Stay at home, but do gym
A GUIDE: YES, YOU CAN NOW GO FOR A RUN OR WALK BUT OTHER TRAINING IS IMPORTANT TOO
Personal trainers and fitness affectionado are using lockdown to alter their training. Who ever said you need to go out?
They say summer bodies are made in winter. That may change this year since the idea of going to gym or touching base with a trainer is impossible in lockdown.
Yes, many personal trainers offer classes online but, for now, buying equipment is forbidden.
But you can get that euphoric endorphin high at home with little equipment. In fact, a few trainers share information about the industry – and it’s exciting to see how these fitness buffs are surviving with no physical gym.
“We have to survive. what you start and focus your energy on now, builds something for when we can start again. You have to start now. Later is too late,” says Kirsty Marshall.
It also comes with sound reasoning: fitness helps your immune system. So if an apple a day keeps the doctor away, a set of squats a day might just help to keep the flu away.
“Fitness increases your immunity by increasing the formation of white blood cells which enhances your immune system to protect you against disease,” says Hannelie van Dyk.
“Exercise decreases stress as it induces the secretion of hormones like dopamine, endorphins, norepinephrine, and serotonin to be released by the brain. These hormones play an important part in mood regulation.
“Exercise also distracts the mind. Not only are your forced to concentrate, but you also stop having negative thoughts.”
Van Dyk didn’t let the lockdown affect her fitness – something that is impressive as a look on social media will have you believing everyone is gaining a little weight.
“Lockdown has not affected my exercise routine at all. It has give me the time and freedom to research new training methods to maintain muscle stimulus even though I don’t have access to heavy weights.
“It forces you to be creative and not to be a prisoner of habit. It is good for your body to be exposed to different training methods. It makes your brain work for a change, instead of following methods like a sheep.
“New training methods are exciting. And training at home allows you to not have to get ‘dressed up’ to go to gym. You fall out of bed into your training. Inevitable it is all about discipline. I still follow a routine every day,” says the trainer.
Bodybuilders, who usually opt for hard training sessions can also still maintain their mass – but it’s a delicate balance.
“Most bodybuilders are aching to get back to the gym, but we make do with what we have now,” says Marcel Erasmus.
“Trying to stick to the basics is also good. I took this as an opportunity to do a sort of ‘body recovery’ time. Training loads are much lower, but more high volume training, more repetitions and longer workouts.”
Gyms like Viva Gym has also come to the party. Many of the chain’s trainers are creating Facebook videos to help everyone work out from home.
Since the gym froze all membership fees during lockdown, they are also using the platform to ask loyal customers to help pay the trainers.
Erasmus says: “It is a problem, but a lot of us has gone about training our clients online. Income is down, but we are making a plan and pushing on.”
Now is also the time to maybe print out a picture of a gym and get sweating. Safely at home.
Gerald Petersen shared five easy workouts that work well to target nearly every muscle in the body, and they require no equipment at all.
And since you’ll be doing it from home, you don’t need to put on your designer Lorna
Jane’s. Petersen also shared a meal plan to stop weight gain.
“Fast halfday and eat two meals a day, one small and the other big.”
Here are his exercises:
1. Burpees
2. Jump lunge
3. Jump squat
4. Turkish getups
5. Walking plank