(And come back even stronger when they re-open)
Michael Grogan Movement is a Personal Trainer that provides effective training programs to help people look, feel and move their best! for enquiries contact www.michaelgrogan.com.au/contact
The gyms are closed and although we have a government update on May 11 which is providing gym junkies and enthusiasts with hope, it is unlikely that your favourite gym will be allowed to re-open due any time soon due to the risks associated with having large amounts of people in a room together and the risk that poses during this global pandemic.
As with most things in life, we need to adapt to situations unfolding around us. The truth is that life is rarely convenient and if we only looked after our fitness when our lives are convenient, we would would all be in a very sorry state.
The big problems usually identified with looking after our fitness usually traced back to two things:
- Lack of time
- Lack of knowledge
At the moment, with a larger amount of the population working from home or experiencing reduced working hours, time is now working on our side when it comes to our fitness.
Our perceived lack of knowledge is a misnomer. There is more knowledge available (usually for free) via a click of a google search than there ever has been before in history. So this is not the problem either.
Our true challenge, during this time, is our LACK OF FOCUS & ACCOUNTABILITY with our training. There are so many live stream sessions, trainer follow along workouts, free fat loss programs and e-books galore flying at us at the moment it’s crazy! We need to dial in and FOCUS in what specifically we can use that will keep us on track with our goals and keep us motivated while our gyms remain closed.
Here are 3 things we can do to help keep us on track and motivated during while the gyms are shut:
Define your goal and stick to it e.g skill development
Setting a defined goal can really focus your training and keep you on track. I train a number of clients with a goal of achieving a handstand. This is a skill development goal within your training and something like this can give you the spark you need to keep training day after day. The added benefit would be that training for this will also increase your upper body and core strength as well as well as the fulfilment of learning to handstand.
Other examples of skill development goals could be: Learning to pistol squat (single legged squat) which works on your lower body strength and mobility. Or mastering the crow pose (yoga balance requiring upper body and core strength).
Focus on an area of your training e.g Aerobic fitness or Mobility
Picking an area of fitness and making the choice to focus on it can have you coming out of this time period with some serious fitness clout. You might choose to develop your aerobic fitness during this period by really dialling in your running or cycling.
Many of my clients have chosen to work on their mobility and flexibility during this time. This is perfect as most exercises can be performed at home and with the excessive amounts of time we are spending sedentary (at the ‘home office’) this is a great goal to keep the body loose and pain free.
Having a focus provides STRUCTURE to your training and you can build sessions around your chosen focus. Rather than having an ad-hoc approach to your workouts.
Connect with people who have a similar goal
With the uprising of zoom and other platforms that provide connection. It has never been easier to reach out to people online who can help with keeping you accountable with your training goals.
This could come in the form of another fitness enthusiasts who has like minded goals or friends & family you can coerce into joining you on your COVID-19 fitness journey!
Another option is to connect online with a professional who can give you some advice and maybe a program to follow that will get you to your goal faster and keep you accountable to your seeing the program through. Many professionals are happy to connect via zoom or email to assist with your training goals.
Conclusion
The challenge of focus and accountability is the key obstacle at the moment while we are training from home as the gyms are remain closed. If we can define a goal, focus on a particular area of training and connect with people that will keep us accountable it would give us an effective platform to come back to the gym even stronger than before they closed.
For those looking for that extra assistance with their at-home programming, Michael Grogan Movement currently has of at-home programs available including our online handstand essentials program for those looking to develop a new skill during isolation as well as our online month of mobility program which is perfect for all those who are getting stiff and sore with the lack of movement whilst working from home. We are also offering personalised programming for specific goals which can be arranged by getting in contact with us.
Latest posts by Michael Grogan (see all)
- 3 Things You Can Do To Keep Your Training On Track While Gyms are Closed During Covid-19 - 04/05/2020
- Are Your Daily Habits Setting You Up For Success? 3 Ways You Can Maximize What You Do Every Day - 16/05/2017
- Daily Movement – The Number 1 Secret to Achieving Breakthrough Results in your Training - 10/04/2017
