Lockdown is a difficult time for everyone. With the loss of normal routines, it is all too easy to fall into bad habits. This causes everyone’s physical and mental health to suffer.
The best way to combat the negative effects is to invest more time and energy in staying fit and healthy. Fitness management is not something that comes easily or naturally to many people but with some time and effort, you can develop new methods to combat these difficult circumstances.
Mental Health
Before you can look after your body you need to take care of your mind. If you neglect your mental health it makes staying fit much harder. On the other hand, with good mental practices comes less stress, improved moods, clearer thinking, greater self-esteem and stronger relationships. All of these provide a basis on which you can build the rest of your fitness routine.
Practice Mindfulness
Mindfulness is the act of becoming fully present of where you are and what is happening around you. It is something we are all capable of but it is often neglected. This is a great place to start with your fitness plan since it helps improve your powers of concentration and lets you make clearer decisions about what you need.
The simplest place to start is with breathing exercises. Simply spend about a minute every day to pay as much attention as possible to the act of breathing. It is harder than it sounds at first but with a little practice, it quickly becomes a simple task.
Keep in Touch with Friends and Family
Thanks to modern technology it has never been easier to keep in touch with those that matter to us. While we may have temporarily lost face-to-face contact we can still have the next best thing and talk to people online through video calls.
By trying to speak with different people it helps to create a sense of rhythm and activity which helps restore some of what lockdown took away. By arranging online activities you create positive events to look forward to. Find ways to watch films together or play games, the important thing is to keep your brain active and social.
Get Plenty of Sleep
Sleep is the aspect that bridges your physical and mental health. Before you can start working out, you need the energy that only a good night’s rest can bring. You should also maintain a regular sleep cycle for your mental health. As sleep specialists have found, a disrupted sleep cycle impacts every aspect of your life and wellbeing.
The key is to keep a regular bedtime that resembles your life before lockdown. Even though you never have to get up in the morning or go to bed in the evening you should. Try and avoid caffeine or alcohol later in the day and if you have a hard time getting up then place an alarm somewhere you cannot reach it easily.
Physical Health
After you look after your mental health, looking after your physical fitness becomes much easier. Gyms are mostly closed but there is still plenty that can be done from home without any equipment. If you’re thinking about turning to a personal trainer that’ll fit your quarantine needs, the best personal trainer online comes from Optimized Fitness.
Stay Organised
Fitness is easier to maintain when it follows a schedule. There is plenty of scheduling software available to use from home and it is best to use a personal training management system from an organisation like gymcatch. A booking system will provide plenty of assistance in keeping you motivated.
Set Goals
You should think about fitness goals you would like to hit. These can be anything from losing weight to putting on muscle or becoming capable of running a marathon. If you have a big goal, split it up into smaller ones so you have plenty of milestones along the way that help you focus and let you know how you are progressing. Again, specialised apps are a great way of figuring out what is appropriate here.
Try and focus on the positive aspects of your progress. No matter how long it takes, if you are moving towards your goal you will get there eventually. There is no shame in discovering that you will not hit your targets as fast as you would like and having to reconsider how long you need. If you want to complete 100 push-ups in one go you have to hit every number along the way, it is just a matter of persistence.
Where possible, challenge your friends and bring them along on your fitness journey. Competition does not suit everyone but for some, it can provide the vital boost needed to push for those targets. Even if you do not compete, simply telling others what you are doing makes you somewhat accountable and this can have a positive effect on motivation too.
Workout with the TV
Television workouts may not be as popular as they were in the 80s and 90s but they are still out there. Now thanks to online video platforms you do not need to wait for the programs to come on. You can simply find a routine that suits you whenever you want and follow along.
Stay Hydrated
You need to hydrate regularly when you workout. If you are finding any activity particularly difficult then it may be due to a lack of hydration. A lack of fluids makes your body sluggish and slow to respond and causes your brain to function quickly and clearly.
The question is, how much water should you be drinking? This ranges from person to person and depends on your levels of activity but try and aim for 6 to 8 glasses per day. Additionally, always take care to drink a little extra before, during and just after exercising and remember you can drink more than water.
Health is a Habit
Your physical and mental health depends on the habits you build. Bad habits lead to both becoming neglected and you will soon find that every aspect of your life becomes much more difficult than it has to be. On the other hand, build good habits and not only does your quality of life improve but maintaining all those positive aspects becomes easier too.
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