September 2020.- It’s been seven months since Covid-19 spread through our continent radically changing the lifestyle of millions of people. Between the physical activity decrease and food habit changes (due to opening restrictions to restaurants or the anxiety and stress of quarantine) a lot of people have seen how their bodies have noticeably changed.
The World Health Organization (WHO) suggests people should do physical activities like walking, riding a bicycle, dancing or doing yoga, as long as it’s in a way that doesn’t spread disease.
Now that more countries and cities are stepping out of confinement, there are more opportunities to go out again and move our bodies outside of our homes. Nevertheless, after being in lockdown for so many months resuming sports may be a challenging task. According to a study published in the Journal of Applied Physiology, two weeks of inactivity already leaves effects in the body.
Same way you are suggested to start your car a few times a week to keep it in optimal conditions, it is even more important for people to go out and move to benefit both their physical and mental health. Through its initiative MG Care, Maxi Ferres, physical trainer and ambassador of MG Motor gives us some tips to resume physical activities and not die trying.
Don’t go crazy. You have to take things easy. The trainer tells us that we should go from less to more. “Luckily there are many places to train outdoors, but we have to take things easy. If before the pandemic, a person would climb a hill or a mountain at a certain rhythm and now wants to resume that same step, it may end exhausted before time.” This may bring as consequence, that it plays against resuming exercise in the end. We shouldn’t get depressed but instead take consciousness that it is a process.”
Step by Step. “Even if you were doing activities or functional terrain tests at home, it is not the same as going back to being outdoors, even more so if you plan to climb a hill or a mountain”, Ferres comments. For those who use to go running or trekking the ideal is to start at a slower pace, for instance, to walk before running. If you use to train for an hour, start with 30 minutes and then slowly increase time, speed, or gradient.
Changing scenery. Another suggestion our Argentinian friend makes is “to drive your car and go train to the hills or another green area. It is very important to go to places that motivate you to train. The fact of changing what you see and where you are helps you clear your mind especially after being in the same place for so long.”, he adds. You can also take ropes, balls, or other implements in your car to make workout routines.
The basics. Since we’re spending so much time in our homes, there are some parts of our routines that we may forget when we go out, even when they seem like a basic thing to do. “Along with your mask, don´t forget to hydrate and apply sunscreen, something that we stopped doing for being indoors for so long”, Ferres adds.
Water at hand. Following the basics, hydration is very important so we must take a bottle of water wherever we go, either if it’s trekking or jogging. If you go out in your car you can leave it there, so it doesn’t bother you carrying it in your hands. “At home you can always have a glass of water but it is not the same outdoors, where the body reacts differently to rough changes in temperature.”
