Motivation Movement with Laura Mcnally

LAURA MCNALLY Social media: @lauramcnallypt Email: lauramcnallypt@gmail.com Call: 07772187313

WHERE’S THE MOTIVATION GONE?

Each of us has a different experience of lockdown, and now we are starting to realise we also have different experiences in each lockdown. Some who ‘got fit’ in the first lockdown now struggle to motivate themselves in the short winter days. On the other hand those who gained a little ‘lockdown weight’ might be more motivated to lose it this time. Some of us simply haven’t found our motivation at all. The good news is that these changes are totally normal.

In a survey in Italy, 48% of the sample perceived that they had gained weight during lockdown and one study of over 13,500 respondents to an online survey in Belguim found that there was an overall increase in levels of exercise and in sedentary activity during their lockdown.

The benefits of movement and exercise are well documented. The NHS, Government, Scientists, your friends and even your own children might advocate increased movement to avoid health problems and maintain a stable weight and such intrinsic motivators should be enough to keep us moving, in theory. But we know that’s not how it works: we don’t often think about our health when we plan to go to the gym and the reason is because we can’t immediately see the resilience or protection that exercise offers. Far better motivators include exercising as part of a team or with our friends which brings emotional benefits, or doing something that brings us joy such as lifting or running a ‘personal best’. This is because the reward is immediately felt. Lockdowns create barriers to exercise by removing some of these rewards, and this might explain our lack of motivation.

Lockdown has also been seen to change our perception of body image and body confidence through greater exposure to appearancerelated social media content, as well as more general stress through increased exposure to news. Recent findings of a You-COPE study highlighted that half of all 16–24 year olds reported overeating in response to their mood during lockdown. Exercise and movement can help to improve our mood, particularly if it is taken outside during hours of daylight.

At ‘PT School’ addressing barriers to exercise formed a really important part of our training. That is, how can I help someone remove the barriers that they believe stop them exercising and how can I help them find the joy in movement? Below you can see some of the reasons I exercise.

• It helps me maintain my mental health, sometimes giving me an immediate boost • I will feel happy that I have accomplished something today • It improves my blood flow, strength, and stamina • It helps with my daily activities like shopping and housework • It will help me keep a stable body weight • It will reduce the risk of back pain returning • Jumping about my living room to disco music is fun • I get time to myself • I get time with my husband • I get to come home to a bath • Playing with the dogs makes me feel like a good owner

While my reasons for exercising remain, the lockdowns have changed the barriers and these have affected us all: habits and daily routines are upended, the social benefits of exercise in a team or class have been removed. It can be difficult to overcome these and convert reasons into motivation. I can’t be there in person with my clients to help motivate them to keep going: in fact, they now have the ability to mute me (although to my knowledge thankfully that hasn’t happened yet)! In the first lockdown we had the luxury of gardens and local forests and beaches, over long and lengthening days and we also had brand new online workouts, which seem to have lost their novelty this time around. During lockdown it comes down to this: with new and greater barriers to overcome, it’s got to be about prioritising movement, rather than exercise.

When I write ‘exercise’ I mean formal activity like running, cycling, a class or weightlifting and of course this can be done during lockdown in new ways. Movement might include formal exercise but it also means the use of your body for day to day activities and it’s easier to increase movement when motivation to exercise is low. To be technical, the burning of calories while doing day to day activities is called ‘Non Exercise Activity Thermogenesis.’ The benefits of increasing movement are immense. As well as the many health benefits, when averaged over a week additional movement could burn up to ten times as many calories as 3 periods of formal exercise. Here are some ideas on how to move more:

• Change the bed linen • Vacuum the whole house • Squat while cooking • Get the garden ready for spring, clean out bird boxes and feeders, clean flower

pots • Cycle or walk to work • Stand more • Paint a room • Walk outside or lunge inside when you’re on the phone • Dance to music • Play with the children or dog • Go for a lunch time walk while listening to a podcast

Go sledging or make a snowman • Go geocaching • Do a litter pick in your neighbourhood

Don’t be afraid of trying these things on your own, or with your household.

Whilst I am extolling the benefits of movement during lockdown, it’s important that I clarify that formal exercise is important. Raising the heart rate and participating in resistance training offer very important health benefits. My advice is that if you just can’t cope with that right now, don’t, though if you find at any time the mood takes you, don’t delay, use it there and then! Don’t wait. When the motivation takes you. Do something immediately.

If you don’t feel very motivated and you feel you should be doing something but you’re not sure where to start, think about what you enjoy. I love singing (badly) to my favourite songs so I turn up the music and move a bit extra while doing all the chores. But I find music isn’t enough on a run so I choose to listen to podcasts while running and it’s the podcast rather than the run I look forward to.

In a 2016 study of Fibromyalgia cases, low impact aerobic exercise in combination with music therapy has better beneficial therapeutic effects than without music.

The podcast is a great distraction from the exertion. Of course I’m probably running more slowly (I don’t track it) but my speed doesn’t matter: I’m out to move, not compete. If you’re competitive you could join strava, MapMyRun or a FitBit community to share your results and motivate you. If you enjoy helping others, you could do some form of movement for charity: 100 upwards flights of your stairs for example. Whatever you think about movement and exercise, it’s important to reflect on why you move and what you love and hate about it. There is some form of exercise that suits everyone and this lockdown is a great opportunity to learn about what motivates you to move.

There is an overlap between the definition of movement and formal exercise, for example cycling to get somewhere. This is another way you can add movement into your lockdown routines. Think about where you can walk a bit extra, cycle instead of drive or add a bit of weight to your rucksack (like a large bottle of water) when you do.

Finally, for those who are keenly exercising, it is important to stress that over exercising can have a detrimental effect on your self

esteem, increase risk of injury and is likely to be unsustainable. This is especially true if you have suddenly increased the amount you’re doing and this in turn can have a detrimental effect on your movement (which burns more calories remember!). If you are participating in formal exercise 5 sessions a week is plenty. Take rest days and get plenty of sleep. • Don’t be hard on yourself. It’s ok if you don’t exercise. Just try to move more, preferably outside.

• Look ahead: Plan something exciting and active either during lockdown or for afterwards: a trip to a special place, bike rides, a long hike, skiing, joining a sports club, learning to play drums, a mini challenge.

• Don’t compare yourself to people you see on social media, no matter how good or motivated they look: Instagram and

TikTock is not real life.

• Artificial barriers to exercise created during lockdowns favour gaining weight.

That’s not the same as being unhealthy.

• Motivation is fleeting: when the motivation strikes DO IT!

• Apps like Deliciously Ella, Headspace,

Les MIlls and FIIT all offer online workouts you can do in your living room with little or no equipment for a small fee and many gyms remain open offering

Facebook or Zoom sessions in your own home so you have to show up!

WHERE TO GO FOR ADVICE, TIPS AND SUPPORT

The charity ‘Mind’ offer some great advice on physical activity and your mental health on their website

www.mind.org.uk/informationsupport/tips-for-everyday-living/ physical-activity-and-your-mentalhealth/about-physical-activity/ - includes advice and links for families, disability, inclusive activities.

The NHS also have physical activity tips www.nhs.uk/live-well/exercise/ 39