Co-founder Kris Talboom, is also a personal coach, and specialises in fitness and physical wellbeing. Here’s his view on how the COVID crisis motivates us to work on movement.
Taking care of yourself
Who would ever have thought we’d end up in this situation? Look at us sitting here, quarantined. Each of us has a different interpretation. But suddenly we don’t have to rush the kids to school in the morning or lose time in traffic jams. You work from the kitchen table or in your desk and demand a lot of attention from the children or your partner throughout the day. Recognizable probably and we can go on like this for a while. In short, each individual is taken out of his or her normal rhythm. Not easy to deal with, as it turns out. But most of all, I remember: we learn from this!
After 3 weeks of teleworking, we can already see that not only our social and professional life is upside down. Also taking care of yourself (read: sufficient exercise) is not an easy job. But, if we’re honest: maybe it wasn’t before? In times of quarantine, exercise turns out to be more important than ever. Suddenly, people realise that they need it more now, while it was not given sufficient priority before.
Moving in times of Corona
The step to the subject moving is thus addressed within the given of “taking care of yourself”. But in practice, “time” and especially a shortage of it is number one in the list of excuses. Next, finding the “appropriate activity” is also quite a challenge. As a result, most people do not succeed in getting regular exercise. They lose the rhythm quite quickly and give up. If the intrinsic motivation is insufficient, we quickly list the top 3 excuses why so many people fail to include regular exercise in their routine. Is it a lost cause then ? No, it’s not. There’s an appropriate solution for every apology.
With more than 20 years of experience on the counter as an entrepreneur within the lifestyle sector, I have closely followed the evolution of healthy exercise. 2020 will be a milestone with great impact on how people integrate exercise into their lifestyle. The movement apps on the smartphone are not new anymore. But they are becoming more and more important, because people are more aware of their usefulness.
The online catch-up
The online workouts, coach and shared knowledge are being offered more and more efficiently, clearly and attractively. No time is not an excuse anymore, because the apps offer a lot of possibilities for short, efficient solutions. In addition, you don’t have to have a richly stocked fitness room with innumerable devices with which you can train. It is perfectly possible to train at home on a limited space. And this without or with a limited investment in equipment. After all, the living room or garden has everything to offer. So even this is no excuse to move into the background.
My starting point is in the first place: what works for one person does not have to work for the other. That is why it is useful to consult a coach who will help you find a suitable interpretation that fits your needs. He or she gives advice on different forms of movement at different intensity levels. For each target group there is a feasible plan that you can follow online and that gives you insight into your status. The most important success factor that will gain in importance in the future is the online coach, with whom you can be in daily contact. He/she guides you in making the right choices and, as the most daily motivator, keeps a finger on the pulse. The aspect of nutrition is also inextricably linked to this. The online coach is there both for sports enthusiasts looking for the extra support or challenge, and for those who need regularity or advice to make the right choices.
My advice of the week
I promise to leave some simple tips and tricks every week from now on.
Install a free app like Google Fit on your smartphone and start following your steps when walking or jogging. Everyone knows that 10,000 steps a day is widely accepted as a good goal. Seasoned athletes probably already do that with wearables like FitBit and Garmin.
Did you know that peer pressure works well for most people? Within our own team we connect the devices of all our colleagues to our own employee engagement platform. Completely anonymous. We can follow on a daily basis if we move enough as a team and it is a topic on our daily huddle. Very simple, but it really works. Soon you will see that people are starting to challenge each other to do better. Do you also want to see the movement of your team or your organization? Contact me below.