Fitter or Fatter?

Today we saw Captain Tom Moore complete 100 laps of his garden, so far raising more than £14 million for the NHS.

If a 99-year-old war veteran, who uses an aid to walk, can complete physical exercise every day, so can you: the business owner, the mum or dad, the stressed CEO or the anxious employee.

For those who have read my blog, Managing Your Stress Bucket, I lightly touched on the importance of exercise, particularly during this time.

Exercise, whether a 30-minute walk, yoga, HIIT workout or a run, is essential to ensure we keep our bodies healthy.

I know that I’m certainly enjoying my new office location of the kitchen! I’m not convinced that taking a short break every hour or so and raiding the fridge is something my post-lockdown self will be grateful for. However, the reality and the likelihood is that we are all consuming food and drink with less consideration of moderation.

And, it isn’t just about improving health of bones, muscles or your heart either. During this time, it is vital to support the health of your brain too.

Tom Higgs, the Head of Wellbeing for a large organisation, created the Office Athletes Guide to Wellbeing and I fully endorse his recommendations.

Other recommendations:

• PE with Joe Wicks, or any of his workout, great shorter sessions for seniors, workouts from your chair and tougher HIIT sessions too
• Variety of workouts from Energie Fitness. I’m a fan of their Shadow Boxing classes and HIIT workouts
• Yoga with Adriene
• 4 minutes of exercise, easy to repeat a few times in day if you desire (I like doing these when I first wake up to get the blood flowing)
• GoJauntly: an app and website for those who like to stretch their legs and explore their local area
• Not exercise related, but perhaps something to listen to while walking: Owning It: The Anxiety Podcast 

The message today is simple: get up and go! Go outside for a walk or a run, go find a space and do 20 minutes of yoga or, as seems to be a craze in our house right now, walk up and down the stairs 20 times!

Stay safe, stay well.