SHAPING UP: Why exercise is important for your mental health during lockdown

Amid the uncertainty, anxiety and stress of this global pandemic, exercise is a fantastic coping mechanism that can help keep our body’s resilient and keep us mentally strong.

Despite the fact that sport has been cancelled, gyms are closed and group exercise is off the table, people are stepping up and finding more ways to keep active. In fact, a recent study found that one in three are exercising more since lockdown began, with running, cycling and home HIIT workouts being the preferred ways to keep fit.

All of this extra exercise is great because it can have a profoundly positive effect on our metal health. Daily exercise can help with:

Better Sleep – by making you feel more tired at the end of the day

Happier Moods – physical activity releases feel-good hormones (the famous endorphins) that make you feel better in yourself and give you more energy.

Managing Stress, Anxiety or Intrusive and Racing Thoughts – doing something physical releases cortisol which helps us manage stress. Being physically active also gives your brain something to focus on and can be a positive coping strategy for difficult times.

Better Self-Esteem – being more active can make you feel better about yourself as you improve and meet your goals.

Reducing The Risk Of Depression – studies have shown that doing regular physical activity can reduce the likelihood of experiencing a period of depression.

There are lots of ways to keep active during lockdown, with many gyms, personal trainers and local events now taking their services online. Here’s my top 3…

EAST COAST FITNESS ONLINE LOCKDOWN MEMBERSHIP

At East Coast Fitness we are continuing to deliver our full group-exercise timetable. Instead of training in person at Seaham Marina, we are streaming all of our workouts live, in our private Facebook group. There are workouts to suit everyone from our specialised low-impact, low-intensity classes for beginners to our HIIT sessions for the more experienced fitness enthusiast.

The best thing about our live workouts, other than the expert coaching, is that you can interact with other members, before during and after the workouts meaning it still feels like you’re working out in a group atmosphere, giving you more accountability.

Here’s what one of our members Joanne Holloway said, “The live workouts have been an absolute godsend during lockdown keeping the whole of my family active and also helping towards mental health and helping us stay sane. The variety of work outs are great meaning you don’t get bored doing the same routine, which makes them more enjoyable. Graham keeps you going throughout the workouts and gives you different levels for exercises meaning everyone at all levels can join in. The support on the page is also a fantastic and all of the members keep each other going.”

If you’d like more info go to www.eastcoast-fitness.com

BLOOMING BAMBOO YOGA

Zoe James, at Blooming Bamboo, has also adapted her services to offer 5 Yoga classes a week for just £5!

With a variety of yin, hatha & ashtanga practices, you’ll have access to 5 full length yoga videos each week, (some pre-recorded as well as live sessions via Zoom) – each video will be available to view online for 7 days.

Yoga I another form of exercise that really helps improve your mental health, by increasing your body awareness, relieving stress and reducing muscle tension, strain, and inflammation. It also sharpens your attention and concentration, and calms and centres the nervous system.

For more info go to www.bloomingbamboo.co.uk

SUNDERLAND CITY VIRTUAL RUNS

While the physical Sunderland City Runs event has been postponed until 26-27th September, the organisers have launched a Virtual event - which is great if you’ve already been training and fundraising! The virtual event will allow you to put your training to the test on the original event dates!

The virtual event is a solo, virtual run, at a location of your choosing. If you’ve already started fundraising the organisers have agreed to donating half of your virtual event entry fee, after tax, to their 2020 charity partner St Benedict’s Hospice.

All three distances are available to enter, and you can choose to add an event specific medal to your registration. The event is open to everyone whether you were already training for Sunderland City Runs, or have would like to set yourself a training goal to help keep you motivated.

Registration for the event opened on Friday 24th April and will close on Friday 8th May at 10pm. You can submit your time from Saturday 9th May until midnight Monday 11th May.

For more info go to www.sunderlandcity10k.com

Slow Cooked Apple Pie Oatmeal (v)

SERVES: 5

TOTAL TIME: 4-8 hours

CALORIES: 180 per portion

INGREDIENTS:

100 grams of steel-cut or Irish oats

400 millilitres of unsweetened almond milk

2 medium apples, chopped into 1 cm cubes

1 teaspoon of coconut oil

1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon

1⁄4 teaspoon of ground or freshly grated nutmeg 2 tablespoons of maple syrup

A squeeze of lemon juice

INSTRUCTIONS:

Add all the ingredients to your slow cooker. Stir the mixture together until well combined and then cook it on a low heat for 8 hours or a high heat for 4 hours. By this point the oatmeal mixture will have thickened and will be the consistency of porridge.

Give the oatmeal a good stir and then finish with your favourite toppings. We recommend peanut butter and chopped apples but anything goes well with this breakfast classic including a little protein powder if you wish to increase the protein content.

The oatmeal can be kept in the fridge for up to one week. The dish can be reheated in the microwave or on the stove but keep in mind that the oats will continue to absorb liquid when in the fridge so we recommend adding a splash of almond milk to the mixture to loosen it up.

12-MINUTE LOCKDOWN WORKOUT (45/30/15)

You don't need any equipment for this workout and you'll get a full body workout within just 3 exercises. Complete 6 rounds of the following exercises:

45 SECONDS - 3 SQUAT JACKS + 1 BURPEE

30 SECONDS - WALKOUT JUMPS

15 SECONDS - CROSSCLIMBS

30 SECONDS – REST

Before you start the workout head over to the East Coast Fitness Facebook Page to watch the demo video.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​