Staying on track with your fitness goals during COVID-19
Regardless of where you are in the world, I think it’s safe to say that we are all being negatively impacted by the 2020 Pandemic. Stress is at an all time high, we are all self isolating and there’s no end in sight…
I am not going to lie… things suck right now!
Despite all that…
There has never been a more important time for us to will ourselves to focus on what we CAN control, which is our health. Prioritizing our overall health needs to be a top priority right now.
Not just from a physical standpoint, but a psychological standpoint too.
So what are some things you can do to stay focused during these unsettling times
1. Don’t lose sight of your nutrition
Ok, so most of us are working from home and are barely allowed to go outside. You are going stir crazy and are constantly reaching for the fridge in those endless moments of boredom.
Sound about right?
Yea, I had a similar week last week too.
It was our first week, so let’s not dwell on the past. But now that we know that this is occurring, we have to do something about it. We might be in this situation for awhile and I promise you that your future self is going to be PISSED if you let yourself go and just ate out of boredom.
If there’s any time to take your health seriously, it’s now!
Listen, I know we are bored. I know we are under challenging circumstances. But how shitty you want to make those circumstances is completely up to you
Now is not the time to snack out of boredom and let all your hard work go out the window
Now is the time to take the opportunity to try new things, focus on developing new healthy habits, master a new hobby, try new recipes. There’s so much we can do to make the best out of this situation
At the end of the day, you have the ability right now to break this habit once and for all because it’s necessary for your health during these unsettling times. The priority of your health has never been at an all time high, so you have to will yourself to stay busy so you aren’t snacking out of boredom
2. Stick to your plan
Whatever you were doing prior to all this, just stick to it! If you were tracking your macros, following a meal plan or whatever program was sustainable, you have to stick to it. Maintaining as much normalcy as possible has never been more important.
Now with that in mind, a lot of your typical foods might not be available. I mean, if you haven’t been to a grocery store lately… it’s slim pickings, unfortunately. So as much as we don’t want to be, just try to be adaptable to new foods. You have an opportunity to try some new foods and new options.
The biggest thing you want to focus on though is getting a variety of protein sources, as well as fruits and vegetables. If your typical go to fruit are bananas, but your store doesn’t have any… instead of opting for a bag of chips, suck it up and get some apples.
I can’t stress the importance of getting an adequate amount of micronutrients at this time.
3. Don’t fall for the bullshit!
Sadly everyone is suffering right now financially and a lot of companies are using your fear of catching the virus as a way for them to sell you on their supplements that help “boost” your immune system.
Please don’t buy into this nonsense. I am sure you are suffering financially as well, so please don’t spend your hard earned money on these supplements that aren’t going to do anything.
This is out of my area of expertise, so if you’d like to learn more on the utter bullshit of this matter, please review this article on examine.com
4. Keep moving your body
Listen, the amount of calories you are going to burn from exercising is a lot lower than a lot of people realize. So if you had an off week last week (as many people did) please don’t stress yourself to the point where you feel like you let yourself go. It’s just a week.. It’s not that big of a deal
Now having said that, movement and exercise is the #1 way to manage stress. And let me guess, this is properly the most stress you’ve experienced in awhile, right?
Definitely is for me!
So because of that, moving our bodies needs to be a priority moving forward. Now, I know not everyone has the means to go out and buy a bunch of fancy of equipment to spruce up their home gym.
Heck, I live in a 2 bedroom condo… a home gym is just not an option for me.
But before you get discouraged, I want to remind of you of Rocky IV, definitely my favourite Rocky out of the series. If you haven’t seen it, you need to go watch it, like today.
But you know when Rocky has to go to Russia to fight the Russian who we see training in his fancy gym with fancy equipment? And Rocky goes to that rundown cabin with zero equipment to train for the big fight? Don’t forget who won that fight.. Spoiler alert for those who haven’t seen it… It was Rocky!
My point is you don’t need to have a bunch of fancy equipment to continue to make progress when it comes to your fitness goals.
You can utilize so much around the house when it comes to continuing with your resistance training program. Some household items I recommend using are weight bearing items such as laundry detergent, milk jugs, plants, water jugs and your dog. And if you can swing it, try to grab SOME dumbbells, resistance bands and mini bands.
I won’t spend anymore time discussing various exercises to perform, as I am posting daily home body workouts on my Instagram page. I highly recommend you go view my highlights so you can get a bunch of ideas with some visuals.
So don’t adopt an all or nothing mindset, you can still make great progress. You just have to get creative!
5. Change your Short Term Goals
You’re going to have to be ok with adjusting your short term goals right now
Listen, all of us are being effected negatively in more ways than one right now. The best thing we can do is try to be as adaptable as possible and focus on what we can control
If prior to this, your goals were to hit a strength PR on squats in the gym... unless you are capable of going out to buy a squat rack, you might have to let that short term goal go for awhile
Instead of dwelling and letting that eat at you, it’s time to focus on some new short term goals. Maybe your new short term goals are to be able to do a pistol squat, or maybe get your first 20 push-ups in 90secs, how about how long you can hold a plank? We’re never too good for bodyweight movements, so don’t underestimate the difficulty of bodyweight movements
My short term goals had to change... I might not make gains during this time and I’m ok with that. Instead, my goals are shifting to help people right now, and to try to MAINTAIN what I’ve built. If I can progress, great. But it’s not my priority right now.
Be ok with maintaining your results during this time, try to be a role model to those around you and be adaptable and open to new short term goals
6. Your Mindset is Everything Right Now
Last, but certainly not least… your mindset needs to be a priority.
It just does.
I am not saying it is going to be easy. I have had moments of darkness and tears every single day all week now. But I won’t let those moments of weakness turn into an entire day. We just can’t, life is too precious to not take each day as a blessing.
Take your day back by simply changing how you speak to yourself
Listen, what you say to yourself throughout the day matters. If you are constantly going through the day thinking about how awful this is, or scrolling social media seeing all the negativity… Of course you are going to feel like shit, crack open a bottle of wine and just say fuck it!
We have to take a step up and start focusing on the positive in each day. Even if there doesn’t seem like much right now, there’s always at least one good thing in each day. If you want to change your mood and protect your mental sanity, it’s your job to find that positive each day moving forward.
As well too, focus on checking in with yourself multiple times during the day and redirect those negative thoughts into positive ones. Focus on reminding yourself how much of a badass you are and how you are going to get through this… because YOU ARE!
If you focus more on speaking to yourself how you would your best friend, I promise you are going to stop feeling like shit. You are going to easily let the slip ups go and keep grinding, keep fighting
Take your days back because you don’t know how limited they are. Make each day count and remember you are more capable than you think, stronger than you give yourself credit for and have more fight in you than you realize
Look, I know it feels like things are spiralling out of control right now. But you are always in charge of your attitude. So take your health seriously and do whatever you can to keep your fitness and health goals your top priority right now. I promise you that your future self will thank you
Stay safe out there
Xoxo
Krysten