Weekly Recap 4/19-4/25/2020
We are back with our weekly recap. This quarantine thing is getting a little old for most of us and it can definitely be a rollercoaster of emotions. If you find yourself struggling a little bit this week, then keep reading on for some reassurance from the articles from Tony Gentilcore and Matt Ferrarra and Instagram posts from Jordan Syatt and Eric Cressey. They all stress to us to do what you can right now. This is a weird, stressful time and everyone is struggling. But it isn’t a time to quit either. Let’s do what we can and go from there. Keep reading for some information on what we can focus on right now.
Article of the Week
Now Is Not the Time to Guilt Yourself into Working Out by Tony Gentilcore
Tony Gentilcore puts into words how I think many of us are feeling right now. Even though many of us, especially us coaches, love training, it most likely isn't our top priority right now. Life is different. We are dealing with different life stressors and are having to manage our new "normals." And while everyone's situation looks a little different, everyone is dealing with some type of stress, anxiety, fear, etc. This means that training is not taking the front seat right now and THAT IS OKAY. Maybe it means that right now you are either focusing on walking once a day, doing a 10-15 minute workout instead of your usual one hour, completing a bodyweight workout 2x per week, doing 2 rounds of the workout instead of the prescribed 4, or switching out some of your least favorite exercises for ones that you prefer. Whatever it looks like, it is okay. There will be a time again when you can focus on and enjoy training and really push it and progress in the gym. It just isn't right now. Give yourself permission to do what you can and don't guilt yourself into trying to fit in the same type of workouts that you used to do. Fit in a quick workout when you can because a little bit of something is better than nothing, you will feel better with some type of movement (& yes, a walk does count!), or because you genuinely want to do it.
Drop the Excuses and Build Your Aerobic Base by Matt Ferrara at Rebel Performance
If you train with RTL, you have probably heard us talk about the importance of having an aerobic base for strength training. While aerobic work used to be looked down upon for killing all gainzzz, we now have a better understanding of how it can improve our work capacity, recovery, ability to handle stress and overall performance. Matt Ferrara goes into detail about how having a strong aerobic base can allow us to do more volume session to session, week to week, etc. More volume over time means more muscle and more strength and I don’t know any lifters that aren’t looking for those two things. And as Matt says, right now is the perfect time to improve this area of our fitness. Even though most people have little to no equipment right now, they can still improve their aerobic capacity through bodyweight circuits, or even running outside if that is your thing too. So while we may not be able to focus on increasing maximal strength during this time, we can still improve our overall fitness by focusing on aerobic capacity. This means when we are back in the gym, we will still be able to handle training volume and stress so that we can then focus on lifting heavy weights again.
Social Media Posts of the Week
Our Instagram post of the week comes from Jordan Syatt (@syattfitness). His message fits well with the article from Tony Gentilcore. For workouts, something is going to be better than nothing right now. 10, 15, or even 20 minutes may not feel like enough if you are used to lifting heavy weights for 90 minutes 5 times per week. But we are here to tell you that fitting in something is still beneficial. A 10 minute workout might be all you can do right now and that 10 minutes may be the best thing you can do for yourself all day. Maybe that 10 minutes helps you to start your day off on the right foot, gives you a break during work meetings, or gives you time for yourself during your baby’s nap time. I also know it can be really hard to get motivated to do a workout at home. Sometimes just telling yourself that you are going to move for 10 minutes leads to you to completing your entire workout for the day. Whatever it is, don’t discount what a 10 minute workout can do for you right now.
@syattfitness
“Hey.
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Happy Thursday.
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Listen.
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This is true now more than ever.
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There’s a logical fallacy among muggles that leads other muggles to believe if they can’t do a big, hairy, hour-long workout that’s wicked intense and makes you sweat like a One Eyed Hippogriff, it’s not worth working out at all.
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Bullshit.
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Something is better than nothing.
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Always.
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Literally.
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Always.
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I don’t care if it’s a 10sec hamstring stretch, 5min hop scotch or a quickie naked partner hip thrust.
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Something is better than nothing.
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Always.
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And more often than not, doing one small thing is enough to keep your motivation going so you keep crushing it tomorrow rather than falling off track altogether.
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Don’t give yourself an excuse to quit.
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Ever.
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It’s not worth it and you’ll never look back and be happy you gave yourself the easy way out.
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You will, however, look back and always be glad you held yourself to your own highest standard and did something rather than nothing.
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Also.
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If you have little (or no) equipment and don’t know what to do...
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I’m sending free home workouts, literally, every day to my Very Important Muggle (VIM) text community.
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Text me so you can be added to the list and get the workouts delivered straight to your phone: +1 (617) 249-7381.
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If you want more free workouts, you can get 101 free metabolic strength workouts at the link in my bio.
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If you want both the text workouts and email workouts...text me and click the link in my bio.
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#fitness #weightloss #fitnessworkout #workout #workoutmotivation #workoutroutine #liss #lisscardio #hiit #hiitcardio #hiitworkouts #hiittraining #classpass #barrysbootcamp #zumba #pilates #yoga”
Eric Cressey (@ericcressey) has the second Instagram post of the week. Going off from Jordan Syatt’s post, sometimes you aren’t in the mood to workout. You might be feeling down, stressed, or just unmotivated to get in a workout in your living room. But if you focus on just fitting in 10 minutes of movement, you may find yourself feeling good after that 10 minutes and go on to complete your entire workout for the day. It will most likely bleed into the rest of your day and what could have been a crappy day turns into a positive one.
