Keeping Mind & Body Healthy From Home

Keeping Mind & Body Healthy From Home
by Zoe Lancaster  

We are fortunate to have 320 days of sunshine here in the stunning mountains of the Marina Alta region where many of you come and cycle with us, but we are having to get used to a very different way of keeping both our minds and bodies healthy. We predominantly have an outdoor lifestyle, from running, cycling, sea swimming, even walking Archie or just spending outdoor time with friends. So when that lifestyle changes so does your mindset and your training ability. We want to share with you the best ways we have found to keep ourselves motivated and on track during our time indoors. We think it will be of interest to you, and not just because COVID-19 means less playtime outside, but also for the winter months in the UK when outdoor activity is restricted. Having all this time in the house, I thought we would get loads of training done, but I very quickly realized, motivation is tricky when stuck indoors for long periods of time. Here is something we have found useful:

Remember Your Goals

Remind yourself why you need to train, especially if static or indoor training is not the sort of thing you enjoy. If your goal is an event, watch videos from the previous years, join the Facebook group for it, get involved with the buildup hype of the event. Catch up with friends who are doing the event with you. Share how your sessions are going through strava or perhaps just a weekly catch up. If your event has been moved, just think how ready you will be with the extra training time! Your goal might be fitness for a holiday, ask the holiday company if they can give you guidance on what fitness level you need. Do they have any plans that could help you? We post updates on Facebook and encourage our guests to engage with us, we know many other companies do this too. If your goal is more personal, maybe your own fitness, or to assist with weight loss, make sure it is measurable, so you can see your improvements. This might be numbers on a measuring tape or measurements of improved fitness, like FTP tests.

Routine

Try to build some routine into your training program, if you plan on watching the soaps in the evening, then why not make that your turbo time? If you can get the turbo in front of the TV then great, you know at 7.30pm when EastEnders hits your TV, you hit the pedals! Maybe like me you’re a morning person, if so, prep everything the night before and your straight on to the matt, or turbo in the morning. Make sure you have an area that is ready for you and if you don’t have space to leave you home gym set up, then keep it in easy reach and in sight, don’t let it get packed away to the back of the garage… If you have room for a sofa and a TV, you have room for a small work out area, it’s just about priorities. Many fitness instructors and PT’s are now doing online classes, why not join one, put the date in your diary and stick to it.

Accountability and Plans

This is one of that people don’t think about, but it is so important. Make yourself accountable to someone or yourself. Mark is a big one for lists and white board, he likes to see his training ticked off as done, we also both have training peaks and enjoy seeing our session turn green when we have completed them. We are part of Smiling Tri Coach and we are accountable to our coaches and this helps to keep us motivated. They also set our plans and have changed them to work with us while we are housebound, taking away all the guess work. We have even started having weekly calls with a team of athletes that they coach, which is great support but is also being accountable to each other and give updates on how training is going. If you have the ability to take part in online bike rides, make a promise to your buddies and pitch up online!

Get Inspired

There are so many amazing podcasts you can be listening to, especially when on the turbo, I love Ted Talks and here a couple of my favorites. Please send me yours.
Try and keep away from the news and all the hype and focus on some positive stuff, write down three things every evening that happened that day and that you’re grateful for. Yesterday I was so grateful for an email I got from a guest, plus the great Zoom call I had with my fellow Smiling athletes and that my wonderful fresh produce man could drop me off lovely stuff. Now might be the time to try that meditation app you’ve been promising yourself?

Nutrition

We have been posting a daily juice on our Facebook page, and if you are housebound well, you now have the time to dust the juicer off and feed the body! It’s just a good way to start the day and drink lots of water. Not having as much fresh air might mean you are in need of more water than normal. We don’t believe in crash diets, just looking after yourself with an 80/20 approach to food and taking in more nutrients. Instead of thinking about what you need to cut out, think about what you need to add in… a glass of wine might be just what you need right now!

Simple Summary
  • Remember why
  • Get a routine
  • Plan and make it accountable
  • Fuel the mind
  • Fuel the body
As always, we are just on the other end of an email and if you need any support just let us know. We welcome some tips of your own so share them… let’s rock this isolation fitness!
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