Did you know that ‘COVID-19’ has been the nickname: ‘COVID-15’? This is because the average person put on about 15 pounds during the Corona lockdown! Indeed, even as a fitness trainer and active guy I put on an additional six pounds and felt a bit of a roll on my midriff. And some other people who I ran into recently had packed on an a whopping 10, 20 and even 30 pounds!!
But why all the weight gain? This is because aside from moving less, many people had been laid off and many had fallen into depressions. Further, it should be noted that drug overdoses and suicides had tripled in British Columbia, Canada and there were longer line ups at the liquor and beer stores than the food stores. Alcohol contains a lot of calories!
Personally, as a former soldier, I found that the first few weeks of the COVID lock down were not really a problem for me because I had spent weeks at a time confined to base or barracks (which we call being “CB’ed”) due to training or punishment. And I had spent months in foreign countries during U.N. peacekeeping missions where we had to improvise workout equipment. In fact, a former paratrooper friend once made a joke about being locked up was hard on the civilian population, but easy for jailed felons and soldiers.
Yes, some people did fine regarding being confined at first but then the lethargy and lack of motivation started to take hold. There were few, if any training partners. Gyms, studios, classes, sports, dances and social events were suddenly non-existent. Aside from running or bicycling and exercising in my room or a park, there was not much going on. Without competitive or social events, it felt like there was less incentive for exercising and staying healthy.
What I have just stated was regarding regular confinement but something was different when the COVID-19 lockdown happened. There were no longer open gyms or classes for fitness, spin, yoga, Pilates, gymnastics or martial arts. Suddenly, sports, dance and other social physical activities were cancelled. Many of us had been cut off from our physical and social activities.
And, If that wasn’t enough, many people lost their jobs, businesses, education courses and livelihoods. With nowhere to go, visit or travel, they became isolated. Worse, every day they were bombarded with negative news of more infections, deaths, protests and social unrest. Not a happy time for many. People were getting sick, angry and depressed. I previously mentioned suicides and drug overdoses……these were TRIPLE the average!
So, where was the incentive to exercise and stay healthy? What could get people back to being fit and healthy? Or even to START getting fit and healthy again?!
FINDING YOUR WAY
Please take a moment and ask yourself, “Why do I exercise and stay healthy?"
Your answers might include: Avoiding a heart attack. Or, because your doctor told you to. Or perhaps you just want to “get toned.” And/or maybe you read something in a magazine that motivated you.
Of course, If you dig a little deeper, your reasons for exercising might also include:
1. Feeling good.
2. Wanting a date or a mate.
3. Fitting in your jeans.
4. Looking good for employment or career.
5. To survive and excel at your job like policing, firefighting, soldiering, professional dancing or athletics.
6. Avoiding sickness.
7. Avoiding depression.
8. Concerned about looking weak in front of peers or co-workers.
9. A strong desire to compete at work or in sports.
10. Not wanting to get your butt kicked in a fight.
11. Seriously wanting to hand out some of your own butt-kickings.
12. Boosting your esteem.
So, how does one maintain these WHYS, these motivators when work and exercise routines have been literally wiped out and replaced by hours and hours of impeding doom and gloom from the mainstream media?
And that, my friend is what you have to figure out and not just exercise because everyone else is doing it. You have to decide that you need to stay strong and healthy for yourself, your family, your livelihood and your self-respect.
Exercising is not just about losing weight or posing in front a mirror. Exercising is about promoting your blood circulation, expelling the body’s toxins through sweat, exhalation and other bodily functions. Physically moving increases your “feel good” endorphins, stimulates greater bone density, the lymphatic system and endocrine glands, so that your body will function better and you will live longer.
In fact, think of exercising as a long-term investment that pays big dividends.
And, most of all regarding exercise…..Do it for YOURSELF!
