Opening Times:

6.00 AM - 21.00 PM

Call Us:

077699 02529

Personal Trainers 13 Tips to stay strong through the Corona pandemic while in isolation

After speaking to several personal training clients and friends I hear that a lot of people are feeling the isolation and are going a bit around the bend.
I have put together a few tips I can really help you through these next few weeks, these are good habits to use within everyday life also.

1) Gratitude – Write down three things you are grateful for each day with pen and paper or on your notes on your phone, or even just in your head.

Here is what I am grateful for today: I’m grateful, that the sun is shining, I am grateful that I get to exercise today and I am well enough to exercise, I’m grateful for the extra time I have to read the pile of books that have been accumulating that before all this I would never have time to read. I could go on all day the are always things that we can be thankful for how ever tough life gets, picking 3 is a piece of cake.

2) Exercise – you have so many options: Go for a run, go for a walk, if you are lucky enough to have training equipment or a gym at home get that training session in, if you don’t have any training equipment at home follow our at home no equipment workouts. Our coaches are offering remote training services where we can train you through Zoom, Face Time or Skype, contact us to book in for a session if you are lacking motivation or need help laying out and organising your routine. Right now, we have a lot of time on our hands so there is absolutely no excuse not to be exercising unless you are unwell.

3) Sun light – Try and get at least 20 minutes of sunlight directly onto your body each day now the days are getting longer are we are no longer having to work inside an office get outside get sun light directly onto your body absorb that vitamin D that your body has been craving all through the winter.

4) Morning Light – Don’t let your phone be the first light your eyes see first thing in the morning now we have time to go outside and allow our eyes to absorb the natural morning sunlight play which does wonders for our circadian rhythm this will help you feel less stressed help balance out your hormones and also help you get a really good night’s sleep.

5) Breathing exercises – During these worrying times it is natural for our body to be in a sympathetic stressed state breathing exercises really help put our body back into Para sympathetic where we can be in a relaxed state of recovery. On Saturday I will be releasing a video with a mobility routine and a breathing exercise routine but if you would like to get on it straight away here is a little template for you: try to inhale through the nose and out through nose when you inhale, inhale as deep into the belly as you can try and inhale for five seconds, at the bottom of the inhale hold for five seconds then exhale for five seconds at the top of the exhale hold for five seconds then inhale again try to repeat this for at least five minutes and build yourself up for 10 minutes. I promise you; you will feel amazing when you add this to your daily routine.

6) Mobility – Do some form of mobility every day when you get into the routine of doing a mobility routine everyday your body will feel loose and amazing it will help with all the resistance training that you do are there any sport related activities that we do like running or cycling etc.

7) Learn something new – Use the spare time to try and advance your skills in a certain area it could be learning a new language, reading a book that you’ve not had time to read, Or even learning about a certain subject that may help you with when you go back to work. If you can’t think of anything, I challenge you to learn following three things: meditation, breathing and mobility. You may ask yourself why I chose these three things the reason is that I know how much of a positive impact it can have on anybody in any situation.

8) Play games – Growing up in the mid-80s and 90s I remember playing a lot of games, get the chess board out, get the family together and play a board game, Try not to spend the whole day in front of a screen as it’s very stressful for the body and is a major disruptor of our circadian rhythms. If you play games is great for the mind it stimulates pathways in the brain, improves creativity and it’s also a lot of fun.

9) Cook recipes with the family and eat together- Get the whole family together and cook together, get the kids involved if you have children eat the food you have made together as a family. this time we have now is very precious make the most of it be together with whoever you live with and get creative. Maybe try out some of our Soma Fitness recipes and send us some pictures.

10) Plan for when all this is over – create an action plan off what do you want to do when all this is over. This could be a fitness related goal, business goal or even a family reunion with family members we have been isolated from. Don’t wait till it’s all over to start planning, plan now and review it as the weeks go by you might add some things or change somethings take 30 minutes each day of alone time to think and reflect about your plan. If you have a fitness goal speak with your coach communicate with each other and start planning so you are ready to rock and roll once all of this is over.

11) Watch a comedy – Laughter is such a powerful medicine, instead of watching intense programs on Netflix put some comedy on and get a good dose of laugher into your routine.

12) Help someone- this doesn’t mean you have to go out and physically help someone unless you’re caring for an elderly relative then yes of course, this could be just picking up the phone and calling someone but you may know is alone at this moment in time or doing a food shop for an elderly neighbour, or connecting with an old friend that you haven’t spoken to in a while.

