Regular physical exercise is beneficial for both the body and mind.
According to the World Health Organisation, it is important for people of all abilities and ages to be as active as possible during this pandemic.
And while gyms are currently closed as a result of the country’s level 4 lockdown regulations, finding ways to stay active at home remains important.
For sportsman and fitness coach Tebogo Mabusela, exercise plays a crucial role in protecting oneself against this pandemic.
As such, fun and innovative ways should be adopted in order to stay active while at home.
“It’s very important for people to be getting in some exercise during this time. And being active doesn’t always mean you have to do too much. You can still do your training in your house with the same chair that you’re sitting on, during your working hours,” he says.
Working out for mental strength
Indeed, the benefits of exercise are not only limited to the physical body. Exercise can also boost your mood, improve sleep and even help in dealing with depression and anxiety.
As the pandemic continues to be a stressful time for many, Mabusela strongly believes that working out at home can be helpful in this regard.
“Most people go to gym to relieve stress. With gyms closed like this, all that stress will be on your shoulders if you do not work out. So mental strength is linked to the physical. Now is the time to focus more on mental strength. If you’re not fit mentally, then you’ll obviously be physically challenged,” he says.
Making exercise a lifestyle
According to Bontle Sekhu, operations manager and head coach at Body 20 Kyalami Corner, exercise, even at a gradual pace, should be incorporated into one’s lifestyle as much as possible.
“We have to start small, even if it’s just walking. If we could make the effort to just park at a spot furthest from the entrance of a shopping centre when getting essentials,” she says.
Additionally, Sekhu emphasises the need to listen to one’s body and align your workouts with your life instead of pushing only to achieve a certain goal.
Fitness should not just be a goal but rather a way of life.
“A lot of people make the mistake of pushing others into doing something that they don’t believe in and that they can’t do, and then having them achieve that goal. They already have the mindset that from this point on, they’re not training anyone since they’ve reached their goal, it's done. That is why it’s very important to start small. See how much room you have for it in your schedule first, then work from there.”
Patience and eating right
Alongside regular exercise, Mabusela believes in the importance of eating food that will provide the body with all the necessary nutrients.
“People should avoid eating lots of starch because it is very dangerous. But also remember to not to starve yourself. The only thing you need to do is to just plan your meals. You must also avoid eating supper very late as some foods take time to digest in your system,” says Mabusela.
These are sentiments which Sekhu agrees with, as she further warns against expectations of overnight weight loss, which is often thought to be achieved through training more than necessary or eating less than required.
“The promise of losing an excessive amount of weight over a short period of time and generalise it across every single body type is false. I preach patience. At that point you are creating an expectation that everyone will lose weight, and when they don’t achieve that then it will become an issue on that other person’s part,” says Sekhu.
Some pointers to get you started:
• Follow a programme that consists of a warm up, main workout and cool down. For the main workout, if you are limited in terms of equipment and you only have a mat, you can do strength training that would be body-weight focused. For example, doing a squat for a certain number of repetitions and sets (rounds of those repetitions), anything between 1-6 sets, 12-15 reps. The sets will depend on the individual’s level of fitness, for example, beginners 1-3 sets;
• Plan your workout. A split-type programme usually works well. Perhaps do legs on the one day, your upper body on the next and a full body on day three. If you train three times a week, make sure you have a day to break in between; and
• Increase intensity of workout by increasing your reps and sets or/and adding by weights.
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