5 Things You Can Control This Lockdown

It's a new week, we're in a national lockdown and so we want to talk about transforming past challenges into learning experiences and putting your focus onto the things that you ​can control.

When we go through a challenging time it can be so powerful to reflect on this time and take a step back to ask ourselves... what did I learn from this experience?

Once you identify what you learned, you can now ask yourself another question. That question is... what am I going to do differently if I go through this challenging time again? Now, I would like you to take this opportunity to reflect on the last time we went into lockdown earlier this year.

What went well for you and what didn’t?

Did you come out the other end in a position you were happy with or did you come out saying I wish I did X Y and Z. This is your time to make a commitment to yourself that you’re not going to let this happen again. This is your time to take control of what you can control and let go of what you can’t.

5 Things You Can Control

1. This time we’re able to meet with one other person to exercise outdoors.​ We recommend choosing someone who is in alignment with your goals so you can make the most of this outdoor exercise time. Accountability is something we’re big on at MHR Fitness, you could even ask your exercise buddy to hold you accountable to a specific goal you want to achieve.

2. Last time, many of us found adapting to lockdown challenging and so our alcohol consumption increased.​ While the occasional glass of wine with dinner isn’t a cause for concern, the cumulative effects of drinking wine, beer or spirits can take its toll on fitness performance, your weight loss goals and cause dehydration and fatigue. This time around you might want to consider taking control of your alcohol consumption to prevent the effects I’ve just mentioned.

3. Christmas = Food. ​With this lockdown being closer to Christmas I feel our nutrition is something we’re going to need to focus on a little more especially with the shops being full of tempting Christmas treats. At MHR Fitness we’re big advocates of keeping a food diary to manage your nutrition. We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again... When we consciously measure something it gets managed!

4. As a society we’ve become so dependent on our smartphones, we're guilty of this too! ​Instead of ordering a takeaway from Deliveroo, you could support your local fruit and veg shop by purchasing some fresh produce and feeding your body with the sustenance it needs. By doing this you’re also going to increase your step count and activity for the day which in turn will increase your calorie burn... it’s a win win!

5. More of us will now be working from home.​ When we returned to the gym in August we noticed with our existing clients that their mobility had reduced. This is why we’d like you to consider stretching and mobilising 10-15 minutes per day. This will help with any aches and pains and could prevent injury when exercising. Something else you could try is standing on and off at your desk throughout the day which in turn will help burn more calories and it’s also great for helping with posture. Standing can also improve blood sugar levels which helps with fat loss as well.

What is something that you're going to take control of this time around? We would love to know!

If you would like us to hold you accountable with your health and fitness goals during this time, get in touch to book a virtual coffee with us!