This blog is about about the positive things that have come from the past 3 months of "lock-down" here, for me... in Singapore.
Okay, lets be real... I've hardly been "locked-up" or "Locked down"
However, we are all fighting our small daily struggles in some form or another. Whether its not seeing our close friends, missing the energy/banter at the workplace, the 'freedom' of outdoor movement, going to bars and enjoying a social drink, having food outside of the home or swimming in the condo pool... I get it, it sucks BUT its also key to remember that its just temporary and there are other positive things to now focus on.
Here is what has been good for me.
1. Morning Walks (NEAT) - Apart from being on holiday, I can never remember a period of time where I can wake up and just spend the first 60-90 minutes getting outside on my own, listen to a podcast while getting some easy activity/blood-flow and enjoy the sunshine on my face. My usual days are started violently with a 5 a.m. alarm (in the darkness) and heading straight to a gym (underground) to work for 3-4 hours before getting a break/chance to see some daylight. I really feel like ive had this time back for myself and while I know it won't last, its been an amazing change up from the norm.
Here are some the Podcasts im currently listening to:
WTF - Marc Maron
Making Sense - Sam Harris
Fighter and the Kid - Bryan Callen/Brendan Shaub (comedy)
Joe Rogan experience
Renegade Radio - Jay ferrugia
Muscle intelligence - Ben Pakulski
Does anyone have good podcast recommendations?
30-60 minutes walking outside in the morning WILL make you feel better
2. Daily aerobic activities - Hands down the best thing ive done over the past 2 months has been to purchase a half-decent bike. I actually love cycling and im not sure why I didn't do it earlier but im glad I have again. This now gives me a genuine daily opportunity to get outside for a longer-duration enjoyable activity. Ive termed it like that because being completely honest I don't really enjoying long bouts of 'cardio' and much prefer the gym for my training. The bike has added another 'fun' dimension to my weekly physical activities, its allowing me to see new places in Singapore (which is cool) - and this is something that I will definitely keep doing post-lockdown.
I used to have a Raleigh bike as a kid - couldn't resist getting another one!
3. No alarms - Another "20-year-first" for me was not having an alarm wake me up in the dark, resulting in about 60-90 minutes more sleep every morning. With all the knowledge of sleep benefits, I'm assuming this is a good thing for my body (great!) - I've also realised this is something I will have to give back when work starts (not so great!). Here are some of the benefits from getting 8 hours quality of sleep:
- Decrease risk for adverse health conditions (Longevity)
- Manage your hunger levels (Appetite)
- Maintain your immune system (Health)
- Retain memory (Brain)
- Growth hormone release (Repair)
4. Time for thought and refection - Over the past 10 weeks some of us would have had drastically altered/reduced work patterns (while some have actually increased!). Personally, the extra work schedule freedom has allowed me to take more time to think over things that were all previously automatic. Ive become a lot more mindful around a couple of things in my life (Family, friends, future, time and energy) and it has been a very useful wake up call. This concept is quite difficult to exactly put in words in this blog but I feel like maybe a lot of us meander through our day-to-day lives 'unconsciously'. The circuit breaker was definitely a period where my blinkers have been removed slightly and I have started to think about the bigger things. What's really important to Vs Things that don't serve my purpose.
Has anyone else had similar mental shifts recently? Maybe you can share in the comments and explain it better than I have :)
5. Time and energy. This absolutely all ties in with the point above about being more mindful about things. Ive had a lot of time 'back' for myself and while its great, going back to work means eventually I will need to give some back (to my clients, the gym etc). How I will change my working day/week from now is how to use my time better using the OPEX model of Teach, Learn, Move and Create.
- Training clients (Teach)
- Educating myself (Learn)
- Training Myself (Move)
- Building new ideas (Create)
My days before the lockdown where heavily focused on TEACH, My MOVE was an after-thought, my LEARN was sporadic and un-planned and my CREATE was honestly non-existent. I plan to really sit down and think about where my energy is best placed at certain times of the day across all 4 areas, not just 1 or 2.
These principles were creating by James Fitzgerald (OPEX) for fitness coaches seeking a professional work balance. For those who want to try this scheduling idea and don't 'TEACH' you can add in something you do at work like MANAGE, SELL, SERVE, CARE, PARENT or any other thing that is important to you and your daily tasks.
How balanced is your current schedule?
Are you focusing too much on one area?
What area is being starved?
6. Creative time - This has been the another gift for me over the past 10 weeks. Having the free time to create new things for my client base that also improve my personal training and group training products.
1. I started a brand new YouTube channel
Ive created categories of the exercises in PLAYLISTS, for easy searching
Nothing flashy, just myself sharing 15-20s clips of exercises that I use regularly in group classes and now online PT programs. With the gyms being closed... the first 100 videos are Band, Bodyweight and Warm ups. Check it out and subscribe on the link below:
2. The "Move it or Lose it" blog
Inspired by a 2010 trip to Cressey Performance in Boston, I started writing a blog about 10 years ago, I was actually quite popular (80+ posts and over 120k lifetime views) and at the time I genuinely loved writing it. Then I moved to Singapore, became a manager of a busy gym and lost a lot of my free 'fun/creative' time and abandoned it. Now its back and im really thankful that this time has allowed me to do that - hopefully with less colourful language.
The old blog still exists and its fun to look back on a decade later
Pre-COVID 19... It didn't feel like I was going through the motions on some areas of my life, but its clear to me now that I was. Weekdays blended into each other and I wasted time on weekends not doing things that serve my soul - getting outside more often, seeing new places, spending quality times with friends, laughing. Out of all the promises i'm making to myself, I think i will definitely be making a better effort on these moving forward.
Maybe you feel like me?
Do any of the above points above resonate with you today?
What has the lockdown period given you?
Share with friends.
Share in the comments.
Have a great rest of the week!