They say “no pain, no gain.” Well, the COVID-19 lockdown has been a major pain.
But, likely the only thing you’ve gained is some major nostalgia for a normal life and a good workout.
You should take heart that you’re far from alone if you’ve lost your exercise motivation and have been snacking more during this time. A Statistics Canada poll in May 2020 revealed that 24% of participants reported poor mental health, compared to a baseline of 8% in 2018.
Without the freedom to move around how we want, see the people we want, and exercise how we want, it’s natural that your fitness may have fallen by the wayside.
Now that the world, and gyms, are reopening, you should start planning to regain your pre-COVID physique. And good news - science says that your muscles still remember how to start working out again after a long break.
A joint Swedish and Canadian study on “muscle memory” specific to exercise revealed that muscle cells in those with a history of regular exercise become genetically predisposed to regaining mass, even after a lengthy period of inactivity.
While that news is no doubt encouraging, you can’t start your workout routine again at 110% after a period of relative activity.
It’s important to have a plan for effectively working back up to your old fitness level without injuring yourself or burning out. We hope you’ll join us back at one of our two HOUSEFIT locations soon - our personal trainers will develop a progressive fitness and diet regimen tailored to you to help you get back your old body, fast.
In the meantime, please make use of these tips for helping you regain your old physique after a long period of inactivity.
Start Slow
If you were doing five days of vigorous workouts per week at the gym before the pandemic, but haven’t done it in months, be kind to yourself and understand that it will take some time before you can achieve that level of fitness routine again.
Start with low-intensity gym workouts, and stick to a regular schedule of a few days a week.
It’s important to get your body used to the movements again, and every day should include at least some low impact physical activity. This includes physical activity like a walk around the neighbourhood. Stay active and you’ll soon be feeling great in no time!
Having an exercise routine again will help reengage that muscle memory we mentioned above and prepare your body to get back to your previous level. And if all you can handle to start is one or two days a week of exercise, listen to your body and make adjustments - just stick to regular activity.
Just make sure all of your workouts include cardiovascular endurance, strength training, and flexibility components. This helps reduce your post-workout muscle soreness with a before and after stretching routine.
Rethink Your Goals
Many of us work out with specific lifestyle goals in mind; to run a marathon, or have a rocking vacation bod, for example. With both marathons and Caribbean vacations currently off the table, your motivation might have flown off with it.
Now that you’ve had a chance to adapt to the “new normal” of COVID, and acknowledging that it may be a long time yet before these pursuits are safe again, you should reframe how you think about fitness.
Setting weight loss or muscle gain goals may be one option, but can also be discouraging when you don’t feel like you’re making progress.
It may be more helpful to trade goals for intentions. For example, try setting the intention to work out for several days a week, for a set number of minutes a day. This can help you ease back into a healthy physical routine without the pressure of a rigid performance goal.
Tips For COVID-19 Exercise Anxiety
We know that for many the anxiety surrounding COVID-19 is still very present, and thinking about going to the gym right now might trigger that anxiety.
We want to reassure you that we at HOUSEFIT are going above and beyond to ensure our workout environment is safe. While one of our new measures includes the addition of medical-grade air purifiers, additional measures we will be taking include:
Performing extra cleaning of all surfaces and equipment with “Concrobium” hospital-grade disinfectant
Treating surfaces with self-cleaning technology
Temperature screenings upon arrival
Setting up hand sanitizing stations throughout each location
Limiting the number of members and trainers in each location
Enforcing a physical distancing space of at least 2 meters between all members
Requiring trainers to wear masks at all times during sessions
Requiring members to wear masks in between exercises
Even though fitness centers like ours are taking these measures, it can be hard not to engage in catastrophic thinking or dwelling on worst-case scenarios.
Mindfulness in the present moment can help here, and ironically, exercise is ideal for getting out of your mind and living in your body, while reducing stress and anxiety. You can also focus on how effective your workout respiratory mask is at filtering out particles, or that since the outbreak started, studies indicate that transmission of the virus from touching surfaces is extremely unlikely.
For more tips, read this post on the Top Ten COVID-19 Anxiety Reduction Strategies from the Anxiety and Depression Association of America (ADAA).