Restrictions fully eased on July 19 and we all embraced the return to "the new normal” - including with our fitness regimes. Now gyms have been open again since April 12, but only recently have all classes come back on the timetable and social distancing requirements eased up too.
Summer is here - occasionally - but how's our summer fitness levels? Many of us took some time out over the various lockdowns - and this very well might have been needed - but now it's time to get back in the saddle and work on those exercise goals once again.
We've all come to love different forms of exercise routines: never before has the home workout been championed so much, while many of us are only too happy to get back into our gym sessions.
Whether you're working on getting into shape now we're finally allowed on certain holidays or simply want to get fitter for yourself, it's all about planning your workout routine and keeping to it regularly.
That’s where the below comes in: we’ve created workout suggestions that are simple to manage in even the most crammed gyms, with a single bit of kit and a mat-sized space on the floor. Stop putting it off – and do clean up after yourself.
Best gym workout plans...
If... you've been lying on the couch for a year
It’s understandable if fitness took a back seat during the stress of homeschooling, furloughs and uncertain times – but getting back into good habits is probably a good idea.
Don’t beat yourself up: instead, start simple, with a foolproof mini-plan that’s easy to stick to and difficult to derail. Kettlebell swings are easy to get into: grab a bell that’s fairly light for your abilities, and aim to do 10 every minute, for 10 minutes. Throw in an easy mobility routine at the start of your workout and perhaps a quick plank at the end, and call it a day. At this stage, you’re building the habit of actually making it to the gym, so even if all you do is go there, shower and leave, it’s still kind of a win.
If... you've worked out half a dozen times
Maybe you started strong with a few Joe Wicks sessions, or enjoyed the days we got good weather with a long walk - but then life got in the way. The important thing is, you’ve already got an idea of what you liked... and what you didn’t. Did you respond to Wicks’ boundless enthusiasm and sense of camaraderie? You’ll probably do well in a HIIT class, now available again at most gyms.
Got into Yoga With Adriene? You might find the focus and feedback of a live class nudges your Asanas to the next level. Do better at outdoor cardio? Support your running with some simple strength work: if all you can nab at the gym is a dumbbell and a mat, do a few supersets of goblet lunges (see video below) paired with stir-the-pots to address imbalances and stave off injury.
If... you've been keeping it up
So, you were a (moderately) keen gymgoer before Covid, and you’ve been doing your best with bodyweight exercises, some extortionately priced dumbbells from eBay and a big rucksack full of books. You probably can’t wait to touch a proper barbell or jump on a machine; but with the big bits of kit in demand, any over-complicated workout is doomed.
The fix: pick a plan that relies on one item of kit, scope it out during your warmup, then grab it for your session. A barbell complex is ideal: you’ll do several moves with minimal rest, and no rack required. Try eight reps each of a deadlift, bent over row, front squat and overhead press, rest for 60 seconds and repeat three times. Or, if you’ve bagged a cable machine to yourself, make a giant set out of a squat (see below), pull-through and Pallof press.
Just, please, don’t monopolise a machine to do 20 sets of triceps pushdowns. It’s the gym equivalent of sneezing on a crowded train.
If... you’ve formed a new fitness habit
Maybe you didn’t see the need for exercise pre-Covid, but with more time at home on your hands – or to help out your mental health – you’ve made those first few steps with a Couch To 5K or some simple workouts. Great! The thing to do now is keep up the momentum, making the transition to the gym as painless as possible so your new lifestyle sticks.
One area where the gym comes in handy for cardio is interval workouts, especially short, sharp ones. If you’ve got a rower or Ski-Erg available, try doing 500m, rest for two minutes and repeat five times. Or, for something a bit nastier, hop on an exercise bike and pedal hard (well, sprint) for 8 seconds, then back off and pedal lightly for 12 seconds, then repeat for 20 minutes. In one study, overweight men who did this three times a week saw a 17pc reduction in visceral belly fat, with no changes to their diet.
If... you're in better shape than ever
So: you bought a pullup bar the moment Boris started hinting about Lockdown 1, swapped Pret sandwiches for home cooked chicken breasts and started training in your lunch hour five days a week. If you’re heading back to the gym, it’s probably not for motivation, but for the things you can’t get at home – like fancy cardio equipment or appreciable amounts of iron. Here, the problem is planning: there’s no guarantee you’ll get all the stations you want, so plan around finding one big bit of kit and being flexible about the rest.
Build strength with one big movement – a squat, deadlift, overhead press or bench press – in each session, and then plan the rest of your session around extra movements. If you’re up for the sort of fat-burning ‘finisher’ you couldn’t get at home, add a quick Tabata to the end of a strength session: 20 seconds of sprinting and 10 seconds of rest on the cardio equipment of your choice, repeated eight times.
