Whilst we’re part way into lockdown number three, and the initial new year’s motivation is starting to wear off, training is becoming ever more challenging for some of us. We’re all realising the importance of training regularly and the major benefits working out can have, both physically and mentally. So how do we stay motivated to train regularly in the midst of another national lockdown?
We decided to sit down with Terry Hollands, 9 time World’s Strongest Man Finalist, to get his advice on the matter and to find out his experience with training over lockdown.
#1 DISCIPLINE IS KEY
It’s commonly acknowledged that motivation is what get’s you started, but it’s discipline that keeps you going. Terry Hollands shares that he doesn’t necessarily stay motivated and experiences days like everyone else where he doesn’t really want to train. But it's all about discipline and consistency. “I know it sounds drastic to some people, but you have to stay disciplined”. He recommends the best thing to do is having a training programme you can follow consistently. This leads on to our next tip.
#2 A SOLID TRAINING PROGRAMME
We’ve all heard the importance of routine, especially in lockdown when you may be working from home and every day seems to merge into one. Terry advises that a training programme is beneficial in structuring your routine and knowing your sessions in advance. "As long as you stick to that schedule and stay disciplined with that, the rest almost falls into place".
#3 ADAPTABILITY
Being in another lockdown, adaptability is key. Luckily there are now so many resources online educating us on how to adapt exercises to suit home workouts. Keep your eyes out as we'll also be sharing more soon. Terry highlights that even in lockdown, just by adapting your training programmes and modifying a few exercises, you are able to still get in solid training sessions and stick to your same regime. “During lockdown, I do more barbell and axle work rather than using any machines and do some exercises I perhaps wouldn’t normally do, but my routine generally has stayed exactly the same”.
#4 SETTING SHORT-TERM GOALS
At the start of this year, I’m sure we all made resolutions surrounding our fitness and training goals. How many of you have already lost hope on these after not seeing any progress? Speaking to Terry, he believes that whilst having end goals in site is always beneficial, many people set unrealistic, huge goals. Here lies the importance of short-term goals, allowing you to stay motivated and working towards something. “If you surpass your long term goals then that’s great, and if you don’t, you’re still feeling positive because you've hit multiple short-term goals that you set for yourself”.
We spoke to Terry to find out his current goals:
In the long-term, Terry has is eyes on upcoming competitions and is training hard for those.
In the short-term, Terry’s focus is on deadlifting 1,000 pounds! “My short-term goal, for some point in the middle of this year, is to deadlift over 1,000 pounds, so 455kg. The most I’ve ever done is 450kg and this was a good few years ago. I think on a standard bar with standard places, there’s only about 7 guys that have deadlifted over 1,000 pounds, so I’d like to put myself into that category”. Watch this space...
#5 CORE EQUIPMENT BASE
Terry suggests that the more you can adapt to the current situation, and increase your equipment base as much as possible, the better. “I’d recommend getting some squat stands, a barbell, some weights and a bench. If you can get your hands on all them core pieces of equipment, it’s a good way to move forwards and allows you to train pretty much everything. And if you can’t, you can easily adapt your training programme to suit what you do have”.
Squat stands are built for home and garage gym set ups. They offer complete flexibility for your training requirements, allowing you to master compound lifts, including squats and bench press, with the independent and adjustable design.
Dumbbells are perfect for home workouts, whatever training level you are at. They allow you to build up all major muscle groups and perform a wide range of exercises. Adjustable dumbbells take this to the next level, enabling you to keep progressing your workouts whilst saving space as you only need one pair.
weight benches are an essential for any home/ garage gym. Adjustable benches further ensure correct workout positioning for a wide range of fundamental dumbbell and barbell exercises targeting all major muscle groups.
Comentarios