With restrictions on the rise to assist local governments and health authorities in containing the spread of the COVID-19 virus many organized gMan playing at parkroup activities have been stopped or gone online for safety. Gyms have done the smart thing by lowering capacity and requiring one to book a time slot to get their workouts in. 

This requires a lot of organization to be able to get our workouts in. I know personally, I have had to cancel a few of my reserved times because work life, family life, etc. get in the way. If you know anything about me missing a workout drives me nuts. When these cancellations must happen, may I suggest we use our family time and get outside and be a child again to keep our activity levels up? 

Take the opportunity to throw your structured workout of a warm-up, core and accessory Lifts out the window. Forget about how many sets and reps or what percentage you are working at. Just get outside and play. Sure, this can be something structured like tobogganing, skating, or going for a walk or run. That’s not what I am suggesting. I’m talking about going out and creating “unstructured play.” I’m reminded of my Structure and Strategy of Games class I took back at the University of Alberta with Dr. Billy Strean. Something that stuck with me from that class back in the early 2000s was when creating games “put the attention on fun”, and “minimize the attention on outcomes.” Go and play; create a family game with minimal rules and regulations. 

We did this as a family. We ended up at the park and played. If I had to give it a name it was something between follow the leader, tag and hide-n-seek. Who cares what it was called? We had fun, we were active, and we created memories.

Don’t get me wrong structure will help us achieve our goals, and you can still have that structure through online fitness classes and/or personal training. But take some time during these uncertain times to be flexible with your life and just go “Play” for your workout. 

By James Linthorne

James has been working with Sport and Wellness since 2006 as an Exercise Specialist. In addition to training clients, he teaches Spindurance, Spinergy, Cardio Box and City Centre Runners. He grew up competing in Amateur Boxing then moved to endurance running. When not working out you can find him enjoying the outdoors with his family, reading a book or enjoying a good brew, both “Craft” & “Caffeinated”.