The days of not exercising have gone. Now that the Government has pushed every family and business into a metaphorical corner what we are seeing is the rise of the household gym to “keep moving”, “stay healthy” and “build routine”.
But my question to you is: have you fallen off the wagon and forgotten just how important your health is? And how it affects your family life, mental health, business and performance?
I get it. You’re out of routine. Your business has been turned upside down, you are out of your social circle, kids are eating hours out of your day so you’ve forgotten what your health and fitness can actually do to help in this situation?
Reclaiming this staple part of your life will improve the following:
Decision making.
Cognitive performance.
Physical Improvements in your immune system.
You won’t lose your physical edge
Reduction in injury.
Increased mental well being.
These are only a few of the positives you’ll get from training during this period, It’s not optimal but it will set you in a great position to be the role model you aspire to be in any and every situation.
Below are some considerations you need to understand and implement right now to get you back on track. And back to winning the race.
Are you exercising or training?
This seems easy but when you stand back objectively you can see that there is just a reactive mindset and action plan when you are trying to exercise or when you are trying to get your kids involved with fitness as well as in business? Nobody successful just “reacted” when prompted, like exercise people who are progressing don’t just exercise they follow a plan to grow and adapt.
That’s why there is a huge difference between exercising and training.
Exercising- Taking your body through movement patterns with no desired outcome or reason.
Training- performing movements and routines that are coherent to a common destination and/or goal.
When dealing with a client or an athlete, the first part of the process is to understand what we are trying to achieve. This is the same with many walks of life as if you were just to “walk” you may not be hitting your destination. Structuring a route and a routine to start to climb the ladder of progression is key to actually achieving your goal or building a fitter, stronger, leaner and more productive you, business and family.
This doesn’t mean that if you don’t have an actual goal to compete in competition. For example - it’s pointless training. Being a better functioning member of society is extremely important when training for “life”. Actually training means you see physical progression from a strength, health, and an aesthetic standpoint. Training also challenges the mind where resilience and willpower are tested. Progressing through training will also improve your mental capacity to deal with problems and make better decisions as you will be starting to optimise your health. A client of mine once said to me:
“I train hard, not only for the physical gain. But coming through the other side of a hard session carries over to the boardroom. It allows me to make tough decisions and gives me the brain capacity to deal with what’s in front of me”.
The best plan is the one you follow and is progressive. Bare that in mind when you are setting up your routine for the week as this is a key to keep leading your team and your family.
A non negotiable - Why getting your kids involved is important.
We are growing up in an age where the average teenager is overweight, unfit, and has a better relationship with their phone than the people in their lives. Take it back 50 years to the generation before me and my generation, kids were made to be outside most of the day, exercising and exploring but now kids won’t even hit 3000 steps a day as they only travel to bathroom, sofa or dining table.
Covid has now put families in the position to make an active effort to get moving and it’s now a perfect opportunity to build health and exercise into all of our daily routines.
A friend and mentor of mine Kev Toonen talked about how his dad gave him two choices every morning. Run or swim. No persuading, no arguing no “you have to do this much” just “thats what you did”. This mentality seemed to be a cornerstone for Kev’s career now being a elite strength and conditioning coach to some of the best rugby players (All Black, Owen Franks) and tactical units (Ex head of the SAS training team) in the world.
My point
The expectation of exercise as being the norm can set you up for success, building a strong body and mind that can lead children into a life of being healthy and expecting their bodies to be able to produce performances on the pitch, court or for the future.
How to build training into you and your families routine:
Once you have set the premise that training and exercise will be non negotiable, then here are the three key things to set out before starting out. So it becomes a ritual and a routine:
1- Specific time, every day.
If you have a certain time every day, there will be no reason or unexpected occurrences to get in the way. This means that there is a common compromise as the whole family will know when and where to be and that this is what we do. I prefer to get it done in the morning as this sets me up and I’ve then already had a win by 8 am. Currently, a lot of you will be working from home so you can dictate the pace and set a time to get the work done.
2- Plan before
Have a program or a routine already set up for you to follow as then it’s a case of just “doing” it rather than having to think. Unless you are a strength coach or an exercise nerd like me than trying to rationalize anything during a workout will only slow you down and make you productive.
Program- invest in a program to follow, takes the guessing out of it.
Whiteboard- write it out the night before so it's ready to follow and easy to see.
Log it- Log it somewhere as this will mean you can see and scale your progression. My clients have access to Truecoach which is an app where I log their workouts as well as their notes and progress for every session.
3- Form over speed
The reason why this is so important is that usually most injuries occur during the periods of time that you are not concentrating or you’re exhausted whilst performing complicated movements. This doesn’t mean don’t push yourself. This means form is king i.e when you lunge your knee hits the floor, it does just “bend” a little so you can rush to finish.
It’s also crucial that you understand that you have the biggest effect on your children’s physical learning. They see you with poor form, skipping reps and not keeping to the script you are only teaching them to cut corners. One of the rules I have with clients is complete the whiteboard. This is your line in the sand saying I am going to get the job done, not run around it to manipulate it just get the work done. This will have a huge carryover effect on a young mind’s work ethic which this current generation of young people lack.We will help give them the ability to get the work done they need to be successful. But more to your current situation; how are you meant to lead a team if you aren’t putting in the hard yards like the rest?
Covid-19 has brought many businesses’ to their knees. It’s also rattled the people who are trying to make a living during a time where most things are unpredictable. Taking control of your health and mindset is the most important part of your day currently. If you don’t have the stamina to be innovative and present, then you will be reacting to the walls caving in. We need to stop this mindset and start being pro-active.
Exercise, strength and health are the key to you bringing you and your team out of Covid-19 firing on all cylinders, making roads towards new ventures and being successful.
If you and/or your team want some information on about what direction to take with your training or what to expect when you get on board with my programs please don't hesitate to reach out I'll be more then happy to help you figure out your direction.
Stay strong
Coach