It has now been a year since the first lockdown began, with the latest one lasting for the past three months. It has obviously been an incredibly tough time for everyone, and we are still fighting to make it through to the other side. While in quarantine, our routines have changed a lot and the way we have stayed healthy and active has also looked a bit different. Without our routine commutes or other activities, we have had to find new ways to stay active and keep our mental health safe while staying indoors or within our local areas. Our team has been getting into new routines from taking on the Couch to 5K challenge, meditating and doing Zumba classes in the house. Everyone has their own way of keeping up with their wellness in this lockdown, but the one thing that we all have in common is that we all see how having a routine has helped us make it through. We wanted to share some of the fitness and wellness routines that our team has been working on whilst in quarantine for the past few months.

Anna herself is an avid runner and has been bravely swimming in the sea even through the winter, which is great for your circulatory and immune system. She also recommends Peloton and Mellisa Wood Health for great yoga and Pilates classes. Super short routines anyone can follow!

Another great way to stay healthy is to focus on your mental health. Sally from our Holt shop has been getting back into mediation during lockdown using the Headspace app. Mediation has felt grounding to start the day with 10-15 minutes of quiet time and it has helped her achieve a sense of calm and contentment, which is certainly useful in lockdown as well as everyday life. Headspace has lots of different themed mediations that you can choose from to fit your mood. 

From our Primrose Hill team Lyydia has also taken up mediation to start off each morning with the right mindset. She also took on a 30 day yoga challenge in January and has been keeping up with daily yoga practice as well as switching up her diet to be more plant based since the beginning of the year. Fi has been working hard and enjoying doing walks and Zumba classes at home. She’s been loving reading to wind down and keep her mind busy as well as being in a family group chat sharing jokes and having a laugh to keep her spirits up. 

From our Bury St. Edmunds team Jojo started the year out with a Dry January to balance out the Christmas festivities. She used the app Dry Days to help track her experience and said she felt a lot clearer and positive after ditching alcohol whilst staying at home during the cold winter. She and her husband also got a Peloton bike, which they have been enjoying for keeping their fitness up in lockdown. Jojo has also taken on the Couch to 5K running challenge to get ready for a big birthday in June paired with a calorie counter Nutra Check to stay motivated to reach her goals. 

Our Burnham Market shop team has also been staying very active in lockdown. Emily who is a personal trainer has not only been keeping herself fit throughout lockdown, but has also kept the whole team going with some zoom classes. Christina and Sharon have both been taking part in her strength training classes to keep their fitness up as well as enjoying long beach runs and walks and even taking up some creative ways to work on their cardio, including Bollywood Dance Fitness classes from Youtube. The team has also enjoyed keeping their minds busy with taking some language classes online.

Even though we are all finding different ways of staying active and getting fit, in both body and mind, all of us can agree that keeping up with these routines, no matter how big or small they might be, has been keeping us going. From seeing some friendly faces in a zoom class to help us stay motivated to working on our mental health with some peace and quiet, it is important that we all set some time aside to take care of ourselves. Our team has stayed strong throughout lockdown and we cannot wait to see everyone back at our shops soon and hear how you stayed healthy in your lockdown routines.