Fat Loss and Performance in Lockdown
When lockdown started on 20 March 2020, it was looking pretty bleak for many in the fitness industry and of course our members and clients at Club 300 who love to just shift some weight around. Lets face it – there is no better feeling when it comes to exercise!
Yet, with this ‘new normal’, we have all been pushed to leave our comfort zones and adapt. One of the things we ask all new clients to do when they start with us, is to challenge old habits, and beliefs and be prepared to push these comfort zones now and then. It’s only right, then, that as a club and as coaches, we adapt and follow the advice we try to preach on a daily basis.
Running
Running, along with bodyweight training, has become the ‘new normal’ and we set out to provide online training for our clients as well as running challenges through Strava. Initially, I was actually really enjoying the change and being put under pressure to get in front of the camera for our live sessions. We are now nearly 10-11 weeks into lockdown and I was starting to feel overtrained and slightly demotivated.
Overtraining might seem a bit much.. I was having plenty rest days, eating well and generally sleeping well despite our 9 month old Lucy doing her best to put a stop to that! However the term ‘overtraining’ isn’t just about effort. It’s also about repeating the same things over and over, and the effect this might have on your mindset. I suppose it needs stimulated to keep things interesting. That’s where a plan or programme is essential for success, as well as a good coach, and an understanding of your own mindset.
We will come on to why programming and tracking progress is so important just shortly…
Pride in Programming
At Club 300, we pride ourselves on our programming given its importance, ensuring that our sessions change at least every 8 weeks with our Small Group Training sessions. With Lockdown, we have provided a huge variety of home workout sessions to provide different stimulus for our bodies and our minds. We have also put together a Strava Run Club for our members and started with programmed sessions for this too.
Success from Sticking to the Plan!
So as the weeks have gone, on I felt myself and others might be getting a little demotivated, which has led to me writing this blog. I wanted to share the benefits of a plan, sticking to it and why having tracked (which Strava makes easy for performance) has helped give me a huge lift.
I’m not going to go into the nutritional side of things in depth because that’s another blog all together, but lets just say since lockdown began I have been flexible in my nutritional intake averaging around 2700 kcals.
Training wise I have completed around 2-3 bodyweight workouts per week along with 3 runs per week. This, along with nutritional balance, has resulted in around 7lbs of weight loss and getting my 38 year old body back down to 10% body fat!
Result!
Due to a couple of poor runs, I started to think my energy balance and drop in body fat was having an adverse effect on my performance. Without a strong understanding of how it ‘works’, I could have easily started to think about giving up. I’ve seen clients over the years get to this stage and at times ‘fall off the wagon’ before having to start all over again.
I was wrong. Sometimes we just have tough sessions. But if we stick to the plan, don’t beat ourselves up about the bad sessions and listen to our bodies, the more in tune we become with the process, then results will follow.
Strava Breakdown
April 22nd 2020 v June 1st 2020
Being able to look back and compare average pace for the same route and average heart rate (HR) was fantastic. I mean, I knew the run on June 1st felt good but if I didn’t track I wouldn’t have the information to see exactly what following the programme has been all about!
Takeaway
If you are beginning to struggle with motivation, ask yourself why you started? For me it’s about health. Regardless of the equipment I have available, I will adapt and make the most of it and experiment (sometimes just to prove to myself that it can still be done!).
Regardless of the stress we are all under, we MUST make time for our health, family and our work but what’s essential is balance so you can be happy on all fronts.
The best way to achieve this… get a plan thats achievable and stick to it!
Thanks for reading and please let me know how your lockdown is going and if we can be of any help.
Mike Lindsay
Founder Club 300 Group
Ps. If you are looking to lose fat as part of your goals why not join us on our 6-week fat loss plan on our online platform All Together Online Training.
You can also follow All Together Online on Instagram and Facebook to keep up to date with our online product launches.