Unlock 1.0

So, after what has seemed like forever there is finally a re-opening and people are again allowed to venture out to explore, keep active and resume activities which bear some semblance to the pre-COVID era.

Now, I know the following are the things that have kept people occupied through the lockdown.

1. There is the bunch who has taken to Home workouts ( HIIT, LISS, Body Weight, Calisthenics, Yoga, Pilates, Boxing etc) with a venegeance!

2. Then we have the carb-loading variety.

3. There is the “lets get a nap’ Variety

4. There is the Art & Craft and Home Science variety.

But, jokes aside – truly, since there has been a lockdown and people have been forced to turn inwards, without the crutch of alcohol- the resilience of the human spirit has prevailed and there has been a record number of people who have overcome the initial boredom and adopted various activities to keep themselves occupied – gainfully at that. In fact, I truly believe that if you have not been able to focus on yourself during the period of this lockdown and started checking of all those things that you always wanted to do ( get fit, eat clean, be disciplined, read more etc.) chances are you never will – since the luxury of getting time the way that it was given to us during this period is something that I doubt we will ever get.

But moving onto things forward – a lot of us will be getting back outdoors and realigning our priorities as we move forward into what I like to think of and hope will be easier and more conscientious times ahead, these are the things I would like to keep in mind:

1. Be Kind to yourself as you hit the roads. Our exit from the regular mileage and activity was sudden and long. The muscle atrophies and so does the mental resilience to keep trudging on. So please dont look to come back into a performance mode. As is the case with the best things in life – give yourself time and patience – to build yourself up! Start slow, start easy – a few days a week.

2. Mask or No Mask – I like to do my workouts alone. It helps me focus on form, cadence, HR and all the thoughts I like to clear out in my head. So its easy for me to stay away and not be in contact with anyone during my workout. I still carry my breathable buff and if there is even a remote chance of some interaction, on comes my buff – the remainder of the time it works as a pretty funky headband which soaks up my sweat – but this is me. We do have a duty to follow the rules. They have been put in place for our benefit – its always best to remember this.

3. A few days at a time. Remember we took a few months to build the skills for strength, flexibility, agility and co-ordination – it gave us a renewed perspective on our strengths and weaknesses. They are all complementary – strength, flexibility & conditioning is an important component of performance – so this time around – keep it in mind. Instead of banging out mindless miles – please keep specific days for the other activities to enhance your body condition and avoid injury.

4. Finally – never forget why you started this in the first place – it was for the joy of the activity – trust me there will be no events anytime soon – so take your time to enjoy the activity – to build that base mileage, enjoy the weather, smell the flowers, breathe in the fresh air and sometimes just get overwhelmed by the beauty of everything around us – the only way it is sustainable is if you enjoy it.

5. Do not underestimate the power of base mileage. Start with smaller time-based goals building towards mileage based goals. Yes, there is muscle-memory but the last few months have led to de-conditioning – give it at least a few weeks to get conditioned before trying to jog out too many kms – even a car is sent for servicing – why not be kind to our body which allows us to perform so many activities.

6. Continue with a disciplined life – have a method to the madness.

7. Remember to REST

8. Enjoy a slightly slower pace of life.

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