BATTLING THE BLUES AND BIG BELLIES
Aside from inactivity, there are several physical aspects of the blues, the blahs and minor depression. Once we understand the characteristics of ‘feeling down’ it becomes obvious that the causes of depression are so crazy simple that they are the core of many drug and counselling therapies. They are:
1. Exercise. It is hard to be depressed when you are exercising or working hard.
2. Vitamin D and sunlight.
3. Stable blood sugar levels.
4. Gut bacteria
1. EXERCISE
Beating the blues with exercise is nothing new. However, all too often it is the BEGINNING that stops most people from starting a new exercise routine. But, don’t worry, I will address overcoming procrastination in the following chapters. For now, just realize the importance of exercising to improve your mood. I have observed and interviewed people from all walks of life who have used exercise as their own form of “Prozac” and mood boosters. For example, a 76-year-old female body builder once told me that after losing a child and her husband in the 1960’s, she took up weight-lifting and she stated that she; “found it hard to be depressed when I was exercising.” Even now, over 50 years later, she is still a national body-building champion and performs 20 pullups at a time. Wow!
Speaking for myself, while living in isolated bases and while on tour with the military, I beat the boredom by exercising and running. It is important to keep in mind that you do not have to be running full marathons or winning contests. But, you do have to keep moving.
2. VITAMIN D and SUNLIGHT
When Michael Caine was a child during WWII, the British government issued cod liver oil to children. Mr. Caine attributed this, and moving to the countryside, to improving his poor health. Cod liver oil and sunshine are abundant sources of vitamin D which has been proven to alleviate some forms of depression and promote strong bone growth and immunity. Unfortunately, vitamin D deficiencies are high in North America due to lack of sunlight and an uninformed avoidance of fat. Please consider that natural fat contains the fat soluble vitamins A, D, E and K. But, due to the high caloric value of fat, many weight-loss enthusiasts avoid fat. And, to make matters worse, they quite foolishly consume low fat processed foods which replace the fat with sugar. This is a double-edge sword against health. On one edge, people are denying themselves the critical vitamin D to support their health and reduce depression. On the other edge, the high sugar intake will contribute to depression.
3. STABLE BLOOD SUGAR. In her book, Seven Weeks to Sobriety, Mathews Larson describes that 88% of the alcoholic clients test positive for hypoglycemia. Many of these hypoglycemic people report forgetfulness, exhaustion, depression and indecisiveness. This becomes very obvious when working around heavy drinkers. Many of them live on doughnuts, coffee and cigarettes, which causes highs and lows in their blood sugar. (Later in Chapter 5 you will discover ‘Flat Gut Fuel’ and the benefits of a high protein, low glycemic diet.)
In fact, speaking of a high sugar diet, one of the problems with such sugar consumption is that it disrupts the gut bacteria (aka intestinal flora), which brings us to the next factor.
4. GUT BACTERIA.
ould hate to be in the stands at a football stadium waiting for both football teams to “feel like playing” or get inspired to play. This is because professionals perform the best that they can regardless of how they are feeling at that time. That is what separates the professionals from the amateurs. The professionals work regardless of external circumstances.
So now it is your turn, right now, to put down this book and stand up and move around for at least five minutes.
MICRO WORKOUTS
While on a high school exchange trip to Japan, I had had to have my appendix removed. After surgery, I could barely move, let alone walk down the hall to the washroom. After a day, I could roll out of bed. Days later, when no one was around, I stood up and practiced martial arts stances and breathing exercises. Then I would add a couple of push ups off of the wall. When I got out of the hospital, I walked as much as I could and continued my micro workouts.
It was a good thing, too. Because three weeks later, I was taking an army reserve basic training course with plenty of running and push-ups. Even though my stitches ripped a bit, I was able to keep up and eventually get stronger throughout the summer. I give much of my success to the micro workouts prior to the boot camp training.
To set up your own micro workouts:
1. Make sure that you are medically fit. Check with a medical professional if you have not moved around for over a year.
2. Decide on simple exercises that can be done almost anywhere. Examples: push ups, wall push ups, sit ups, crunches, chin ups, chair dips, squats, side bends.
3. Decide on a cue. This can be a time of day or an area. For instance, every hour, you can perform chair dips at your desk. Strive for five at a time. Or one to five chin ups whenever you walk through a doorway or near a chin up bar. In the case of the chair dips, by the end of the day, you might have performed over 40 dips.
