There is no telling how long the UK will be in lockdown, as it has been said on many occasions these really are unprecedented times. Many of us would never have experienced anything like this in our generation or even our parent’s generation for that matter. So its completely natural to feel a level of uncertainty or anxiety especially if you have had to face temporarily closing your business, or are particularly worried for friends and relatives which you cannot see.
As it stands we have to take each day as it comes and have faith in the kindness and humanity shown in the community when some days can look pretty gloomy. Now more than ever looking after your mental & physical health is pivotal to making your way through the next few weeks and months ahead, so we have some ideas to help you through isolation and keep your mind and body stimulated.
Some might be obvious but hey, give it a go anyway…
- Limit the amount of media you listen to every day. Some of the great mental health charities in the UK are suggesting limiting yourself to around 5minutes of news every day if you feel like it’s impacting on your health. If it gets too much change it over or turn it off!
- Find 15minutes a day to clear your mind, whether you meditate, pray or just listen to your heartbeat. Allow yourself to let go and focus on the moment. It may sound very hippy but this does wonders for the mind.
- Develop your online presence, now more than ever you have something which we don’t often have…Time, time to work on your brand, time to present the best version of yourself to your clients.
- Declutter- Follow people on Instagram who inspire you, keep your feed insightful and positive, delete those who question your self worth or elicit a negative reaction
- Further your education, If you are a personal trainer there are lots of CPD courses available on sites like https://www.premierglobal.co.uk/ where you can develop your skillset. Times are tough and if upfront payment is not a viable option, explore payment options the company has available to you. Just ask.
- Bake- Now we know some of the essentials in the stores can be hard to come by, but there are websites such as ‘BBC good food’ which feature recipes from bits which can be found in your cupboard or are less difficult to come by in the shops. https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/collection/storecupboard-baking
- Find a Podcast which holds your attention. Personally, we are always partial to a good Ted Talk, but here is a list of highly rates podcasts of 2020 to explore for yourself https://shapescale.com/blog/health/best-fitness-podcasts/
https://player.fm/featured/fitness - Learn a new skill or language. There are sites where you can learn beginner languages for free, such as https://www.duolingo.com/. Or if you have always wanted to learn how to do a handstand, now is the time! I bet there is a youtube video for that. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oLt5RXhch8E
- Read a book, whether you download it to your fancy phone or tablet, or enjoy the old fashioned feel of the pages, Amazon have their best sellers on hand to prompt inspiration if you are stuck. https://www.amazon.co.uk/Best-Sellers-Books-Fitness-Exercise/zgbs/books/270721
- Keep in touch with friends and family, with the rise of apps like Houseparty and Zoom it has never been easier to connect with loved ones. Oh, and you can play games too.
Of course, if all else fails there is always the classic Nexflix and chill for the evening. Stay healthy and Safe.
Thanks for reading
PT Workspace Team
PT Workspace Making Fitness Fun!
Coming up this September PT workspace is taking park in Rough Runner which is Inspired by TV game shows like Gladiators, Total Wipeout and Ninja Warrior with a 10k run throw in the mix. As abit of fun we have gathered a troop of incredibly talented personal trainers which work alongside us to form a team ready to take on the obstacle course in 6 weeks time. The aim of the game is to get through the obstacle course as fast as possible, but with many of these team assault courses its as much about teamwork as it is about winning. Of course we still want to win! So we will be putting our best foot forward over the next few weeks to make sure we have a fighting chance. Now this is not as serious as tough mudder and we are definatly not pretending it is, but sometimes you just have to have some fun!
We intend to…
- Exercise obviously beforehand, that’s what personal trainers do.
- Eat, Eat, Eat energy will be a must… Any excuse to eat pasta the day before!
- Never leave a man behind, teamwork makes the dreamwork.
- Possibly carry the marketing officer Hannah, because she is really short and might not make it over some of the hurdles.
- Run like we are being chased by a herd of Elephants.
- Smile as much as possible!
Like Willie Wonka and the chocolate factory we have two golden tickets left remaining, If you would like to join PT Workspace in our crazy excursion on Sunday 9th Of September please contact [email protected].
P.S If you are interested in finding out about personal training at PT Workspace you can contact [email protected]. In addition why not take a look at some of the personal trainers who already work with us https://www.ptworkspace.co.uk/trainers/.
On Your Bike!..
Summer is here and so is the lycra! London is a city of passionate cyclists and after this year’s successful Tour de France, we thought what better time to give you some top tips for training those legs to help reach your cycling goals. Whether it is to make your journey to work more pleasant on your body, or you have a big challenge you are working towards, then have a quick look at our short videos broken up into two posts to make sure you are developing the right muscles to help build strength and stamina like an athlete.
To start you need to understand a little anatomy (don’t worry we will keep it simple) of the muscles which are worked when you cycle. The motion of pedaling can be broken up into two sections, the Power Phase and the Recovery Phase. The Power Phase is where you pedal down towards the ground with the leg almost full extended (12-6 O’clock) and the Recovery Phase is lifting back up towards the bike again (6-12 O’clock) diagram below alongside a more in-depth explanation.
- From the top of the pedal stroke, a cyclist utilizes their hip extensors (gluteus maximus muscle) which initiates the Power Phase of the pedal stroke until point at 3 on a clock face
- From the point of 3 to 5 on the clock face the knee extensors activate: vastus lateralis and vastus medialis. Many cyclists associate this point with generating the most force for their pedal stroke; this is particularly prominent while climbing out of the saddle on steep gradients.
- From positions 5 to 6, plantar flexion occurs, thanks to the gastrocnemius which causes the toes to point outwards.
Diagram and bullet points via https://skyaboveus.com/cycling/Muscles-groups-used-while-cycling. Author Liam Hallan
In the video below we are helping to target Hip Extensors, Knee Extensors & Ankle plantar Flexors (Power Phase)
In the next video we will be exploring exercises which can improve the Recover Phase. Combine both workouts to receive maximum results from exercises.
P.S If you are interested in finding out about personal training at PT Workspace you can contact [email protected]. In addition why not take a look at some of the personal trainers who already work with us https://www.ptworkspace.co.uk/trainers/.