Grumpy Old Many in Lockdown

So in these strange times we find ourselves in all the gyms are shut and we have to practice social distancing. So how do we look after our health and maintain our strength and fitness?

Ben Shills at Peak Performance Fitness has started a new service so that his clients can keep on top of their fitness during this time when we can not train together. He asks for a list of any equipment we have at home and then devises three full body workouts a week. These are sent by email along with accompanying videos where applicable (who knew what a Turkish get up was?). After each workout we send him feedback including scoring each exercise out of 10 to let him know the effort involved.

I am lucky in that I have quite a bit of equipment at home, though not the same sort of weights I would be using at the gym. This means that Ben gets me to do AMRAP (As Many Reps As Possible) for a lot of exercises, rather than setting a number of reps. For example, at the gym I would floor press 24kg dumbbells for three sets of 10-12 reps; at home I use the heaviest weights I have (17.5kg) and do as many reps as I can for each set. Basically, you keep going until your arms won’t take any more, have a rest of about 90 seconds and do it again.

Does it work?

Yes. It gives a structure to the workout and also makes you accountable for your own fitness. The fact that you have to give meaningful feedback to Ben so that he can make adjustments for the next workout, means you have to honestly assess your own performance and fitness. It also means that you are not only accountable to yourself, but also to your trainer and you will strive for improvements all the time.

What is different?

I miss the gym. I miss the people, the chat, the sense of belonging. I miss seeing Ben, not only for the company and friendship, but also having that support and guidance that you can only get from a one to one session. He will always be watching my technique and form and correcting any errors I make, and showing me how to do new exercise (like the Turkish get up). And it can be a bit repetitive, although Ben does try to vary workouts week to week.

Going to the gym is not just about physical health, it is also about social and mental health. And this can not be replicated in a home gym. For that you have to develop other coping mechanisms.

In conclusion, it is not ideal, and it is not how I would want to train for ever. But I have to thank Ben for coming up with this method of keeping me and his other clients healthy and maintain (and maybe even improving) their fitness.