Let's not sugar coat it, this absolutely sucks. Lockdown after lockdown after lockdown, the question we keep asking ourselves is 'When will get back to normal?'
Well, regardless of your beliefs, political or personal
The reality: this is kind of the new normal!
Even though being locked up in your house for 48 hours, 2 weeks, a month is unlike any normal we could even think to preparing for.
The Current Situation?
Financially people are struggling, physically people are struggling and mentally, well that's the great unknown right now, it's a number we can't generate.
Whether you 'think' you're mentally strong or sufficient, we're creatures of habit, we crave structure in some capacity. You'll have Jim who's up at 5am on the dot every morning, in the gym by 6am, done by 6:45, coffee with a sugar and almond milk by 6:55 then ready for work from there. Or you'll have Bob, works remotely, can log in whenever, wakes up when the sun wakes him up, stumbles into the gym when he's got a dull hour throughout the day! The point is regardless of the personality, both Bob and Jim crave somewhat of a routine, when these uncontrollable instances occur it makes us question, "Will this change the way I WANT to live my life?" and that can be scary!
You can have your views on what mental health looks like and feels like, but how I like to simply put it is "Is this version of me, make me feel like me" (Attitude, Mood, Excitement, Drive, etc. etc. the list can go on) and if the answer is simply, "No, I feel a little off" it could be a sign to take some steps in looking after ourselves.
That brings us to EXERCISING FOR OUR MENTAL HEALTH!
Uni
What the SCIENCE tell us: When we endure at least 20 minutes of low to moderate movement in a singular session our brain is able to tap in that special place where it begins it's release of hormones, peptides and ENDORPHINS. If you want to go down a rabbit hole here, the main two endorphins elevated during exercise are beta-endorphin and beta-lipotrophin. These two in particular are linked with 'entering an exercise based euphoria'. A hormonal (chemical) reaction in which mood is elevated, pain perception is altered and begins the release of numerous different hormones all have a particular affect on the brain.
What COMMON SENSE tells us: Log onto Instagram, see a 'The only workout you'll ever regret is the one you didn't do" quote? Good, because it's true. Pure 100% vanity (when we say it like it sounds selfish right) but again, it's 100% true! We do it for our appearance, it helps us lose weight, gain muscle, makes us fit, keeps us strong! Everyone has an personal goal they strive for with exercising and how GREAT does it feel when we see ourselves making progress towards that goal! How about social interaction? Over the years we've seen so many introverted personalities leave their comfort zone in working within a group fitness environment. We've seen extroverted personalities gravitate towards one another and begin and incredible friendship, all because they wanted to exercise! The list of reasons FOR greatly outweighs the AGAINST, in fact, I don't think I can think of any!
So there it is, simply put, keep moving for YOU
No matter what gym you may go to, how you like to exercise, Day1 is ready for your return and always here to help!
Stay safe!