better than nothing.

Regardless of your goal, movement is crucial. Sure, you may not have access to the barbells, dumbbells and machines that you typically use in your training program but getting active 2-3 times a week will always be better than parking yourself on the couch for 7 straight days and binge-watching every season of The Office for the third time.

He knows.

So how best to go about this?

1.       Bodyweight training – using bodyweight/unloaded exercises, you can generally work most of the major muscle groups of your body. Squats, lunges, push-ups, dips, planks, step-ups; none of these require any equipment. Will the workouts be perfectly balanced across all body parts? Perhaps not. Will doing a workout of any variety be better than nothing? Absolutely.

2.       Cardio – if you’re able to leave the house and go for a walk/run, then lace up your shoes and get out the door. It doesn’t have to be hours upon hours of running every day, but if you can get out for 30+ minutes of walking, jogging or running you’ll physically and mentally feel much better.

3.       Makeshift weights – this is where you can get into your Bear Grylls survival mode and start hunting around the house and backyard for objects to lift? Duct tape a few 2L water bottles to a broomstick and you’ve got yourself a home-made barbell for bicep curls. Grab some housebricks for lateral raises. Got a co-operative pet/small child? Boom, you’ve got something you can do goblet squats with.

Make sure it’s your baby.

Nutrition

If you can’t leave the house for non-essential trips, then this is the time to start planning your meals for the week. You don’t necessarily need to try and perfect your calorie/macronutrient intake, just focus on the basics.

1.       Protein – when planning your meals, start with protein first. Figure out your breakfast, lunch and dinner protein sources, and try to keep it lean – chicken breast, tuna, egg whites, rump steak etc. – to ensure that you can stay full without having too many extra calories.

2.       80/20 rule – one of the simplest ways to ensure your meal plan is balanced but still sustainable is to have 80% of your food choices come from whole, un-processed sources – fruit and veggies, proteins such as chicken and fish, and some starchy carbs like potato and pumpkin usually do the job. From there, you can work in the 20% yummy foods you enjoy – for me it’s Nutella and/or doughnuts – and still stay on track with your goals.

Remember, it’s 80% whole food, 20% treat foods - not the other way around.

When in doubt with what to do with your fitness during lockdown (or any other drastic changes to your lifestyle) remember that your health and fitness routine is not an on/off switch.

Think of it more like a dial – when the situation suits and you are mentally prepared, you can dial things up – this could mean increasing your training frequency/intensity, or tracking your calories and macronutrients each day. If on the other hand, you’re going into a snap lockdown, or even just feeling stressed and overwhelmed, you can dial things down – this could be as simple as training 2-3 times a week rather than 4-5, going for a walk rather than a run, or just aiming for protein in every meal rather than hitting your calorie/macro targets.

So if you’ve got some time up your sleeve due to a sudden change in lifestyle, or are in a tough spot mentally and don’t feel like you can give 100% to your health and fitness, use the tips above and dial things back to a place that feels appropriate for you.

Remember, something is always better than nothing.

Talk soon,

Alex