As the new month of July has just started. Not that it’s been any different after month’s of lockdown. Especially for shielders like myself who have had the pleasure of their own company for at least 4 month’s.
Everyone full of some type of enthusiasm about what active ways they can create a sense of normality regarding their health, fitness & wellbeing. Amongst the individual life/lifestyle changes. Be it set new goals in eating habits to maintain &/or lose weight for example. Maybe take up meditation to relax & yoga to get or stay fit.
One thing for sure is that adaptations had to be made. But now we’ve just passed midsummer. This is a perfect checkpoint at which those plans & goals are revisited. Not just for whether those plans went accordingly. But also if the goals were realistic . Such as basing it on the possibility that it may not be sustainable should your goal consist of doing long sets of certain exercises daily. That returning to work would make it impossible to keep up.
Also making notes of how you feel mentally compared to when you just started the lockdown with your plans &/or goals. As for myself I already had summer goals. So it was transitioning from been outdoors in open spaces with access to an outdoor gym & bars that had me pondering new ideas to either replicate or just find an alternative to achieve the same results. Plus utilising creative pursuits to stay motivated enough to allow consistency to be the driving force.
Especially for shielders. Like myself been a vulnerable person due to my lupus SLE (autoimmune illness & multiple past organ failure of lungs + kidney). Typically usually active personally & professionally. Been restricted in movement as my favourite activity/exercise was long distance walking. There was only so many times I could stay engaged with walking back & forth through my home. Before thinking day 2 & I’m already bored.haha
But decorating & giving the house a fresher look on a budget. Not only worked my arms (painting walls) but also been creative with little touches lifted the mood. Provided a different way of seeing the same familiar surroundings. Plus learning new habits in healthier eating such as preparing meals that were fresher because that reliance on popping to the take away would cost twice as much & less convenient. Actually was more beneficial because the temptation was limited. So after a few weeks not to say you don’t think. Oh I do miss a good cheeseburger but it wasn’t that feeling of I have to have it so bad that without hesitation your heading down to your favourite takeaway like in pre lockdown times.
Even appreciating the spaces that much more like parks & gardens. Because that feeling of been able to exercise or just sit down & just breathe in the air. Take in the surroundings was like the present I never received on my birthday due to not only been Ill but lockdown at the beginning stages of people panicking & GP surgery doors closed. Having Lupus SLE actually prepared me for any situation which to me was imminent. It’s not as if I hadn’t faced isolation or quarantine before. Having spent multiple times in a hospital room shut off from the outside. With only hospital staff in PPE the ones I had any contact with. But MRSA which wasn’t the best time to get when your having chemotherapy. Had me 6 months locked up. One room & one window. With Big Ben every half/full hour chiming loudly on the opposite side of the thames. That’s when St Thomas’s hospital was the home of Lupus patients.
With that been said. It’s like looking at a glass either half full or half empty.
Whilst no one can deny this has to be worst year in a global & local sense. Because everything that we knew & was accustomed to has had nearly every type of crisis been presented to us at the same time.
But when you break it down to every individual in what & how you chose to use the information & resources available to you. Was it beneficial for your health, fitness & wellbeing goals. Was it realistic?. Did you do better than anticipated?. Is there areas where you want to change. Such as exercises that’ll help with relaxation & stress. Joining online classes such as hiit or one to one. To get professional guidance & outside communication & motivation etc.
Providing fitness buddy systems to encourage yourself & others. Because support in any form is so important not just physically but also mentally. As loneliness is just as detrimental to a person’s health & wellbeing overall.
Plus young people & children needing certain stimuli to maintain/encourage physical & mental development. With not all attending school, college, university etc. Some which are carers. The absence of social freedom. Self evaluation is important to check where you are in mind & body. At this present moment & time.
It’s dealing with the reality of what we know is not available for example gyms. Travelling abroad on holiday maybe due to restrictions &/or finances. Thus taking responsibility to utilize what is. Creating a improvised gym indoors using household items as weights. Skipping for 1 minute a day as cardio to replace a cardio exercise that consisted of running/jogging a certain amount of miles to achieve a specific heart rate measurement.
Also it could mean certain goals for example a 30 day challenge in Press-ups was completed & motivated you to try another fitness goal such as holding a plank to help build core strength. Or trying a advanced yoga pose. A checkpoint examines your progression & any weaknesses that can be examined. Not only on a physical level but also in all areas of life & coping with the transition back into a more freedom based way of living. To ensure old habits that didn’t serve you before. Such as the consumption of too much convenience food (take aways/fast food) is now a treat. Plus the time for parents &/or caregivers to teach themselves & children to eat better. Make better choices. Learning about the things around us creating a broader range of knowing. Such as the trees or the flowers in your local park. Learning new skills in study whether it be writing, poetry or short stories etc. To encourage using our imagination & been active. It’s assessing your where, why & when according to your own circumstances & plans/goals.
We all have the capability to do something & achieve things that contribute to our individual maintenance or expansion in health, fitness & wellbeing. So by self reflection & analysis. Making notes or adaptations. Even creating new goals. Lays a solid foundation in a time of uncertainty.
Stay Safe ❤ Stay Active 💚
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