13) Eat healthy nutritious foods – We have time on our hands to plan prepare most of our meals use this time positively try to eat nutrient dense foods including fruits vegetables and good quality meats. The more nutrients in the body the stronger the body and the stronger the immune system. Don’t use this time to overindulge and drink alcohol in excess this will not positively impact your health or your immune system.

The natural roots are doing a delivery/shipping service for immune support packs:

PLACE YOUR ORDER TODAY

I hope these tips help and if anyone else has got anymore tips or ideas please let me know and send me an email of what you have been doing with your free time and we can post a weekly accumulation what everyone has been doing and bounce ideas of each other.

I pray we can offer you all our personal training services soon.

Wishing you all a great day!

HOME PERSONAL TRAINING – DAY 5 – FULL BODY

SUPERSET 1

A1) Bulgarian Split Squats x 8-15 reps per leg – tempo 4:2:2:1

A2) Back Widow x 8-12 reps 1:1:1:3

SETS – 3
REST – 60 seconds

SUPERSET 2

B1) Dive bomber press ups – 8-12 reps (regression from the knees) 2:1:2:1

B2) Glute bridge off the couch – 2:1:2:4 x 10-15 reps

SETS – 3
REST – 60 seconds

SUPERSET 3

C1) Bodyweight Lateral Raise 8-12 reps per side 2:1:2:1

C2) Alternate Leg Forward Lunges x 30 reps 4:2:1:1

SETS – 3

REST – 60 seconds

SET 4

D) Superman’s 12 reps 1:1:1:4

SETS – 3

REST – 60 seconds

How to structure your week of at home training:

Monday or Day 1 – Full Body Resistance

Tuesday or Day 2 – Cardio & Core

Wednesday or Day 3 – Full Body Resistance

Thursday or Day 4- Cardio & Core

Friday or Day 5 – Full Body Resistance

Saturday or Day 6 – Mobility & Breath work

Sunday – Rest and Recovery

 

BOOK YOUR FREE CONSULTATION WITH OUR PERSONAL TRAINERS

HOME PERSONAL TRAINING – DAY 4 – CORE & CARDIO

CORE & CONDITIONING – Tabata Intervals

WORK20:10REST x 6 sets

A1) DEAD BUGS 20 SECONDS
REST 10 SECONDS

A2) SIDE TO SIDE HOPS 20 SECONDS
REST 10 SECONDS

A3) T-ROTATIONS 20 SECONDS
REST 10 SECONDS

REPEAT X 6 SETS
REST 2 MINS

B1) FROG CRUNCH 20 SECONDS
REST 10 SECONDS

B2) SPRINTERS 20 SECONDS
REST 10 SECONDS

B3) CHOP ROTATIONS 20 SECONDS
REST 10 SECONDS

REPEAT X 6 SETS
REST 2 MINS

C1) SCISSOR SWITCH 20 SECONDS
REST 10 SECONDS

REPEAT X 6 SETS

BOOK YOUR FREE CONSULTATION WITH OUR PERSONAL TRAINING TEAM

 

HOME PERSONAL TRAINING – DAY 3 – FULL BODY


FULL BODY RESISTANCE TRAINING

A1) Reverse Lunge with knee raise x 15 reps per leg tempo – 4:1:3:2
A2) Slider Pull overs x 10 reps – tempo 2:1:2:1 (progression onto feet)

SETS – 3
REST – 60 seconds

B1) Single Leg RDL x 12 reps per leg- tempo – 3:1:2:1
B2) Close Grip Press Ups – 8-15 reps – 5:2:3:0 (regression onto knees)

SETS – 3
REST – 60 seconds

C1) Swimmers into cobra 12 reps 1:1:1:4
C2) Hamstring slider curls 12 reps 2:1:2:1

SETS – 3
REST – 60 seconds

D) Frog Bridge x 20 reps

SETS – 3
REST – 60 seconds

Additional Information: Tempo guidelines – example 4-1-2-1 – 4 is the eccentric phase of the movement ie lowing the bar to the chest in a chest press you would control it down to the chest for 4 seconds, 1 is the pause at the bottom of the movement 1 second pause, 2 is the concentric portion of the movement pushing the bar away from the chest 2 seconds, 1 is the top portion of the concentric hold it at the top for 1 second.

