Training under lockdown
An assessment of fitness goals and training strategies in unusual times
We like the gym—the equipment and the people in the gym—but we don’t think that a gym is a requirement for most people to live a healthy lifestyle. Somehow the gym has become synonymous with physical training and a healthy lifestyle, and it is hard to imagine another way of approaching fitness. When most people think about home training, they look at their living room and try to find ways to do the same training and movements that they are used to doing at the gym—water bottle curls, baby goblet squats, etc. We think that this way of thinking is a bit backwards, and represents an all-too-simplistic perspective on what constitutes health and fitness. Going to the gym is great—but there are so many other options and methods that can greatly benefit your health and fitness level, and the lockdown that much of the world is experiencing is a great opportunity to explore other aspects of exercise and training.
What is a healthy functional body?
We often see people that want to better themselves, but do not address the question of what a healthy body is, or what it can do. Bodybuilding and cardio machines have their place, and are fantastic tools to develop your body’s ability to exert more force and move for longer periods. Stronger and fitter is always better, but these attributes are a foundation for other things and not end-goals in and of themselves. In our opinion, the body is a complex machine that can do all sorts of fantastic things, and if you are reading this, you also can enhance your body’s movement patterns and characteristics—so, the question is “What should you be doing?” And is this lockdown period preventing you from reaching your goals?
Aesthetics are important for most people, but focusing on aesthetics is not the best way to change your body, or to structure your training plan. They say that form follows function, and we think this is very true. Most athletes are, therefore, quite aesthetically pleasing to look at—and you do not see many unhealthy-looking triathletes or gymnasts. For most people, mobility and body composition is a good place to start your assessment. We need to lose some fat, gain some muscle, and be able to move freely—and this is very achievable outside the gym
So maybe this lockdown period is an opportunity to focus on other aspects of your training.
We think these five aspects are what you want to focus on:
Sleep (7-8 hours)
Nutrition
Mobility
Cardio (walking/running)
Functional strength
Sleep
We’ve all been through life circumstances where we have experienced little or no sleep. Little or no sleep = instant insanity, and it also wreaks havoc on the body. You’ve probably heard of the body’s circadian rhythm—the body’s sleep/wake cycle. The body wants to sleep when it’s dark, and be awake when it is light out. If you or someone you know has ever done night shift work, you know how hard it is to change this cycle, and the problems that occur when you try. Night shift workers actually have a much higher incidence of chronic disease, simply because they are fighting the body’s natural sleep/wake cycle. The body does most of it’s repair work while we are sleeping, so if we mess with our sleep, there are increasingly dire consequences — and you definitely are not recovering well from any exercise you are doing. We recommend 7-8 hours, which is in concurrence with most sleep research. If you are experiencing insomnia, or having trouble getting to sleep as early as you would like, here are some sleep hygiene strategies that we have found helpful:
Stop drinking caffeine by midday
Stop using the computer or smartphone at least 90 minutes before sleep
Don’t work or hang out in your bedroom. Give a strong signal to yourself that the bedroom is for sleeping
Stop eating and drinking at least three hours before sleeping
If possible, cool the room where you sleep
Make sure the room where you sleep is completely dark
Don’t exercise right before sleep
Try a sleep time meditation (We love the ones on the Headspace app)
Nutrition
See our blog “Things They Didn’t Teach Me at School,” for our thoughts on nutrition.
Things they did not teach me at school
Mobility
There is a seemingly endless stream of mobility exercises one can do. It can seem overwhelming, and near impossible to know where to start. In our experience there are two things at which people seem to be particularly challenged: the bottom of the squat position, and the overhead position. We’re going to focus on two exercises, to keep things simple. These two exercises offer a lot of bang for your buck. Do them barefoot, and a few times throughout the day (microworkout style!) for ultimate effectiveness.
Cardio
See our blog, “Intensity vs Volume vs Density vs Frequency” (“If You’re Just Starting Out” section)
Intensity vs volume vs density vs frequency
Functional Strength
If you strip down strength training to its most fundamental movements--you have the squat, the pull, and the press. In this article, we want to focus on training these at home, and suggest ways to progress the exercises to keep them challenging.
Here are some rep schemes we have found to be effective:
Microworkouts: 25 squats, 10 push-ups, 10 rows (four sets, spread out throughout day before meals) (Three times per week.)
3 rounds of:
15 squats, 10 push-ups, 10 rows (Three times per week.)
3 rounds of:
40 seconds of squats
20 seconds rest
40 seconds of push-ups
20 seconds of rest
40 seconds of rows
20 seconds rest
We hope these tips have helped you, and that—if you are experiencing a lockdown—you can use it as an opportunity in your training.
Scott & Lennart