3 tips on getting ahead in fitness during COVID19

Quarantine

Self isolation

A prisoner to your own home

So why not use this time to create healthier habits?

Here are 3 tips that will have you coming out of lock down ahead of everyone else!

1. Self Care

It might be easy to go into sloth mode right now, but we could be in this for a long time so let’s not get too relaxed. When you're in motion it's easier to stay in motion. What’s not in motion wants to continue to do that too. Remember – action comes before motivation!

Use this time to create new self care practices like quality sleep habits, home spa relaxation rituals, regular exercise, and prepared meals.

Breathing and meditation exercises work to calm the mind and nervous system: good in this time of uncertainty and stress.This is a practice you can continue using for the rest of your life to control stress.

2. Tortoise Wins The Race

Ease into it! Don’t be a Hare! There’s a term in the fitness world called “progressive overload” and that not only applies to your muscles but also to your brain. Choose a simple schedule for training and that way you can stick to it.

4 week program example

Week 1 – focus on 70,000 steps a week, 10,000 steps a day. It’s much easier on your mind to consider it this way. The consistent, compounding effect is what gets the results over time. This could be done by:

• Walking or jogging.
• Going out into the garden or doing home projects.
• If you are working from home, regularly getting up from your desk to get a drink of water or make a cup of tea.
• Taking the dog for walk.
• Walking to the store to get your groceries – load up a backpack

Week 2 – focus on adding in 1 or 2 x 20 min bodyweight workouts.

• E.g. 1x lower body and 1x upper body. 

Week 3 – focus on keeping the consistency from weeks 1 and 2 and see if you can add in an additional workout. Bringing it up to 2 - 3 x 20 min bodyweight workouts.

• E.g. 1 x lower body, 1x upper body and 1x core & stretching.

Week 4 – focus on consistency and maintaining this structure.

On average 10,000 steps per day, 2-3 bodyweight workouts. If you want to challenge yourself you can add in a 4th bodyweight workout out focusing on the whole body or increase your steps average to 12,000 per day. Action comes before motivation and consistency is more important than results when you are beginning.

3. Increase Your Hydration.

Simply find a large vessel to hold a lot of H20 and make it a goal to drink it all!
You can also boost your vegetable intake, which will not only increase your hydration but also your fiber, naturally. You’ll need the bathroom more often which means you’ll be make gains towards that step count! 

BONUS 4. Protein Every Meal.

Since most of the restaurants and cafes are closed why not try making a cafe style, protein-rich breakfast at home. Bacon, eggs and avocado on sourdough? Or, make a fun game with the household and get creative from a mystery bag of food items. Pack it with lean protein, veggies and good quality fats like nuts and seeds. Experiment with gourmet cook-offs. Who can do the best presentation? Pick a cuisine theme and create based around it.The key here is to make cooking fun, instead of an effort and a chore.

Thanks for reading.

Keep safe and look after yourself and loved ones in this time.

This blog is written by Hayley Deller,

About the author:

Hayley is a professional health and fitness coach with a passion for helping people live a healthy lifestyle, so they can live their best life. She not only knows what it's like to give in to the temptations of junk food and partying: she has the empathy and depth of understanding of emotional and physical health that'll get you the results you're looking for. Intuition, experience and skill has made her a coach that makes it happen.”

To see more from Hayley you can follow her on

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To work with Hayley – https://www.trainerize.me/profile/hayleydeller