The full workout video is on our YouTube channel. Subscribe for regular valuable content don’t forget to like the video.

BOOK YOUR FREE CONSULTATION

HOME PERSONAL TRAINING – DAY 2 – CORE & CARDIO

CORE & CONDITIONING – Tabata Intervals

WORK20:10REST x 6 sets

A1) V-UPS 20 SECONDS

REST 10 SECONDS

A2) HIGH KNEE RUN 20 SECONDS

REST 10 SECONDS

A3) RUSSIAN TWIST 20 SECONDS

REST 10 SECONDS

REPEAT X 6 SETS

REST 2 MINS

B1) HALLOW HOLDS 20 SECONDS

REST 10 SECONDS

B2) BURPEES 20 SECONDS

REST 10 SECONDS

B3) SIDE PLANK 20 SECONDS

REST 10 SECONDS

REPEAT X 6 SETS

REST 2 MINS

C1) SIT THROUGHS 20 SECONDS

REST 10 SECONDS

REPEAT X 6 SETS

Don’t forget to like the video and subscribe.

FULL WORKOUT INSTRUCTIONAL VIDEO

HOME PERSONAL TRAINING – DAY 1 – FULL BODY WORKOUT

FULL BODY RESISTANCE TRAINING

A1) Split squats x 10-15 reps – tempo 4:2:4:0
A2) Pike Press Ups 6-15 reps 2:1:2:1 (progression feet elevated)

SETS – 3
REST – 60 seconds

B1) BW Counterbalance Squats 15-20 reps –tempo 5:2:5:0
B2) Y W T s – 10 seconds x 5 reps

SETS – 3
REST – 60 seconds

C1) Wide Grip Press Ups 8-15 reps – tempo 5:2:3:0 (regression from the knees)
C2) Single Leg Glute Bridge 8 reps per leg – tempo 1:1:2:3

SETS – 3
REST – 60 seconds

D) Hamstring March 20 reps

SETS – 3
REST – 60 seconds

Additional Information: Tempo guidelines – example 4-1-2-1 – 4 is the eccentric phase of the movement ie lowing the bar to the chest in a chest press you would control it down to the chest for 4 seconds, 1 is the pause at the bottom of the movement 1 second pause, 2 is the concentric portion of the movement pushing the bar away from the chest 2 seconds, 1 is the top portion of the concentric hold it at the top for 1 second.

The full workout video is on our YouTube channel. Subscribe for regular valuable content:

FULL WORKOUT INSTRUCTIONAL VIDEO

Can increasing your protein intake aid your fat loss goals?

The summer holidays are coming our personal trainers are busy getting our clients in the shape for their summer holidays. In preparation for the shredding those few extra pounds of fat for the desired beach body, for our personal training clients we suggest increasing protein intake and logging how much protein you are ingesting on a daily basis to make sure we are hitting our protein targets for the day. If your numbers are too low, that may be slowing down your fat loss progress and in some situations you may lose muscle mass.

Protein can reduce hunger, increase meal satiety and keep you feeling fuller for longer as protein food sources are slow to digest.

Protein has higher TEF (thermic effect of food) than carbohydrates and fats which means you burn more calories in the processing of the protein.

Increasing your protein intake can assist your fat loss goals via the preservation of your muscle tissue if you are in a calorie deficit, and increase protein synthesis which will in-turn increase your basal metabolic rate.

Protein suggestions :

Grass Fed Organic red meat
Free range Poultry
Game
Fish ideally wild or organic
Free range eggs
Nuts and Seeds
Beans and Legumes

For vegans we recommend combining nuts and seeds with beans and legumes to complete the amino acid profile of the meal you are eating.

For example combining lentils with pumpkin seeds or chickpeas with sunflower seeds will give you all the amino acids.

At Soma a large amount of personal training clients are vegetarian or vegan which makes hitting protein targets a little challenging but with a little attention to detail with total calorie intake and combining foods it is still possible to hit your targets.

Variety :

Try having 3 different protein sources per day

Recommended intake :

1.8 g – 2.5 g per kilo of body weight.

Increasing your protein intake will assist your fat loss goals however sticking within the calorie boundaries and maintaining the energy balance ratio is vital towards your fat loss goals. We ultimately need to burn more calories than we are eating to burn fat.

To book a free consultation with one of our expert coaches contact us at Soma Fitness and we can help you further towards achieving your weight loss and body composition goals with our personal training and nutritional programmes.

Get In Touch