3 People Who Will Benefit from Not Being Able to Go to the Gym

We are smack dab in the middle of an unprecedented time for all of us thanks to Covid-19: people are being asked to stay at home except essential travel, some cities are on full lock down, sports have all been cancelled/postponed, bars and entertainment venues are closed, toilet paper is in short supply (for whatever reason), but worst of all, THE GYM IS CLOSED.
 
What are you going to do without being able to workout or train for your sport?!

Well, let me tell you, all is not lost.
 
If you are one of the following three types of people then this time away from the gym or from your sport may be just what your body is asking you for.

You’re a fitness enthusiast.
 
You are someone who loves to go workout to stay in shape or loves the way it makes you feel, but you aren’t necessarily trying to set personal records or train for a competition.  If this is you, then you probably haven’t been tracking your workouts much, aside from knowing what exercises you do on what days or maybe what sets and reps you did during your last workout. 
 
In this case, having to take a break from your normal gym routine will actually help you reach your fitness goals. Most likely you don’t have the same equipment at your house that you have at your gym which means you will have to come up with a new workout regimen during this time of social isolation. Whatever new routine you choose will help to stimulate positive changes in your body by providing a novel stimulus.
 
Our body is highly adaptive to change, but it usually takes a few weeks to notice those changes. So while you’ve been diligently going to the gym working out day-in-day-out, your body has stopped adapting.
 
By having to workout at home doing different forms of exercises is going to give the body the new stimulus it has been craving which will lead to new muscle growth! Likewise, once this quarantine is over you will see the same effect.
 
After a few weeks of working out at home, going back to the gym, even if you go back to those same old workouts, will be a new stimulus for your body which will lead to more new muscle growth!

You’re a competitive lifter.
 
If you’re a competitive weight lifter, powerlifter, Crossfitter, or bodybuilder then you probably need this break from the gym and your usual training. You’ve most likely been hammering away at certain exercises, lifts, or movement patterns for weeks or months on end in an attempt to add weight to the bar, muscle to your body, or shave seconds off of your WOD.
 
Many competitive lifters suffer from overuse injuries because the sport is so specific. You have to be great at certain movements to excel, and getting good at a movement requires practice and repetition. What does that mean?

That means doing rep after rep after rep of the same movement pattern. Performing rep after rep, day in, day out, week after week, month after month is a recipe for injury. That injury could be serious or it could just be a nagging ache or pain that seems to never go away.
 
The solution to that recipe for injury is variety.
 
Unfortunately, many competitive lifters don’t have enough variety in their training programs. Maybe you do your best to change rep schemes or maybe you don’t have an expert coaching you or programming workouts for you, but without some variation in your training you are on the road to an injury.
 
This is especially true if you have a movement dysfunction, strength imbalance, or compensatory movement strategy you may or may not be aware of.
 
Now that your gym or Crossfit box is closed you are going to have to train at home. Some competitive lifters have a squat rack, deadlift platform, or other weight equipment at home, but most don’t have that luxury and will have come up with some different workouts that you can do at home.
 
That is just fine because your body needs a break from those exact movement patterns you have been doing for the past few months. Once you get back to training at the gym after all this social isolation is over you are going to feel better than before, that nagging ache or pain will be gone, and if you’ve trained intelligently at home you will notice that you won’t have lost much performance either.

You’re an athlete.
 
In today’s society, there is more and more specialization in sport for young athletes. This is a good and a bad thing. Similar to the competitive lifters above, if you’re an athlete you have to play and practice your sport to get better at it. That’s a fact.
 
However, if you are a single-sport athlete who is practicing or playing all year round then you are doing certain movements over and over again which will lead to overuse injuries.
 
Some athletes are more susceptible to this than others. Baseball players are the most likely candidates to experience an overuse injury due to the fact that throwing the ball and swinging the bat is always done the same way every time. 
 
This time away from your sport will do your body good by allowing it to rest, which will allow overworked tissues to heal and recover. Healing and recovering properly is something that your body probably hasn’t had a chance to do over the course of the year round sport schedule especially if you’re a single-sport athlete.  That is, unless you are under the close supervision of an expert coach or trainer.
 
So relax and allow your body to recover, but stay active. Go out and play games, different sports, ride a bike, hike, or whatever.  Your athletic career isn’t in jeopardy because you can’t practice like you usually would be right now. Take a break from your sport specialization, your body will thank you, and your longevity in your sport will increase. If you choose to keep training, taking this time off would be a great time for you to work on overall athleticism including strength, speed, and agility training.
 
Make the most of this break from your typical workout regimen or practice schedule. Once all of this Covid-19 stuff passes, you may be surprised by the fact that once you get back to the gym or practice field you’re not that far off track. Heck, you may even be better than you were before the quarantine!

If you are struggling to find a good home workout or training routine then take a second and fill out the form below.  I will reach out to help keep you on track to achieving your goals and dreams!
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