Active Lifestyles in the Covid Era

One of the challenges for many work-from-homers is how to stay active and fit. Routines and habits changed drastically for many of us at the onset of covid and I’m sure that we can all identify one or two things in our lifestyle that are significantly different from how things once were.

What was once an easy stop at the gym close to the office may no longer be convenient. The natural level of activity from simply traveling to get to work and walking about during the day has changed drastically with the basic live/work lifestyle.

I have a friend who has complained about not even making it out the front door on many days. And others have joked about the covid 15 being worse than the college 15 in terms of weight gain.

My life certainly changed dramatically, and I think many can relate. My husband and I moved to a different town, we got a dog, and I’ve been working from home as a virtual personal trainer now since we first went into lockdown in 2020. So my personal workout habits have shifted dramatically along with my clients and students.

I’ve had to create the new habit of working out from home and also face the challenge of lack of motivation and the cookies in the kitchen being so close at hand. (yes, even personal trainers are human too!)

And while I miss the energy associated with going to a studio and having a public space with equipment and built-in motivation, there have been some really exciting discoveries and successes.

Okay, let’s celebrate some of these because I think there are some easy wins here that anyone could start experiencing quickly! Here are the biggest things that I love about my home workout routine:

• Super convenient and efficient

• Easier to fit in 20 or 30-minute workouts in the day

• Easier to be consistent (we all know consistency is key!)

• Ease of use and simplicity

Basically working out from home is just really simple! I almost wrote the word easy, but of course, it still requires the effort to actually work out! If you have ever felt intimidated by going to a gym, or if you’ve ever felt confused and overwhelmed by all the options out there then working out from home is a great place to start.

Let’s talk about some motivation hacks to help you build the habit without relying on willpower alone (relying on willpower alone is generally not a good plan because it is pure and simply very fickle)

Motivation Hack #1: Create Visual Prompts.

If you create a visual prompt that reminds you of your goal then it will stay top of mind and make it harder to forget what you said you wanted to do. This could be purchasing a poster or a meditation sculpture that will help create the vibe and energy to perform your new habit. Rolling out your mat the evening before is another visual prompt.

Motivation Hack #2: Do 2 reps of just 1 exercise.

This one is all about making the new habit ridiculously easy. After you’ve done 2 reps you are going to congratulate yourself and lavish yourself with praise.

Motivation Hack #3: Celebrate each and every baby step along the way.

If it’s mid-morning and you suddenly realize that you had told yourself you would do a 20-minute workout but totally forgot to, instead of beating yourself up about this try to cultivate the habit of celebrating the fact that you even remembered when you did!

Motivation Hack #4: Raise your level of know-how

Take a moment to assess if you really have the skills and knowledge to do what you are planning to do. Do you need more support and guidance? If the answer is yes then there are a few additional steps. Try to catch yourself in a high vibration moment when you have a little more motivation to search out a good resource or schedule a free consult.

One of the biggest game-changers for myself has been the simple realization that I can not depend on willpower alone and that if I find myself lacking motivation it’s doesn’t mean that I’m a terrible person. It simply means that we are all human and there are many great ways to train your habitual behavior over time to eventually get to a place where this all becomes much more second nature. And that’s exactly what a habit is!

With all the instability we’ve lived through with covid it’s perfectly normal for healthy routines and habits to be in need of a little dusting off, in need of a reboot, and possibly a full redesign.

Next week I’ll be talking more specifically about celebration and how that one motivation hack alone can be a complete game-changer for anything you're trying to accomplish. I hope you’ve found this article helpful and inspiring, if so please share with a friend or leave a comment. And if you feel that spark of inspiration you can schedule your free 30-minute consult here!