EXPERT INSIGHT
Staying motivated
Dalton Wong, performance coach and founder of Twentytwo Training, gives his advice Exercise is about routine, and forming some simple habits can transform your regime. There are several easy changes you can make while going about your home and work, and it needn’t be a massive overhaul or time commitment.
1
For my clients, the hardest part about staying fit is working out at home, where it can be difficult to make the time for it. But there are some easy wins that only take a few minutes. I tell my clients to start their day with something like 50 squats or 10 press-ups – in whatever way works with their fitness level (for example, you could do press-ups with your knees on the floor). Doing exercise on waking needs to become a habit, like your morning coffee.
2
When you’re all watching TV, instead of scrolling through your phone in the ad breaks, get everyone into a plank position (it’s more motivating with the whole household involved). While you’re waiting for your kettle to boil, do some push-ups or dips. If you’re waiting for something to cook, do a wall sit for a few minutes or some lunges (if you’re already very active in your day, focus these moments more on stretching). Just as you can gain weight incrementally, you can also build your fitness incrementally – even in your normal clothes – and by the end of a week, you might have done an extra hour.
3
It’s important to build cardio into your workout.
You need good lung and heart health in order to be resilient to infections. That doesn’t mean you need to do 1,000 burpees – you just need to get your heart rate up and be slightly out of breath. It’s best to schedule cardio for the morning (if it’s in your diary, you’re more likely to do it), because that spike of cortisol will help. It’s safer to do resistance-training later in the afternoon when you’ve had more fuel and your body is more primed for strenuous exercise – if you’re lifting heavier weights, there are more mechanical things that can go wrong if your body isn’t ready.
4
Remember, if you think you need a whole hour to exercise, you are less likely to do it. If you only have 10 minutes to spare, make it a sprint, not a walk, or a kettlebell HIIT session rather than simple bicep curls – it’s about going all-out within that time to achieve the results.