Oh, the strange times we live in. Damn near three months ago to the day of my writing this, my home state of California said to all gym goers: "NO SWOLE FOR YOU!" Meaning, no more gym time to get your fitness fix. All gym based fitness aspirations were to be put on hold until further notice. Some people embraced it as a way to discover new ways to exercise. Others went kicking and screaming into the night and can still be heard in the hallows cursing their lot in life. Matt Schifferle, Red Delta Project Founder, and I took a deeper dive into this on his podcast. Click here to head over to YouTube to have a looking listen to what we thought about this whole ball of cray cray. It was pretty insightful for those looking to create new fitness habits right now. Funny thing about us humans. We're a pretty resilient lot. I mean, if you need a prime example of this, simply watch "Independence Day." Its the perfect example if you think about it:
Aliens (in our case, a world wide pandemic) came down out of nowhere and kicked our global glutes for a while.
Then, we figured out a way to beat them to take our planet back (which ironically enough was to upload a virus into their computer system).
Two fellas go to the mother ship, drop off said virus with some bonus fireworks for good measure.
Then BLAMMO!!! HASTA LA VISTA ET!! The humans win and the movie pulls in enough box office bling to warrant a sequel.
Yes, this is my brain on quarantine. To further illustrate this, the other day I actually thought about what would happen if a radioactive human bit a spider. Would it leave the light on for me at a Motel 6? Would it be happy about saving a bundle on its car insurance? True story, and I'm not really all that ashamed of that kind cranial creativity. So, the gym, and potentially breaking up with it. The only thing you'd miss out on not going back would be seeing a 100lb Smith machine squat where the bar only travels 1/4" up and down like the user is on riding a jackhammer on a pogo stick. I mean, who doesn't love seeing this, AMIRIGHT? Instead of packing it in and deciding to keep your fitness by binge watching old Chicago Bulls games on ESPN ("The Last Dance" was AMAZING btw if you haven't seen it), people actually found their way. They discovered that what they were really getting at the gym, at its core, was simply movement, and with the right strategy, they could replicate their workouts at home just as well. Around the same time, the fitness industry seemingly minted 14,987 new home workout and bodyweight training experts (at least here in the states). If you couldn't find a workout, that was straight up internet operator error my friends. Back to the topic at hand, its ok to either break up with the gym for good, or be really cautious with your time frame going back. We really don't know how this whole Corona virus thing will shake out long term, so using discretion as the better part of valor isn't a bad idea. Now, I know one of the best parts of the gym is the community of people you get to see. That's huge, and as an extreme "E" on the Meyers-Briggs scale, I totally get it. One way I've found around that is to get 6-8 of us together on Saturday mornings for a ZOOMERCISE session. It isn't the same as being in the same room (and I'm not saying that it is at all a suitable pinch hitter), but we still laugh a ton (and the "punversations" alone are worth my time) and get in a good workout. We found a way to get some community, and I'm pretty damn grateful for my "Foul Mouth Fitness" weekend crew. See, much like the dinosaurs from Jurassic Park (which also featured Jeff Goldbloom btw), "life found a way." And you will too. It could be something as simple as recreating your fitness strategy with a new set of goals. My friend in fitness, and National Academy of Sports Medicine (NASM) Behavior Change Specialist, Jenn Hellickson from Kinetic Fix is someone who can help you with this. 5 Questions to Ask Yourself Before Starting a Post-COVID-19 Fitness Program
"As the globe creaks back to life, the fitness industry is following suit. Gyms are re-opening, group classes are resuming…and we’re gradually reemerging into a much different world – one where we evaluate everything in terms of risks and cost/benefit," says Hellickson.
"There may be a light at the end of the tunnel, but we’re certainly not out of the woods yet."
Want to know how bright that light is and the best way to navigate your way out of proverbial fitness foliage? Then you'll need to click here to head over the Kinetic Fix blog to find out!
Until then, if you live in the Silicon Valley, need a home fitness program, click here to contact me. We can get you going on an individualized online program that that works very well, and more importantly, is one you'll enjoy doing!