COVID-19 Mindset

Look for the silver lining!

Everyone should have heard by now that the gym is closed for the foreseeable future (hopefully we will reopen March 30th). As fitness motivated individuals, this probably hits pretty hard, and I understand that it sucks. But it is best to not waste our energy focusing on things that we cannot control, and instead use this as an opportunity to better ourselves in other aspects of our lives. Three main areas I want you to focus on are spending time with your family, getting 7-9 hours of sleep every night, and nutrition.

Since everyone is either “quarantined” or practicing “social distancing” and you are probably stuck at home, this is a great opportunity to spend quality time with your family. Get some puzzles (the public library has a great puzzle exchange), play board games, watch movies together, or any other activity that will keep you entertained and playing together. Also remember to play with your furry friends! Still go outside and enjoy the outdoors – just because you are social distancing does not mean that you can’t leave your house. Go snowshoeing or cross country skiing, or just go for walks and get some fresh air. These are all GOOD things. And remember, you might just be helping a friend or loved one that is at risk.

Sleep should already be a huge priority for you, but now that classes are cancelled, you can really focus on your recovery. Morning class people – sleep in! Evening class people – go to bed earlier! If you can spend the next couple weeks practicing good sleeping habits, you will see an improvement in your recovery moving forwards when the gym is open again. Avoid watching TV or using your phone right before bed, don’t drink caffeinated drinks in the afternoon, do some stretching or yoga to calm down before sleeping, and go to bed early enough to ensure that you will get at least seven hours of uninterrupted sleep each night.

I know a lot of you already are making nutrition a priority and have seen some great results by sticking to a plan. Imagine the results you will see if you focus the energy you would normally give to a workout towards your nutrition. Take the time to plan out your meals for the week and prep most of them ahead of time if possible. Again, spending these two weeks practicing good habits will make them easier to follow in the future, setting you up for even more success.

And finally, the ultimate silver lining, when the gym opens again, we will be at our new forever home! The Quincy Centre has been great, but we are moving on to bigger and better things. This time off will allow us to spend more energy making the move to the new location and will hopefully allow us to have a 100% ready to go gym come March 30th. While this time is most certainly a challenge we did not expect, good things are still on the horizon.

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