As the gyms and fitness centres here remain closed, I know most people and regular gym goers are struggling a bit at the moment and with good reason.
I’m with you when you tell me you lack motivation, so I thought I would share what could be some useful additions to your daily routine.
1. Anything is better than nothing – Go for a walk. Personally, I make sure to hit 10,000 steps five times a week. This includes taking my Tibetan terrier Maxx for long walks. In addition, I do sit ups and other ab exercises, push ups, leg raises, and bodyweight squats.
2. Music is motivating – Numerous studies have shown that energetic music gets you into a more upbeat mood. Use music as well to get you going. I like soca, reggae, hip hop, or rap music and tend to have one of those genres banging in my AirPods to change the mood.
3. Dress up – A great point a friend of mine made was if you put your workout gear on, you will engage your mindset into ‘now is the time’ to break a sweat. She even told me that she and many other women derive satisfaction from simply dressing up and putting on makeup just to stay home.
4. Watch the snacking – In my household, we are snack addicts, so we had to remove some sugary snacks and easy to eat treats. Boredom snacking is one of the most common ways for uncontrolled weight gain to creep up on you. So, if you struggle with snacking, get rid of what you have lying around, and by that I don’t mean eat it all.
5. Challenge yourself – There are many kinds of bodyweight challenges around on social media right now. Find one, participate and have fun with it. It is a great time killer and an easy way to stay busy, active, and amused.
6. Home workouts – We are flooded these days with home workouts. I recommend YouTube over any other platform, simply because you can search for specific body part home workouts, done by real professionals with guidance and explanation as you go along.
7. What is your plan? – Make a schedule and stick to it if possible. Plan ahead so that you know what your goal is for tomorrow. In that way your head is already prepped for the day to come, and you don’t have to put things together as the day progresses.
I hope at least a point or two was useful. Wishing everyone a coronavirus free and blessed Sunday.
