‘Exercise is so much more than just pushing out reps’

Well, this year was a bit of a curveball, wasn’t it? Our plans, goals and lives turned completely upside down overnight, and we had to accept that some things just weren’t meant to be in 2020.

But when it comes to exercise, I think we’ve all made progress – and it’s important to celebrate that as the year comes to a close.

From waiting in anticipation to take advantage of our daily walk allowance to clearing space in our spare room to join classes on Zoom, we embraced the value of exercise in our lives this year.

Maybe it was a way of passing the extra time; maybe it was to combat the aches of sitting at a makeshift home desk; maybe it was simply just an excuse to leave the house for an hour (guilty as charged!).

Whatever the reason, many of us found that movement, in any form, helped us to feel better about life – and I think that this is one thing we might actually want to take with us into 2021.

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Read more: ‘Creating an exercise schedule that suits your new normal’

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Of course, exercise also became a bit of a sore spot for some of us.

Gym-goers may have felt challenged by the restrictions of lockdown after lockdown; unless we happened to have a fully-equipped home gym in our garage, a lack of weights left lots of us feeling as though we hadn’t made any progress towards our goals.

But instead of berating ourselves, I think we should rewrite those goals – just because we didn’t hit that target deadlift, or row a new PB, it doesn’t mean we haven’t achieved anything.

If we threw ourselves into online classes, there’s a strong chance we gained skills other than strength, from agility to power (and the ability to annoy our neighbours with our antics!).

Of course, all of these will help us hugely when we can get back on the barbell. But even if you didn’t go crazy for computer-based exercise, there was still plenty to be gained.

Taking time to rest is never a bad thing, and some of us probably needed a good reason to give ourselves time to recover from a hectic lifestyle – something our bodies will only thank us for later.

And don’t stress about losing strength, either; while it can feel as though our gains are totally gone, our muscles are incredible at remembering what we’ve taught them, and will easily regain strength once you get back into routine.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wl5hN8NA71U

But the thing we were most impressed by at F45 this year was the resilience of our members.

Our little community adjusted so well to the ever-changing situation and kept supporting each other, even from afar. That was the most important lesson of all; exercise is so much more than just pushing out reps.

It’s stress relief, it’s enjoyment, it’s spending time with friends, it’s feeling empowered. And I don’t know about you, but I can’t wait to get more of all of those things as we get back into the swing of the gym next year.

Jess Brown is head coach at F45 Bristol Central. Find out more about F45 at www.f45training.co.uk/bristolcentral or follow them on Instagram, @f45_bristolcentral

Main photo: JMP

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