As I’m writing this post, it’s been about 16 weeks since I last crammed myself onto a packed train and started my daily commute into the office. Oddly though, I find myself missing the commute and my old routine. Like many of you, I have found daily walks around my new town (I moved at Christmas) the highlight of my days, weeks and months. However, after a number of weeks with a daily commute of approximately 5 steps from my bedroom to my kitchen/lounge (yes, I did count this!), I felt like it was time to add in some more exercise and establish a new routine.
What have I done to #StayWell?
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I have started going to bed earlier (no more midnight binge watching of the latest Netflix/Amazon Prime hype).
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I have started trying to eat dinner earlier and at a similar time each day.
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I have also started waking up earlier, which means I can do some bits and bobs around the house or enjoy eating my breakfast on the balcony in the sun before I start work. I find this really breaks up the day and is more akin to the old routine I’d grown to love.
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At the beginning of March, I signed up to the gym. However, Lockdown quickly put a spanner in my plans to start actually going to the gym. Therefore, I had to come up with a new socially distanced (preferably outdoors) activity. After trying yoga with Binta (which I really enjoyed), I tried to start doing yoga in my living room, but I found it hard to get into a routine and the faff of moving the coffee table meant I rarely did this. Like many people, I also made some panic purchases (pictures below) which have hardly been used and are now hidden in a corner of my flat.
In the end, I settled on challenging myself to complete Couch to 5K.
Couch to 5K is a free app for beginner joggers/runners, which gradually aims to have you running 5km or for 30 minutes in 9 weeks. We all know the benefits that exercise has on both our physical and mental health, but I have also really enjoyed improving my running ability and the routine of getting outside and going on a run every other day. I really like the fact that there is a very clear programme to follow and that you can set yourself reminders on the app for your next run (no excuses!). As an extra bit of motivation, I got myself a sports watch so that I could track my progress. I also find that I easily reach my step, calorie and activity goals on the days where I run.
Apparently, I'm not the only one who thought Couch to 5K was a good lockdown activity and some 850,000 others have also downloaded the app during lockdown (https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-53242779). If any of you would also like to pick up some new exercise, and (like me) don’t know where to start, then feel free to download the Couch to 5K app and join me in my mission to run 5km in 30 minutes. If you would like to join in, just drop me an email or Skype message and I will put together a Jostle discussion group.