Kiddipedia
While I’m sure we all had good intentions to stick to our daily online workouts during our first round of isolation, I have no doubt many of us would have been struggling without having incidental exercise opportunities, with our time taken up home schooling the kids and of course with more temptation to stress eat all the snacks in the house. Now that some of us are heading into a second isolation, here are some tips to help you get into shape and stay there.
Hybrid workouts
There are benefits to both cardio workouts and resistance training. Cardio is great for burning fat and working on your cardiovascular health, while research shows that strength/ resistance training can help you burn fat for up to 38 hours post workout, particularly if weights are involved.
Therefore, if you are short on time I am a big fan of a hybrid workout, which essentially means you are doing two different types of workouts within your workout timeframe. For example, at Flow Athletic we do 30 minutes spin x 30 minutes strength OR 30 minutes strength x 30 minutes yoga. If you only have 45 minutes, do 22.5 minutes of each.
If you are looking to lose weight I would go with the cardio/ weight training combination to get the quickest results and don’t be afraid of using weights as weights can help you burn fat even at rest as per the stat above. You can do this type of workout from You Tubing it, or Flow Athletic have lots of workouts running all day and most are 30-45 minutes so you can choose two different style workouts to create the hybrid experience.
Diet
This is the obvious one. Your diet will have the most to do with you losing the corona kilos so I suggest you be strict with it for at least 3 weeks to help you create a healthy habit and kick the sugar cravings (if you have them).
While most of us will need to be healthy for more than 3 weeks to get the results we want, 3 weeks will help you build a habit so hopefully if you have a treat after that now and then you won’t get the same cravings that you had before.
Top tips
– Make sure half of your plate green. Not only are green veggies full of antioxidants and micronutrients, but they are also a good way of filling up without all the calories
– Add protein to your meals. Protein is great for helping you build muscle (the more muscle you have, generally the faster your metabolism) and it keeps you fuller for longer
– Consume healthy carbs such as brown rice and sweet potato, but not too much. It is unlikely you will need to have carbs at every single meal unless you are training for a marathon. I would have them for breakfast and then either lunch or dinner. Stick to protein and greens for the other meal
– Beware of oils. Often if we are using too much oil we add an unnecessary amount of fat into our diet. Beware of how much oil you are using
– Try to avoid snacking and stick to 3 meals a day. If you need a snack aim for low sugar fruit like a green apple or berries, a healthy protein shake or a handful of nuts
Make sure you get some sleep
Consistently getting less than 7 hours sleep per night has been linked to weight gain. Why? Because it increases the stress hormones which in turn increase your hunger, appetite and cravings for calorie dense food.
Make sure you factor in sleep. As a parent I know that many of us don’t factor that in.
Prioritise your health and make it work for you
As a parent, so many things can get in the way of you taking care of yourself, but it is an important thing for you to prioritise.
I would suggest you pencil in your workouts and have an idea of what you are going to eat for the week in advance. For example, if you know you drop your kids off a daycare at 8, sign up to a gym nearby so you can do right after. Or if you drop them off and go to work, find a gym near work that you can go to in your break. Also have an at home option that you can do if that fails AND if you are one of the unlucky few to end up back in iso
For your food, if you are prone to just grabbing whatever you can when you can get when you are hungry, think of healthy meals and ingredients that you would eat and make sure you have some stocked up in your fridge. Preparation is the best way of ensuring success. So make a plan, have a backup plan and make sure you do your best to get it done.
Ben Lucas, Director of Flow Athletic, dad of two, trainer to Erin Holland, Sammy Robinson and Talitha Cummins
To view on YouTube:
You may also like to read:
Benefits of having a fit and active parent
Activities to do with children while in isolation
