Week 7 of Lock Down and I notice many of us are “Running out of Steam”

Before you start beating yourself up about it and wondering “What’s wrong with me?” – you are not alone. As a peoples person, I love to stay connected with the outside world and all of you. Lately, many of you have indicated that you are tired, gatvol, losing your mojo & frustrated to name but a few of the emotions & feelings you are experiencing. Guess what, me too!

Let’s justify this… (apart from the obvious)

  • When last did you have a full rest day? No training, no work, just pure me time
  • You have added in yoga, strength training, indoor biking, running or walking over and above your usual training?
  • You are working harder from home than you have ever worked in the actual office?
  • Not sleeping well? Tossing and turning, head spinning thinking about where to now or how are you going to finish that proposal or reach that deadline?
  • You are stressing about your house being dirty, your dishes & washing piling up and kids just dumping their stuff everywhere but where it belongs?
  • You are baking and cooking up a storm more than ever before and now carrying some extra weight and stressing about it?
  • You feel your fitness levels hitting a rapid decline almost as quickly as your motivation levels or the opposite…
  • You have doubled or even tripled your fitness levels since lock down to the point where you are scared of taking your foot off the gas?
  • You are ZOOMED out? Having to look your “best” and trying to remember not to stand up and walk around in front of your colleagues & boss in your underwear & slippers?
  • You are juggling home schooling, exercise, work, cooking, cleaning etc realising how much more appreciation you now have for teachers & nannies?
  • Etc etc etc – this list goes on

I get at least 7/8 out of 10 for the above, how about you?

Listening to a Webinar with Stormers coach John Dobson this week, it really struck home and I was reminded that even the tough at the top take strain. John admitted that after losing their last game before lock down to the Sharks, they were determined in lock down to stay strong and not lose hope. As hard as they tried, they realised at some point they needed a break to recharge and reset, but not having a fixed goal to work towards is making it even tougher.

Question is, are you running out of steam, because you have been working so hard on all and more of the points mentioned above, but there is no goal, there is no light at the end of the tunnel and nobody really knows when things will get better? Why not set YOURSELF (not your partner, kids, work) a SMART goal…

Specific – Measurable – Attainable – Relevant – Time based

It can be as simple as forcing yourself to only bake once a week and eat half and not all of the cake. To aim for a 10/21k run in 8 weeks (watch this space). To manage your weight and aim to lose X by Y date without stressing and obsessing about the numbers? To get in to a manageable, enjoyable and sustainable exercise routine? To switch off from work by latest 17h30 every day. To start your day with 20 min of meditation…

Just one goal and within a week or two you should start to feel recharged.

For those keen, next week we will be releasing our Mask Run Challenge as a K8 GOAL and I hope many of you will join us – details to follow.

A gentle reminder of our group strength and indoor bike sessions – if you have a bike, now is the time to invest in an indoor trainer and join us for some great workouts. With much higher effort levels and heart rates than you will get on the road and much less to worry about than being on the road, indoor training is the ideal solution to building  your winter bike fitness. Our strength sessions are a great mix of arms, legs & core exercises and and doable for all.

Stay safe, stay well, wear your masks and wash your hands

xx