The last month's events have been a roller coaster. Being an athlete, I have been most aware about how the future will affect sports. Almost all hope for a competition season, across all summer sports at least, is lost. It's hard to hear, but I'd rather accept it and make a plan to move forward.
Before I move on with this blog, I want to explain that everyone is coping with this situation differently. It is scary, stressful, and the uncertainty of the future can be very unsettling. So, if you need time to just relax and take care of yourself, do that. If you are ready to start finding new strategies to implement at home, I encourage you to move forward.
We are being introduced to a whole new, virtual world. The average person is now finding ways to organize their days with activities such as online courses, workouts, and webinars. I'll get to those but first, I want to explore how specifically athletes and the greater sports community can optimize their time at home.
I will section this blog into two parts; making the transition and finding new opportunities.
Transitioning to Home:
1) Routine and Schedule
I would be surprised if you haven't already been told or read about the importance of creating a routine at home. If you have already started this, great! If you've been meaning to but haven't gotten around to it yet, I encourage you to finally start!
Write it down: If you write your routine down in a note book, or in a physical or online calendar, you are much more likely to follow through. Commit to trying out your new routine for a couple days and you'll see the difference it makes. Make adjustments when you need to, and be forgiving to yourself.
Go easy: Just because you're making a routine doesn't mean you have to fill your days and exhaust yourself. Now is the time to dial down and listen to your mind and body.
When to start your day: For me personally, I have been starting each day with my internal alarm clock. This is the first time in I don't know how long that I do not have to wake up to the horrid sound of my iPhone alarm. If you don't have any early morning responsibilities, allow yourself to wake up when you're ready to. *Getting to bed at a decent hour will help you wake up at a decent hour (believe it or not) If you are going to naturally wake up, avoid scheduling too much in the morning incase you do sleep in. Stick to giving yourself time to enjoy a coffee/tea, read, check some non-urgent things off your to-do list, or get a workout in the morning.
How to structure your day: Depending on your sport, we are usually required to get 1-2 training sessions in. It would make the most sense to do an AM and PM training session. This is an easy and familiar foundation to plan the rest of our day around. i.e. meals before and after training, school or work in the afternoon, leisure activities in the evening, etc.
2) Create a Proper Space
Most of us have probably fallen victim to not creating a proper study space, resorting to our bed or the couch, and suffering from poor productivity (and posture!). It is so important to set up proper spaces for all of our activities. Using the space you have available, set up a room to be productive, a room to workout, and a room to be calm and settle down.
Having designated spaces for your activities will allow you to properly focus or relax. If you have a designated room/desk for your at-home office it will make a world of difference in your productivity. Separating your work space from your place of calm (i.e. bedroom), will help quiet your busy thoughts and triggers when you are trying to settle for sleep.
If you have options available, change up the location of your at-home office once and a while. A change of scenery, no matter how minute, can be nice. I have been rotating from my desk to my dining room to my balcony (it is hard to see my laptop screen outdoors but it is a small sacrifice to enjoy some fresh air).
3) Find Balance
Include different activities in your day. I will expand on this later with examples. Don't fill your day staring at a computer. Find ways to create a work-life balance at home. This is one of the trickiest things to do. Your office is your home and your home is your office. How do you turn one off and the other on when you need to? Designated spaces will help with this but you can further improve your balance by implementing a schedule. Consider using time frames to answer work emails or schedule calls, implement screen time limits, putting your phone on do not disturb when you end your work day, and get outside!
Something I almost never did as an athlete was go for a walk. Go for a walk? To get where? I never walked anywhere unless it was getting me to a destination. Our new at-home lifestyle can really benefit from some mindful time outdoors. If some of your training sessions already occur outside, that may be enough. But if you find yourself mostly indoors, find time to go for a small walk. If you have a big family, this is a great opportunity for some me-time.
*Please remember to practice social distancing and following your government's regulations
The Opportunities Are Endless!
Before I go further, I am known to go over board on filling my days. So take what I say with a grain of salt and choose what is best for you. With that being said, we can all relate to the demanding lifestyle and routines athletes maintain. Everything we do operates around training sessions, training camps, and competitions. See it for what you will, be I see this moment in time as an extremely rare opportunity where athletes are no longer tied to our usual commitments. You are likely still doing some amount of training, which is great! But there is probably no better time to experiment with some new things and finally hone in on the areas you've been putting off.
1) Change Up Your Training Routine
If your competition season is close to being called a write-off this year or your training program has some room for flexibility, this is a great time to try out something new! You can get creative with finding new at-home exercises, change up your form of cardio, or join some virtual fitness classes. Your sport organization might be hosting virtual group training sessions - I HIGHLY recommend participating in these. If your team isn't hosting live workouts, I encourage you to recommend to your coach to try it out. They are a great way to stay motivated and feel closer with your teammates.
2) More Time for YOU
It is natural for every person to put off activities that we know would benefit us but we can't find the time or energy to include it in our routines. This could be yoga, reading, playing an instrument, painting, writing, or simply creating a moment for mindfulness.
Think about the things you've always meant to add in to your routine that you never got around to. What excuses did you have for not doing them? Now, THROW THEM OUT THE WINDOW! We always say "if I had more time I would do ____". Well let me be the first to tell you, you now have the time to take care of yourself. Don't overwhelm yourself with new activities to take on (let me do that), but pick a couple things that you know would make you feel better and add them to your routine. Your mind and body will thank you for it (and probably the people living with you).
3) Injury Care and Physio
Expanding on my last point, along with activities that will improve your mental health, there are probably a lot of athletes that can relate to not keeping up with caring for their injuries and phsyio exercises. It is not always (never) fun to sit with a bag of ice on your shoulder or do resistance-band hip exercises. But think about the progress you can make by finally giving your worn-down body the attention and love it needs. I encourage you to finally put the effort into bettering your physical body.
4) Nutrition
Nutrition is one of the hardest areas to adjust during this time, at least for me it is. I am constantly conflicted how to balance my food intake for my current situation. One part is understanding how your current activity level compares to a normal training day, and adjusting your intake accordingly. But the other, likely more difficult part, is being near your kitchen all day and being bored. Boredom snacks are a big problem. And committing to proper meals can be hard too.
If you have a nutritionist, schedule a video call with them to discuss your situation and build a plan. If you don't have access to a nutritionist, call up your coach and teammates to talk about it and create a strategy where you aren't alone and can be held accountable. General recommendations would be to commit to proper meals, whatever that looks like for you, having access to and making healthy snacks, and allowing yourself treats in moderation.
5) Family
Most athletes travel a lot. I mean A LOT. High level athletes usually spend the majority of their year bouncing between training camps and travelling to competitions. Most of us suffer from home sickness time to time. Now we have the opportunity to enjoy the comforts of home and our family / furry friends that come along with it. We might be feeling a bit differently about this after a month of quarantine/self-isolation, but I challenge you to look on the bright side.
Aside from sport, an infinite amount of resources have emerged to help us stay happy and productive at home. In upcoming blogs I will go over some of these and more information on specific areas athletes can hone in on while sport / life is on pause.
Stay safe and stay strong,
Hayley
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