It's been awhile since this blog has been updated, so please excuse me if I'm a bit rusty after having to deal with Covid, post-Covid, vaccinations, and on an on. However, since it appears that almost every conversation I have starts with a fitness reference or question I'll skip the niceties of "How have you been?" and get right to it. Here are a few of the lessons I learned (or am still learning) during the pandemic.
1. Be prepared for the worst. I was fortunate enough to have my own gym when the pandemic started, so I never missed a workout because of quarantines, variants, etc. My recommendation is that you always have at least one piece of gear that you can go to as a Plan B if your gym closes or you get quarantined. Kettlebells would be my specific suggestion: one 24kg (53 lb) for men and one 16 kg (35 lb) for women. That's it.
2. The fundamentals haven't changed. Training all of your energy systems is still the winning formula. For all of you draped over your Peleton, consider that not a single part of your body is touching the ground during your session. This is what is called an "open" movement since it is non-load bearing. There are few situations in life that are non-load bearing or that require you to assume the posture required to use the Peleton. Most real-life activities require you to have your feet on the ground and to bear a load, so to be "fit" has to include being able to do so efficiently. Lifting something heavy also improves your bone density and strengthens your core, two things that are going to come in handy as you age.
3. Goals are still the best way to challenge yourself. I set a goal for myself back in 2018 that was pretty ambitious. It was so ambitious that it took me nearly three years to reach it, but I finally did. Nobody saw me do it and it's likely nobody would have cared even if they did. But it was important to me, personally, and kept me going for 240 workouts during 2021.
Note that I didn't mention anything about New Year's resolutions or any of that stuff. I'll get to that next time. I'm just warming up today.
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