15 weeks ago or however long ago it was lockdown started I wrote my first blog with the intention of writing 1 or possibly 2 a month. I went on to write none during lockdown. That about sums up how lockdown has gone for me. So as I plan on opening my doors again to start doing treatments I figured now was a good time for a number 2… blog number 2… number 2 on the blog….
Like many I had the best intentions of taking the negatives of lockdown and turning them into positives but I’m not ashamed to say I’ve really struggled in parts during lockdown. Everyone’s circumstances are different and there are certainly people worse off than me but I can say wholeheartedly that lockdown with a new born baby will not be something I would love to repeat… actually I hope not to repeat either of those things and hopefully won’t have to. Can you believe vasectomies are not classed as essential procedures by the way? Needless to say I disagree. 4 kids and 1 global pandemic are enough for any man in one lifetime.
I’ll focus on the positives though and there were quite a few. I decided to give Yoga a try and finally realised what all of the fuss was about. I’ve previously found it a bit fluffy and ‘airy fairy’ but I found a program on The Sufferfest cycling app and did the 30 day yoga challenge. The videos last 15 minutes and my mornings spent with Abbie are now how I start my days. I won’t go into too much detail as I feel I could do a separate piece on that but the reason I’m so hot on yoga is because I tried it to attempt loosening my calf’s and hips and ended up greatly improving the range of motion in my dislocated shoulder from earlier in the year. That’s the beauty of all-encompassing moves is you’re working so many different parts of the body at the same time. I will definitely look into how I can encourage more people to get involved so watch this space on that one.
I also really re-found my love of training during lockdown. Beforehand it had become a chore because I was having to squeeze runs in and I wasn’t really making any progress or happy with the level I was running at. A huge part of that enjoyment and improvement came from virtual challenges I was completing with the East Hull Harriers and Jolly Triathlon club. In a lot of ways I prefer racing virtually in your own time to organised races. The beauty of the virtual challenges is you do them when you feel good or when the weathers right so you’re not racing in baking heat or having to get up at 6am to travel. My stomach is unpredictable to say the least so being able to run when I’m feeling good is a huge plus for me. I’ve certainly come out of lockdown fitter despite the fact ‘Ben and Jerry’ have developed a special place in my heart and stomach. I can’t be the only one who’s enjoyed training during lockdown as I’ve seen plenty of people run personal bests despite the fact they’ve run alone. That said there’s no doubt racing against someone will drag that extra out of you that’s difficult to produce on a deserted country road on your own.
I know a lot of people have been training during lockdown and have sustained injuries, or got the lockdown stiff neck and shoulders from working on your couch or in bed and you may be apprehensive about visiting a therapist but I feel my treatments are safer than a lot of other things people are doing during the easing of lockdown. I have always had to adhere to the highest standards of hygiene and obviously now that’s been turned up to 11. I am closely following the government updates and adhering tightly to the suggested precautionary methods to keep my treatment areas Covid secure. If in doubt please get in touch.
So as we hopefully have turned a corner lets continue to look after each other and operate in safe and sensible way. We’re clearly not out of the woods yet and this has really made me question best practice and the safest way for me to work so I’ve put some procedure notes out there which is probably the most official thing I’ve ever done in my life. (I’ll post these on my website and social media.)
I should also apologise to customers/friends I’ve not spoke to since lockdown as things start again I feel like I should have done more to stay in touch but you know what global pandemics are like eh?! Take care of yourself and each other.
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