Despite being furloughed, trainee solicitor Shar Reid, was able to stay motivated and improve her physical health during the first lockdown in March. The pandemic impacted her professional and social life, but her physical wellbeing was the one thing that Shar could control. She started to exercise from home when access to the gym was restricted and has continued to do so now.
Shar didn’t want to sit at home and dwell on the negative impacts of the pandemic thus she decided to start a fitness regime at home.
She did a range of exercises, such as Les Mill workouts which includes classes like body pump, body combat and barre. She participated in HIIT (High-intensity interval training) and cardio classes online, as well as using light weights.
The government had issued guidelines which encouraged exercising outdoors to help with our wellbeing during lockdown, thus Shar took this opportunity to vary her exercising and go on walks too.
She found that after a while her stamina was improving, she was getting fitter, faster and stronger, she was recovering quicker and sleeping better, which in turn encouraged her to eat better too.
Overall, her “physical health improved drastically” and once she started to see results, it motivated her to keep going with her fitness journey, which she has documented on Instagram.
Continuing to exercise has positively impacted her physical health as well as her mental health; it has allowed her to stay in a more positive mindset.
According to a recent report, exercising at home has increased exponentially since lockdown started as 2.1 million people have started this form of exercise.
Home workouts may well become the primary form of exercise with lockdown restrictions being in place until the foreseeable future.
Words By: Tamikka Reid
Edited By: Yasmine Moro Virion