Kent Sport’s Strength and Conditioning Instructor, Chris Payne suggests ways to keep busy, fit and positive and how to make the best of a difficult situation.
There is an old sitcom from the 1970’s called Porridge and it starred my favourite actor Ronnie Barker. If you are not familiar with this TV series it’s about two prison inmates serving time at HMP Slade (a fictional prison). The show’s title is a reference to the traditional breakfast that used to be served in British prisons, and the British slang for a prison sentence – Porridge.
Being in lockdown could be considered as doing our own version of porridge, indoors for longer periods of time, little to no social interaction with the outside world, and trying to keep busy by getting on with set work, or doing those jobs around the house that had been put off for so long. On a positive note you have the opportunity to develop healthy eating habits, keep fit and to do those jobs that had been put off around the house (turn that negative into a positive). Yet, there is a real concern about people’s mental well-being whilst we adjust to this now normal way of life. So what can we do to change our thought process at this current time?
Well, rather cleverly there is an episode of porridge called “A night in” and the premise is that Fletcher and Lenny whilst locked up in their cell convince themselves they are just having another “night in”. So why don’t you plan a decent night in, recently we attended a 60th birthday party online and it was a lot of fun. Another example was to have my daughters 6th birthday party at home just the four of us – and we had a fantastic time. We had music in the garden, a tea party and built a blanket fort (lots of fun) and stayed in it all night. In essence we turned what could have been a disappointment into an adventure – albeit at home.
You might be disappointed that you cannot visit a gym – make the home your gym. Train your legs with bodyweight exercise such as squats, lunges, and yoga positions. Work those upper body muscles with push ups, chair dips and static holds such as crocodile push up holds. Become creative and fill up water used bottles as lights weights (a 2 litre bottle weighs approx. 2kg).
Turn those daily walks into an outdoor adventure, choose a different route, or aim to walk the same route quicker and quicker each time until you have to increase your distance – maybe it becomes a jog. Why not go exploring – we recently went off road and found a beautiful wooded area only minutes from the home (see picture). What can you find?
Albert Einstein once said:
“There are two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle”.
I hope you read last week’s blog (titled Eddie Vedder performs River Cross) and by now you have performed somewhere in the region of 700 body weight squats!!! (Or had a set number and are achieving them). Combined with the yoga exercises we have discussed in our earlier blogs I hope you have control over your mental and physical wellbeing. So for this week can we learn a new skill and continue to practice it for the duration of lockdown. For example, is there a musical instrument in the house, why not learn a new language, how about creative writing or you and you partner learn to dance from a YouTube instructional video. At this rate there won’t be enough time in the day to think about the negatives.
Stay well.
Wellness Wednesday is part of Kent Sport’s #KentSportStayWellAtHome series of daily blogs and vlogs to keep you positive during these unusual times. To be sure not to miss our updates, Like us on Facebook and follow on Instagram and Twitter @UniKentSports – we hope you enjoy and join in!