Everyone’s dealt with these pandemic restrictions differently. Some people have taken up new hobbies or new training routines. Many others have done the opposite, binging Netflix and skipping exercise. And who can blame you? If you can’t leave the house, no-one can roast your shrimpy pins. May as well just steer into the curve, let things go a little and relax.
But now that things are easing up a bit and life’s getting back to normal, you might need to get back into a fitness routine that’s more than just laps between the fridge and the sofa. That’s easier said than done, however.
Anthony Minichiello, Roosters legend, NRL Ambassador and founder of MiniFit, has revealed that even for professional athletes like himself, finding the motivation to get back into a routine after three months of not training – due to lockdown – can be a real challenge.
“My motivation is good, but some days are harder than others,” the footy legend relates.
“But on those days if you think ‘All I need to do today is 10 minutes’, that is definitely achievable.”
You can even turn a negative into a positive. Three months without training can be a source of motivation for some people, Minichiello says.
“Once you get stuck in a rut the hardest [thing] is making the first move to train or become healthier. There is discomfort when you first act on it, but the more you do it the easier it becomes… Then [when] it becomes more consistent you then see results, and you make it [into] a lifestyle.”
Once you have that spark, continuing good training habits is easy.
We also picked his brain about how other athletes are dealing with the disruption to their normal training regimes. “The Count” revealed that many footy players are probably struggling with keeping up their normal routine.
“It’s pretty hard to replicate team training at home when isolated,” Minichiello explains, “but they’ve all got their own individual programs to do daily.”
What will things look like for athletes post coronavirus? Will the first few games after restrictions are lifted be a bit shaky? No fear: Minichiello is confident that things will return to normal pretty quickly.
“I think they’ll be a bit rusty first up, but they are pros, so we won’t notice too much of a difference.”