With so much change in most peoples day to day life it’s easy not to be mindful of your exercise and nutrition habits. I’ve noticed a couple of distinct trends over the last few weeks which are worth taking note of. Take action to stay healthy and hopefully avoid injury!
Your activity levels have plummeted!
Pre lockdown your work was moderately active and you had a good regular exercise habit. Now, you’re home based and sat behind the dining room table on endless Zoom calls. You’re still exercising for 30 minutes a day but, your steps have dropped from 7000 to 2500 per day. Not great. In other words even with a good exercise habit your activity levels is reducing. Firstly, well done on maintaining your exercise habit, it hasn’t been easy. However, in this scenario, we’re slowly but surely, losing fitness.
If this is you then I’d advise the following;
- Increasing activity levels / steps per day. A 10 minute walk equals an additional 1000 steps. I’m not saying work out twice per day here… just up your activity levels.
- Be mindful of your diet. Can we tweak the diet to lower the calorie intake and help avoid any weight gain?
Your activity levels have shot up!
Pre lockdown you were desk bound. But now, you’re home based and have more time than ever before to exercise or, as seems to be the trend, do a total garden renovation! In this case, you have a large ‘spike’ in workload which is not only more than you’re used to, it’s probably different work and stressing the body in ways it’s not used to. It’s a prime opportunity for injury. If this is you then I’d advise the below;
- ‘Chunk’ any big gardening / manual projects into smaller blocks of time.
- Pace the project over a longer period of time
- Take regular breaks to allow for some recovery.
- Possibly, look to reduce your workouts to allow for recovery.
- Ensure you maintain your mobility.
- Ensure you’re eating sufficiently to match the increased energy expenditure.
To sum up!
Remember that exercise is also a stress and that it should be used depending on how you feel at the time of the session. Are you well rested? Have you had a tough day? Can you go? Think of trying to avoid any large peaks or troughs in your activity levels.
Most importantly of all, ensure what you’re doing is enjoyable and easily sustainable in your lifestyle. If you are in a place to make changes, then great, look to add small actions which are easy to implement.
Feel free to take the guess work out of this and contact us for any advice!
Stay Safe
Ady
