Thursday, November 5, 2020

Finding Fitness and a New Normal

There is so much chaos and unrest in the world right now. So much is happening, but at the same time it can feel like everything is on pause. It is such a strange situation. It is so hard to know how to navigate your daily life and what the best method is for creating a new normal. And even the act of creating a new normal can be a tough thing to grasp mentally. It is understandable to just want to "get by" until things get back to actual normal, but with no expectation of how long that could be, it is not going to be entirely possible to stay in limbo.

Many things have had to take a back burner during these stressful times. In particular, in my case at least, is fitness. The last thing I wanted to do is stress my body in addition to my mind. The fact that it was more challenging to even access in light of social distance was a great excuse, but really had no bearing on my own reluctance to seek out exercise endeavors.

If that is one of the factors for you, however, there are many ways around that. And while it was nice (nicer than the alternative) to get an escape from reality during the early months of this pandemic, now I just can't keep ignoring the pull (or push rather, I am certainly not drawn to this, I have to give myself a shove) to work on my health and my body. My state is, ignorantly, in stage 3, so fitness facilities are open. Still, I feel it unwise to patronize them. And, it is also less convenient than just working out at home.

There are only 2 real drawback to working out at home, in my opinion. The first is, since you are not in a space dedicated solely to fitness, it is easier to cut the time short, or to make excuses to put it off. However, it does eliminate some excuses as well, like "by the time I drive each way, I won't have enough time to workout to make it worth while" and "I can't leave the kids "or pets, etc)". The other drawback, and the more valid one, is the lack of equipment that being at home presents.

Not everyone has the space or the finances to fill their home with workout machines. Thankfully there are some options that are small and quite affordable compared to large machines, like the BP5. It is a system of go anywhere workout bars. It's a resistance band workout method. Not only is it easy to store out of the way when not in use, it can travel. Not everyone works out only at home. And some people split time at more than one residence. The BP5 is great for work or vacation. It is so easy to use and does not require a power source or anything to be assembled.

So there are always excuses and there are always solutions that counter those excuses. And it is great to do that. Setting and reaching goals is awesome, and having the right tools makes all the difference, but no matter what, just do what you need to do to get through it and live the best life you can right now, instead of waiting for something else.