Staying Active During the Corona Virus Lock Down

With the global threat of the COVID-19 Corona virus, several governments and States have pretty much ordered a lock-down as the preferred method for containing and preventing the spread of the virus. There is great value and success in this strategy. We do hope that citizens do follow the guidelines of their local Health Agencies and the World Health Organization (WHO) and make every effort to be safe. Protection is key and each individual must play their part in their own personal safety and that of their family and neighbours.

With that said, a few days ago you were busy with your normal routine of work/ school and going to the gym/training. Burning up those calories and eating your 3 meals plus your healthy snacks in between. However this week, no activity except maybe just your fingers on the keyboard or the TV remote flipping from Channel to Channel. Not surprisingly your calorie consumption during this period of decreased activity would decrease and you probably are exceeding your “new daily numbers”. This is not good especially considering the fitness and performance goals that you set on Jan 1 :). You must decrease your intake each day with a few less visits to the Refrigerator, failing which, you will be quite surprised with how much weight and fat you gained during the lock-down.

Ideally, our calorie and nutrient consumption should actually not be the same every day. They should be based on the demand of our body based on the activities for the day. So on a day when the volume and intensity of physical activity is decreased, so should our intake of food decrease. This is true for the off-season as well for all you competitive folks out there.

If you need more information and some expert guidance on this and all your other performance factors then feel free to contact us at performance@techniquelab.com.

Be safe and be healthy.

David Riley
Performance Coach
IAAF Level 5 (Sprints & Hurdles)