With COVID-19 front and centre in today’s world – globally, it may be another time for us to consider that ‘if the going gets tough, the tough get going’.  Today’s blog has more to do with using this time of physical distancing and possibly isolation, to refocus our attention on physical and physiological basics.  Here’s what I wrote a couple of weeks ago before things hit the fan.

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Sometimes it’s worth abandoning your current ‘program’ – whatever it is, and get back to basics.  Why?  Because sometimes we get a little ahead of ourselves, or in the case of injury, a little behind the 8 ball.  When you think of all the information that we’re fed through various news feeds (no pun intended), my sense is that we hit ‘overload’ and start ignoring it all – keeping with our current regimen for better or worse.  Hitting the reset button can be super helpful to refocus your attention on some of that stuff that you’re too busy to bother with.  Here’s what I mean.

Nutrition.  There is an awful lot (a shit-load to be honest) of conflicting information about what to eat, when to eat it and how often we should eat it that it’s no wonder people want to glom onto anything with a little structure.  Humans like structure and with so much data, opinion and trends out there, we can feel paralyzed.

Get back to the basics.  If you want rules to follow then consider this.

• Eat a variety of whole food (fruit, veg, dairy, meat, beans and legumes, eggs).
• Limit the add-ons like sugar, too much salt, processed foods (include here smoked/cured meats, pre-packaged foods, baking etc. with more than one ingredient).
• Drink water rather than concocted drinks (and limit the alcohol).
• Don’t eat too close to bedtime (no closer than 2hrs please).

If you focus on foods that you know work with your own chemistry – go for those.  Some people are happy with a higher carbohydrate content, or feel better when they eat plant based only whereas others feel best with more protein or more fat and choose to consume foods from animal sources.  The key is finding the right combination for you.  Cleaning out the ‘extras’ that include a lot of sugar (desserts, sugary drinks, processed items where the sugar is hidden), can really help to hit that reset button.

Fitness.  If you have been building and building your fitness program, or alternatively, you have fallen off the proverbial fitness-wagon – then let’s hit the reset button there too.  The off and pre-season is for base-building and working on your aerobic foundation (and mechanics – see below) as well as a great time to rebuild some muscle mass.  If you tend to be a cardio-pig and tend not to choose the weight room as often, think about switching this around.  We lose an alarming amount of muscle mass starting sometime after we reach 30 years old – so if you’re not building it- you’re losing it.  We have been brainwashed into thinking that it’s most important to do cardio activities to ‘burn calories’ – but this is a backward way of thinking.  Muscle is active tissue.  It has metabolic value and helps us to not only run, jump and skip – it is part of our overall metabolic engine.

Lose muscle –> lower your metabolic activity —>lower your caloric expenditure.

This sort of action is counter-productive and unwise. If you’re over 30 get into the gym (or home-gym as it were).  If you’re over 40, consider switching the number of cardio workouts for the number of strength sessions.  If you normally do 4 cardio and 2 strength sessions a week, switch it out to 2 cardio and 4 strength at least for the remainder of the winter.  Seriously.

Mechanics.  This is the real reason that I’m writing this blog.  I have been coaching for the last 20 years and myself training, for the past 35.  Over this time, I’ve noticed that one can train well for a period with imperfect mechanics, but at some point, the body rebels.  If you’re lucky enough to not have been injured, wow, good for you – but getting back to basics with your mechanics is still an important thing to consider.  If you have been afflicted with regular (or occasional) injury – then for sure, getting back to mechanical basics is important if you want to be doing this stuff into your 80s.

You know what they are.  Repetitive movements, tightness, weaknesses, alignment issues.  The need to have a good look at what your needs are with any of these items can be a good starting point.  I often hear things like “I really should stretch more” or “I know that I sit too much” or “my upper and mid back get quite tired when I…”  So, what’s wrong with addressing some of these things now, while you have some time and are perhaps limited in your other activities due to the fact that the gym, pool and fitness programs are shuttered?

Stand in front of a mirror and have a good long look at your posture.  What are your shoulders doing? Do you need to open the chest (pectoral muscles) up a bit and strengthen the muscles of the shoulders (deltoids and rhomboids) and back (lats and serratus anterior)?

Are your feet pointing forward, or out to the sides?  A tightness in the hip perhaps?  Glute weakness, piriformis tightness, joint capsule range of motion?

Look at finisher-photos of your recent events – what’s going on with your posture?  What do you look like when you’re fatigued?  Where’s your chin in relation to the alignment of your shoulder, hips, knees and ankles?  Is one hip higher than the other?

Basic realignment, stretching the tight and strengthening the weak.  These can all be worked on in the close confines of your own space.  Instead of hours of Netflix from the couch – what about from the stretching mat or from the top of your foam roller?

Just like all the hours and hours you spend doing the things you love, practice, practice, practice with the basics that let your body do those very things – may be the best medicine yet.

LiveSplendidly!  (and stay well)