Most health advice can be boiled down to simple behaviors,like exercising, eating a balanced diet and getting good sleep.

During a pandemic like COVID-19, these actions are especially crucial for maintaining your physical and mental well-being. But social distancing & isolation complicates things. How are you supposed to eat right when you’re constantly snacking throughout the day? How can you work out when you’re stuck up at home all day ? How can you sleep when you’re anxious about, well, everything?

A Powerful Phrase comes to mind: “CONTROL THE CONTROLLABLES”

This phrase is often used by athletes, but you can apply this philosophy to your daily life during this COVID 19 Crisis. Basically it means you choose to focus on what you can control. You opt for this route, rather than worrying about what you can’t control.

Example: You can control what time you get out of bed tomorrow morning at you, you can control what to do with your first few hours but unfortunately you can’t really control how many are going to test positive tomorrow for the Covid-19 Virus!!

So what’s the point worrying about that?? 

All you can do is focus on YOURSELF. If you are physically and mentally in tune you can then be your best-self for your close family & friends in this difficult time. 

So I am going to share my Top 5 Tips you can implement to make sure you feel in control of this disruption.

Tip 1: Maintain a Routine

We are creatures of habit and when our routine is suddenly disrupted, we go through several emotions such as helplessness, despair, anger, and frustration. In order to get back control, you’ll have to mimic your previous routine as close as possible. If you usually wake up at 6 a.m., then continue that same routine. If you like going for a walk/jog before work, then continue that routine (of course within the 2km zone). If you get dressed up for work, then you should still do the same. Otherwise, if we wake up at 11 a.m., not work out, not get dressed, we start to feel out of place.

For those who have kids, keeping the same routine will be critical for your children; otherwise, they will perceive time at home as if it were time off and not be motivated to learn & develop. This will make it harder for you to help them stay on track in finishing their school work.

Tip 2: Don’t Use Extra Time to Work

One of the biggest mistakes people do when they work from home is to try and work more, ” I must be Busy”. I found myself guilty of this in the first week and still struggle. I didn’t know what to do with the extra time and, as a result I found myself trying to find work, but i wasn’t being very productive and I started to get frustrated.

Create time boundaries and use that extra time to do something else. Read, listen to a podcast, play with the kids, make a puzzle or do some gardening.

Tip 3 Exercise Using Your Body-Weight.

Using your own body weight with a circuit-type program can be an effective way to maintain strength and aerobic health in a short period of time. Bodyweight workouts can incorporate a variety of movements that don’t require equipment, including:

• Burpees
• Squats
• Lunges
• Press-ups
• Yoga

Remember that with any exercise program, you should gradually increase frequency, intensity, and duration to avoid overuse injuries. If it hurts, stop doing it.

4:  Stay In Touch WIth Your Fitness Community Online.

Whether you’re a competitive athlete or a weekend warrior, stay in touch with your friends and teammates through appropriate social media channels. Consider sharing your thoughts about this situation and hopes for returning to normal activity as soon as safely possible.

Consider Online Challenges like a press-up challenge : SEE 10, DO 10 and PASS IT ON.

Be mindful not to spend too much time online needlessly scrolling and reading all about the doom and gloom. Use it to interact with friends, watch funny challenges and find tips for your workouts.

5 – Eat Good Food

It can very easy when your out of routine to fall into ‘ Christmas Holiday Mode’. This can mean eating more junk food (my biggest weakness!!!) and having a couple of glasses of wine every evening.  Unfortunately this will disrupt your sleep, your energy levels and your motivation to work and  exercise.  So in moderation try to stick to normal eating habits. When this all settles, you don’t want to be in a worse physical and mental state worse than when it started.

As I said “CONTROL THE CONTROLLABLES” and everything will be ok. 

Those are my Top Five tips, I hope they help.  Please be safe and as always any questions please contact us here at Physio Performance.