Hey there folks!
Just a quick note to everyone out there who’s already anxious about our current situation, and feels their anxiety rising even higher because they also can’t figure out a way to get a workout in:
Don’t stress.
See, here’s the thing… while it’s important to keep your fitness level up, for both your physical and mental health, part of this is making sure that you’re also not taxing an already stressed system beyond its capacity. In other words, you can – and likely should – find ways to stay active (both in terms of strength and cardiovascular health), but it’s not a time to be maxing out your efforts and intensities.
Have a look at this handy graphic summary:
Source: https://www.clubcardiosport.com/evenement/covid-19-sport
There are a lot of great overall recommendations here, but the tl;dr takeaways:
- For cardiovascular training, limit the duration to a one-hour maximum, if you would like to do more than an hour in the day do two sessions (separated by three hours of rest and hydration), and keep the intensity level to no more than 80% of your maximal heart rate.
- For strength training, keep sessions to a maximum of one-hour, don’t work with maximal loads or train to exhaustion, and avoid overly intense sessions.
Follow these guidelines to make sure that you’re not over-taxing the system and don’t be afraid to simply take a day off if you feel a little extra spent, even if it’s just mentally or emotionally. Lastly, continue to eat a balanced diet, wash your hands (extra) regularly for a full 20 seconds each time, and practice the social distancing outlined by the CDC and BC Health.
Chin up, shoulders back, and let’s help support each other as we all navigate these uncharted storms.
Be well, and be safe…
~Guy and Sasha
