With the UK now in quarantine, it has never been more important to put measures in place to look after all aspects of your health.
And here to help is Scott Harrison, founder of The Six Pack Revolution online health, fitness and personal development programme, who is reminding of the need to keep your mind and body fit and healthy.
Scott explains that in the challenging times we face, things can begin to feel overwhelming for many of us and we may struggle to set a routine and stick to it. But with more time at home, there has never been a better time to work on yourself.
Scott’s top tips to help people adjust to this new way of life:
- Mindfulness: Every day, allocate yourself a time, just five minutes to begin with, and really give yourself that time. Tell yourself that the world will not change, and you are allowed this time for just you. Sit on a comfortable cushion on the floor and a good tip for keeping your back straight is to sit with your back against the sofa or bed and close your eyes. Breathe in through the nose as deep as you can with a slight pause before you exhale all the way out. In your mind, try to focus on your breathing or something that makes you happy and stick with that thought. After a week of this practice every day, increase the time to 7.5 minutes and then the following week to 10 minutes. Keep going until you find your happy time that you like to meditate.
- Home workouts: Find workouts you can do from home. HIIT and body weight exercises can be done anywhere (see picture for an example of a workout on the programme which would take just 22 minutes).
- Food prep: Think of it this way, now you will have much more time to prepare your food and experiment with new recipes. Most of the recipes on the plan or in my book, Eat Your Way to a Six Pack, can be cooked in larger quantities, so you can make several meals in one go, which is a great way to build up some freezer meals whilst in self-isolation.
- Water: Even though you may be stuck at home, you must not forget to drink water and hydrate. Try and achieve three litres per day, especially if you are active and working out. Looking as always for the positive, if you are at home, you have a toilet closely on hand to flush out those toxins.
- Sleep: We must all make sure we get the best night’s sleep possible and with all this worry and anxiety, you may find that you are struggling to relax and drift off into a deep sleep. The quickest and safest way is to exercise, eat healthily and take some time to wind down, therefore, the meditation practice above would be ideal to do before bed, staying off TV and social media.
- Positivity: During these unprecedented times, we must try not to focus on the doom and gloom, but instead finding the light in the room and that light can be self-improvement.
