Thursday 16 April 2020

HOW TO KEEP FIT DURING ISOLATION


The first and, admittedly, slightly selfish thought that entered my head as lockdown took hold and all gyms shut their doors for the foreseeable future was “HOW THE HELL AM I GOING TO SURVIVE WITHOUT BARRY’S BOOTCAMP?!”.

As all my friends will tell you I am a bit of a Barry’s Bootcamp maniac. The high intensity work out, which is consists of 30 minutes of running on a treadmill and 30 minutes of weight and floor work, has kept me sane and made me the fittest I have ever been ever since I started going in 2018.

Going there was as much part of my weekly routine as showing up to work on time, and a slight sense of panic went over me when I realised that this was just not going to be possible for a while.

BUT we as humans are resourceful and resilient little things and with the wonders of technology, amazing Barry’s trainers who have kept spirits up even without the red room, and me braving the great outdoors for running (and realising I actually bloody love it), I have managed to establish a routine that is proving so, so crucial in these times where nothing is certain and a way to release those endorphins has never been more important than now.

It takes a little more imagination and motivation to keep fit during isolation but I hope my below tips will help a little - together we can do this and come out of this all stronger and fitter than ever!!!


GET OUTSIDE, RUN & SET YOURSELF GOALS!


I have to admit I have never been a big fan of outside running, in fact pre-Barry’s my last outdoor run was a mere 15 minutes long before I gave up. Having very much grown to love running on a treadmill through Barry’s and of course not having access to one for the foreseeable future however, I thought it was time to revisit running outdoors and to my own surprise I absolutely love it!

In fact I have made my daily run very much part of my routine and I would recommend everyone getting out there first thing in the morning and do the same. I know, I know, that is asking a lot motivation wise but set yourself a goal. I have always been an endurance runner so for me 5km didn’t prove long enough, so I started off with 10km per day as a goal, with the aim to improve on my distance week to week and you can do the same even if you start out on 3km, it’s the improvement that matters!

Having a goal alone is a massive driver to get you out of the house every day and will push similarly mentally and physically as going to somewhere like Barry’s would. For me it was key to find a good running route that is easily adjustable to add distance as your running improves, don’t go where all the runners in London or wherever you live are going to (the canal for example in East London is a total NO GO if you care about social distancing as you are fighting for space with cyclists, dog walkers and families, seeking the serenity of the canal but really making it not serene at all) so do a bit of research, maybe going on a long walk to see where is good.

I don’t actually mind doing the same route every day as you can really see how you progress and for me I slowly went a bit further every day and every week! There will be days when your running is not up to par and your legs will feel like filled with led, but for me the distance challenge, even if it just meant matching my standard 10km or improving by a couple of 100 metres, always got me out of the house and honestly for my hour of running I get to forget all the crazy things going on at the moment.

A good soundtrack is also key which is why I created a pretty good playlist, cobbled together from my favourite tracks at Barry’s which I hope will get you pumped. As I said my initial assumption of hating outdoor running turned out wrong and you won’t know if it is really as bad as you think it will be until you get yourself out there and try for yourself! We have the privilege of having a daily run so make the most of it!!!



JOIN THE COMMUNITY EVERY DAY WITH BARRY’S UK INSTA LIVE WORKOUTS


Barry’s UK has done an amazing job keeping the community spirit alive, even without the red room, and most importantly have found a way to keep us all fit and sane for free which is just amazing!

They are doing 4 live IG story workouts every day, based around the usual Barry’s training approach (Monday full body upper focus, Tuesday full body lower focus, Wednesday full body upper body focus, Thursday full body ass and abs focus etc. etc.).

Each session is 30 minutes long, basically like the floor part of the usual Barry’s workout, and the sessions are spread across the day (during the week 8:20am, 9:30am, 12:30pm and 6:40pm and slightly adjusted at the weekends) which means one can definitely fit a daily one in, not like we all have bursting diaries anyways!

I tend to do Anya’s 8:20am class every day during the week after my run and though it may not be as intense as some other online workouts (more on that later), they are always great way to start the day. Even better if you didn’t manage to get your hands on some weights, I was lucky to source some right at the beginning of lockdown but right now it is near impossible to find any going online unless you want to pay £100 for a pair of 5 kilo dumbbells, as the workouts are designed to need no equipment other than a stack of books or sometimes a towel which everyone has at home!

Even if Barry’s or that sort of workout usually scares you this is a great way to get your muscles going and the energy of every workout always lifts me up so give this a go, it’s not as scary as you think and hey maybe I will even see you in the red room when it’s back open for business!




GET 1 TO 1 (SCREEN) TIME WITH THE QUEEN OF BURN SAMANTHA STONE

Sam Stone is one of my favourite Barry’s instructors because of her always positive and encouraging attitude and fantastic programming, which is why I was super excited to hear that she was going to start running a daily 45 minute class. Again, these are based on the Barry’s days in terms of focus but here you really get a burn and each day is designed to really make you work hard!

Bands and weights are useful here as Sam works with them but also not essential and she has managed to built a fab little community around her with areally personal training approach that make each session a real pleasure (and seriously sweat inducing) and like having a PT in your living room.

Each class is £5 and can be accessed through her site but for me it is TOTALLY worth the money, especially if you love really hard core barre style exercises that she manages to make even more glut burning!



ACCESS A LIBRARY OF CLASSES AT FRAME LONDON

Now as much as I love the Barry’s style floor work, it’s also good to mix things up a little once in a while and for £10.99 Frame London lets you have unlimited access to their library of pre-recorded classes.

These were all filmed pre-lockdown and are super good quality and really make you feel like you are at one of the proper Frame studios! The range of classes they offer is amazing with lots barre options, pilates and HIIT classes of varying lengths but I particularly adored the super fun but also sweaty 80’s aerobics workout (Isaac the instructor will get you in a good mood even after the most rubbish self isolation slump day), the super hard core Box Fit class, a great one for balled up aggressions, as well as the Total Body workout which very much delivers what it says on the tin.

It’s so good to have this vast range of classes at your 24/7 disposal and has for me rescued a pretty rubbish day more than once. There will be a class or five for everyone’s liking and I can’t recommend this clever way of dealing with the closure of gyms enough!


WALK!!!

Put your favourite podcast on and walk! I love walking anyway, during none Corona times I always walked to and from my office every day (45 minutes each way), but now is the time to embrace long walks to get your legs moving and also to give your mind a break.

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