Pandemic Training

Pre pandemic I was already doing long hours, serving as the Chief of Staff for a pan-European organisation that was subject to a myriad of regulatory reviews was always going to mean long days. Despite this there were lulls and quiet periods, downtime and recovery days where I could coast a bit and dream about my side business.

I had a long established training routine, getting up early and getting it done before work three or four days a week. That had been my approach for close to a decade and I was used to it.

Fast forward to the initial lockdown and subsequent lockdown and it’s a completely different story. Remote working has meant I am home and able to see and be close to my family so much more, but somehow I don’t. Back-to-back meetings that run from 09:00AM to late mean that actually executing anything has to be done in the hours after the Zoom storms. This also in a new role that was supposed to be less intense but has proved the opposite.

This is ridiculously inefficient and demotivating. Made worse when you have to facilitate catch-ups and management updates after work also. The end result is a worse work life balance, burnout and complete and utter disdain for the employer and the organisation.

No matter who I speak to in a corporate roles it’s the same message. Many are contemplating leaving, some are on stress leave or about to be and just really struggling. Very few are thriving from what I can see. Outside of the technology industry and those companies that have stepped up to support staff it really feels like there is a huge amount of dissatisfaction with employers.

Thriving in Uncertainty

In terms of training, before the lockdown I knew I’d be homebound for a while as I was awaiting the arrival of my first child. So I had the wherewithal to order some equipment, a suite of kettlebells. That was genuinely a great call as when the lockdown hit, you couldn’t get them anywhere.

I had always trained in gyms, primarily with barbells and supplemented by dumbbell or kettlebell training. My view was always to have a barbell workout. Not only do I love training with barbells I would feel as though I didn’t train properly if I didn’t use a barbell.

Home training with kettlebells meant a complete change in my mentality, I was no longer using kettlebells for just carries or swings but building entire periodization programs and coupling these with specific calorie intakes.

I was disheartened to think of all the progress I’d lose without my trusty barbell.

In fact what has actually happened is that I’ve gotten stronger in ways that were not apparent to me as being weak pre-pandemic. The use of kettlebells allowed me to focus much more on single limb training, Romanian deadlifts and Bulgarian split squats are now corner stones of my plans.

Also kettlebell training allows for a lot of time under tension and I’ve found great benefits to my grip strength, endurance and core strength from doing high volume heavy swings, I alternate between dual or single kettlebells depending on the plan.

Quick anecdotal lesson here is don’t become dependent on a single form of training or methodology. It could be as simple as switching from standard bench presses, squats and deadlifts instead ton single arm or leg variants for a couple of months.

Give it a try and let me know how it goes.

Remember, chin up, chest out and handle it.

Yours,

Stephen