I hear often from people who lived through fear in the last lockdown, yet brought themselves to back to their former selves through moving more and challenging themselves through their daily exercise schedule. Their renewed purpose saved them physically but just as important mentally.
The saddest thing I hear most days is those who still live in fear and won’t leave the house for fresh air even though the government recommends it, and the pain that has over time taken over their body without them noticing initially, simply by not exercising, not standing up even hardly at all due to constant TV watching, and their minds becoming transformed into fear by the constant watching of daily news, and the often cesspit of negativity and scare mongering of social media.
I can see the clear difference between someone who exercises and one that doesn’t. I am not judging their bodies even, I can see the exerciser is usually of a more positive demeanour, a healthier glow about them, and a real sense of “let’s get on with it then” type of attitude, because the always have more energy.
Someone who exercises daily is in a flow, and is used to recognising what makes them feel better. You rarely meet someone on a long walk, cycle or run and they snarl at you. They usually have a higher level of energy that is apparent when you look at them as you pass, and it’s almost always positive.
If you used to exercise and forgotten how good it can feel, then the danger is you will have accepted the other things that come with your new lifestyle of moving less.
Pain is more likely in you body if you don’t move as much. You get stiffer, joints start to ache, and you may start to talk about how good “you used to feel” in the “old days”.
Living your life in he past tense is never good, saying your best days are behind is an admission you don’t want to put any effort in anymore, your hope and ambitions are extinguished and pessimism is your new daily reality.
There is a lady called Kay Owen, 81 years, who since last march, due to her medical conditions been shielding, yet she is often down any part of our beautiful coastline lifting logs or improvising something she would have done in the gym. She often does our live online workouts on the beach with her dumbbells and at 81, she has so many exciting ambitions and goals left to achieve.
She remembers when she joined our gym 8 years ago, and needed 4 pumps just to breathe, made the choice to exercise when told to have a mobility scooter instead. She usually pushes my car on her birthday, and never wants to go back to the health she found herself before she arrived at the gym.
I urge you to consider your exercise as essential in this lockdown, to see great value in quite spots with fresh air, to move your body more, to eat well and consider healthier fresh food essential, to surround yourself with positive voices and anyone on social media that continually spins your head with worry and anxiety, please block them and get them out of your life.
You can come out of lockdown even stronger and fitter than ever before, both physically and mentally. You have it easily within you to make it happen, and the hardest part is always the first step of putting some trainers on and getting going. In the first place.