4. Every week increase the number of repetitions but reduce the number of sets. For example, five repetitions for eight sets becomes six repetitions for 8 sets, then 10 repetitions for four sets, then 20 repetitions for TWO sets and then eventually 40 repetitions for one set.
4. Expect setbacks and be ready to back up and start again if you forget or miss some micro workouts.
Here are several micro-toners that you can do at your desk. Try these just before a break or when you start to feel sluggish.
The Seated Crunch: [Photo] If you have a reclining back chair, you can perform this by leaning back as far as you can. Otherwise, you have to shuffle up to the edge of your seat before doing the crunches.
Cross Crunch: Lean back in your chair to put some tension on your abdominals. By just alternating the raising of your knee to the opposite elbow, you can work out your lower abdominals and obliques.
Isometric Crunch: While seated, take a deep breath and exhale while pushing down on your thighs or knees. Hold the position for about six seconds at a time. Ensure that you do exhale. You can also push down with your forearms to get more of a deeper crunch.
Leg Raise: Lean back in your chair until you feel tension in your abdominals. Start by raising your knees and progress to raising your straight legs off the floor.
The L-Seat: If you are ambitious (and warmed up), you can try supporting yourself with your arms and perform the previously mentioned L-Seat.
BATTLING THE BLUES AND BIG BELLIES
Aside from inactivity, there are several methods for relieving the blues, the blahs and minor depression. They are so crazy simple that they can challenge many drug and counselling therapies. They are:
5. Exercise.
6. Vitamin D and sunlight.
7. Stable blood sugar levels.
8. Gut bacteria
5. EXERCISE
Beating the blues with exercise is nothing new. I have observed and interviewed people from all walks of life who have used exercise as their own form of “Prozac” and mood boosters. As a 76-year-old female body builder, Iris Davis explained that after losing a child and her husband in the 1960’s, she took up weight-lifting and she “found it hard to be depressed when exercising.” Over 50 years later, she is now a national body building champion and performs 20 pullups at a time.
Exercise is how I beat the isolation, boredom and drinking culture while in the army and during low points in my life. While living in isolated bases and while on tour with the military, I beat the boredom by exercising and running. You do not have to be running full marathons or winning contests. But you do have to keep moving. Even something as simple as walking can improve your mood as we often hear the term “walk it off” when someone is angry or depressed.
6. VITAMIN D and SUNLIGHT
When actor Michael Caine was a child during WWII, the British government issued cod liver oil to children. Mr. Caine attributed this, and moving to the countryside, to improving his poor health. Cod liver oil and sunshine are abundant sources of vitamin D which has been proven to alleviate some forms of depression and promote strong bone growth and immunity. Unfortunately, vitamin D deficiencies are high in North America due to lack of sunlight and avoidance of fat. Natural fat contains fat soluble vitamins A, D, E and K. Due to the high caloric value of fat, many weight-loss enthusiasts avoid fat. Quite foolishly, they consume low fat processed foods which replace the fat with sugar. This is a double-edge sword against health. On one edge, people are denying themselves the critical vitamin D to support their health and reduce depression. On the other edge, the high sugar intake will contribute to depression.
7. STABLE BLOOD SUGAR.
In her book, Seven Weeks to Sobriety, Mathews Larson describes that 88% of the alcoholic clients test positive for hypoglycemia. Many of these hypoglycemic people report forgetfulness, exhaustion, depression and indecisiveness. This becomes obvious when working around heavy drinkers. Many of them live on doughnuts, coffee and cigarettes, which causes highs and lows in their blood sugar. Chapter 5: Flat Gut Fuel will cover the benefits of a high protein, low glycemic diet.
One of the problems with sugar consumption is that it disrupts the gut bacteria (aka intestinal flora), which brings us to the next factor.
8. GUT BACTERIA.
The bacteria in your intestines will affect your brain, your mood and your weight gain. This has been proven with experiments with mice and humans. You can learn more in Chapter 5: Flat Gut and Mood Boosting Fuel.
