The Coronavirus has a lot to answer for. All of a sudden, we are forced to stay at home and completely lose our normal routines. Getting dressed, normal mealtimes and exercise seem to go out of the window along with many other things. How on earth can we be motivated to get out of bed, get dressed, eat correctly and exercise when we are not going anywhere or doing anything?

Firstly, try to see this extra time that you now have as an opportunity to improve on your eating and your exercise. Simple changes such as switching processed foods for fresh, whole foods and adding in just 10 minutes of exercise a day can make a huge difference. The last thing that we want to happen is to emerge from this lockdown with unhealthy excess weight, having no energy and eating unhealthily! Flip it and let’s be healthy, toned and full of energy!

Make sure that you are getting up at your normal time and getting dressed. Plan your meals ahead of time so that you either prepare them in advance ready to cook quickly or you have all your ingredients and look forward to spending the time preparing and cooking as you go. We’ve been playing about with ingredients and discovered lots of healthy, delicious new meals that we haven’t tried before! Read our blog on ‘recipe ideas to keep you healthy during lockdown’.

So, let’s get back to being motivated to exercise. This can be a tricky one if you are feeling sluggish or a little down or you’ve lost your mojo, but hopefully we can help to get you moving.

I have had a bit of a revelation during lockdown involving one little word ‘get’! Simply change the word ‘have’ to ‘get’, so for example, instead of saying ‘I have to exercise’, say ‘I get to exercise’. This applies to many different things and totally changes your outlook. Such a simple thing but the motivation that this has given me has been huge!

Tell yourself that you are looking forward to exercising and say to yourself ‘I can do this’. Find something that you enjoy doing whether that’s a Zumba class – hot and sweaty with great music, or a Yoga class – a little gentler but still a great workout. If you enjoy it, you will look forward to doing it. Check out our blog on ‘fun ways to exercise during lockdown’.

Make sure that you get changed into your fitness gear when you want to exercise, even though you are not leaving the house. This is important psychologically as you are getting ready to work out. It also means that you change out of these clothes when you have finished, so exercising becomes a definite activity with a start and a finish, rather than sliding off the sofa, doing a few crunches, and then sitting back down.

Remember to take small steps. If you are not used to exercising, do not suddenly try to do an hour’s full workout. Build up slowly. The time you have now during lockdown is about small changes to get you moving and to feel fitter, it’s not about training for a marathon. Set yourself goals that you can achieve and change these as you reach them. If you decide you want to be 3 sizes smaller and be able to swim the channel in 2 months, you are setting yourself up to fail. Setting small goals that you can reach gives you a sense of achievement and satisfaction and the determination to carry on to your next goal.

It’s hard to exercise on your own, so join in a live class. We stream classes at 10am every morning, including Yoga, Zumba, BodyBlast and targeted workouts, and these are saved so that you can join in at any time of the day. They are great fun and you are interacting with other people. You could also try our ‘Toned in 10’ workouts which are in nice 10-minute blocks meaning you can do 10 minutes of arms or add it to other ones to make a longer workout. We have our New ‘Busy Beginner‘ Programme launching TODAY in our facebook Group – simply join in all of this by signing up to our TonedIn10 Membership here.

Get your favourite body pumping music on. Music is a great mood booster and can affect the way you feel so turn up the beat for your workout.

Plan a healthy snack or meal for after your workout. It’s something to look forward to which will motivate you to put more effort into your workout. Just make sure that it is healthy and not chocolate or crisps ????. Have a look at our blog on ‘healthy eating during lockdown’.

Make sure that you have rest days between the days that you exercise to give your body time to recover and your muscles time to repair. These days are as important as the days that you exercise. If you are doing light workouts, you should still have one day’s complete rest a week. Also, make sure that you listen to your body. If you are too tired, then you should take a break and if you have any pain, stop exercising and wait till you feel better. Do not push yourself too hard as you could cause an injury. We want you to stay motivated and there is nothing more de-motivating than having an injury and not being able to exercise.

Make sure that you are drinking plenty of water to keep yourself hydrated. This is also necessary as your brain gets confused between hunger and thirst and you don’t want to be consuming unnecessary calories if you are just thirsty.

Remember, there are no quick fixes. Exercise is a journey and with the right mindset, it’s a journey you can enjoy.

Exercise is as important for your mental health as well as your physical health. It boosts your mood, relieves stress, helps with depression and anxiety, improves your memory, you will feel more relaxed, positive and will sleep better. You will also feel more mentally alert and have better concentration.

So, what more motivation do you need? Let’s get moving and enjoy all the benefits that exercise offers.

Much Love,

Caroline & Hannah xx