When the dark clouds part the sun will once more shine through –

reflecting on a challenging year and having a vision for the future.

Last year is one that most of us would like to forget, but there are many things we

can learn from our time in lockdown. Recently, I’ve been taking a little time to reflect

and look back at how we’ve pulled together, supported each other and remained

steadfast in our combined efforts to keep calm and carry on. What’s stood out to me

the most is that, even with the worst that this pandemic has thrown at us, your

enthusiasm for training has not waned, be it in the gym when we’ve been open, at

your own home or with James, Jasmine and Cameron.

When the first lockdown came we adapted, we trained at home with equipment

loaned from the gym, and we worked out how to keep working out. By the time we

were forced to close our doors again, we were all in a much better position to modify

our routines for continued success.

For me personally, these past 10 months have been challenging for a number of

reasons, not least in my desire to keep the doors of The Ministry open to you all in

the safest possible way, and to continue to support your physical and mental health

and wellbeing.

Inside the gym we’ve dismantled, rethought, rebuilt, added equipment of value and zoned

the gym for additions personal space.

I feel that we have, in the main, achieved this goal, even with the

limitations that were forced upon us.

I’m determined to add and grow.. keep watching.

But now is the time to look forward, to make plans for the future and to renew our

zest for life, whilst continuing to believe that we will get through this terrible disease

and come out on top. To do this we need to have a vision.

The goal of having a vision is to get a clear view of where we want to be and how we

want to feel. If we write our vision in the present tense - as if we’re already there and

have accomplished our goals – it has a profound impact on the way our brains

process information and will greatly increase our chances of fulfilling this vision.

These are the questions I ask myself, and they really help me nail down my own

vision for the future and what healthy means to me. So why don’t you give it a go

and see where you end up?

• My top three values by the end of 2021 are…

• What three ways I will make time for these values?

• What’s the one step I will take to improve my fitness before the end of the year?

• What’s the one step I will take to improve my overall health before the end of the year?

• What’s the one thing I will do to manage and reduce stress?

• What’s the one habit I’d like to create?

• What’s the one habit I’d like to break?

• Who is the person or place I can turn to when I need support?

• Why does taking care of my psychological AND physical health matter to me?

Revisit your answers at intervals throughout the year and see what you’ve achieved.

You’ll be surprised how effective it is.

And talking of effective ways to manage mental health, I’d like to take this

opportunity to introduce you to our newest and hairiest member, Trooper. I have

been lucky enough to find an incredible buddy to bring a little more sunshine into my

life and you’ll be seeing him around the gym a lot, so make sure you get your daily

dose of this little dude as he really does make the difficult times feel that much

easier.

So, as we’re into a new year all that remains for me to say is thank you. Thank you

for the unwavering support you have demonstrated to us and to each other. Thank

you for believing in us and in the journey that we are taking together, and thank you

for making The Ministry what it is today - a safe, secure and supportive home from

home where you really can just be you.

We hope to be open again soon and look forward to welcoming you all back with a

renewed sense of hope and purpose.

Before I begin it’s important to note that I am not an expert, neither do I possess the qualifications to advise on mental health. What I do have is the ability to share my experiences and what works for me in times of stress. The more we share, the more we understand each other and the more empathetic we become. Everyone reacts to stress and difficult situations differently, but perhaps talking about what our triggers are and what works and what doesn’t work for us as individuals, we can benefit from shared experiences.

The stress reaction is a healthy, normal part of being alive. The cascade of physical reactions that we experience during times of stress is simply our bodies telling us that the situation needs to change. The stress response helps us think and act quickly, but when our stress levels stay high, we start to run into problems. Excessive stress has been linked with many serious health issues, including weight gain, high blood pressure, anxiety, heart disease, and high blood sugar in people with diabetes.

For all these reasons, it’s essential to make stress relief practices a part of our daily lives. Here are some of the ways I do just that:

Training

For me, training is about activating all the good chemicals in my body for that feel-good factor. Sometimes that may mean a vigorous and punishing session, and other times it can be the simple act of sitting on a bike and watching others smash their goals – that gives me value and makes me happy. It’s also really important to train in the right environment. It has to be somewhere I feel comfortable being me, where I can play the kind of music I want to hear when I’m training, and where the people I train and socialise with have a similar mindset.

Healthy eating

No fad diets, no quick fix, no magic pill, no free lunch. Take food at regular intervals and try to eat a well-balanced diet that includes proteins, fats, carbs and a lot of fruit and veg. Well, that’s the plan but it doesn’t always work out that way. I, like the rest of you, try to stick to a healthy diet, but I believe if we train the right way and often, and manage our stress, there’s room for a little of whatever we fancy. Denying ourselves some of life’s pleasures just makes us want them more.

If you would like to seek more advice on this subject head to our Instructors page where our guys would be more than happy to talk you through nutrition and supplement plans.

Relaxation

The saying ‘if you want something done, ask a busy person’ is, in my opinion, bang on, but even busy people have to stop and rest now and again. Escaping the electric pace of the everyday world is something we all crave, yet it can often feel confined and unattainable. This is where mindfulness comes in, and the power of it shouldn’t be underestimated. Admittedly, this is something I haven’t yet mastered, generally because I like to keep my hands busy, but we can’t refute the evidence, and there’s lots of it. Breathing, meditation, visualisation, yoga, mindful podcasts, talking therapies, CBT…there’s something for everyone, we just have to investigate the possibilities and find out what works for us.

Planning

When stress sets in I always seem to have less time. That’s when I activate my planning mode. I sit down and make lists of everything I need to do, put it all into my schedule and then prioritise. These priorities fall into three categories - what needs to be done immediately, what isn’t so urgent, and what is more of a want than a need. It stops me from being overwhelmed and makes me more focussed on the tasks ahead.

Nature

I’ve learned to stop and smell the roses occasionally as I’ve realised (especially of late) that it can keep me from straying too far off the path in the long run. For me, immersing myself in nature and deep breathing fresh air, even just for ten minutes a day, has a positive effect on my mindset. That may be a newspaper and coffee on a park bench in the sunshine, a two-hour hike in the South Downs or the simple act of playing with the neighbour’s cat in my back garden. Most definitely not whiling away minutes and hours on my phone scrolling through social media posts. This isn't where relaxation is found, it is in fact where more stress is located, disguised as fake and misleading news. Turn it off, leave it at home or just ignore it for 30 minutes. If that's hard to do then we definitely need to chat more.

I love being around animals and believe that they can greatly reduce stress and anxiety, and aid depression. There are hundreds of studies that show how beneficial animals are for our mental and physical health. In my opinion, there’s nothing more enjoyable than a long dog walk in the countryside to clear my mind and be in the moment. For that reason, and many more, I’ve decided it’s the right time for me to get a furry buddy of my own and stop stealing friend’s dogs and snatching time with a friend’s kitten, so look out for a new gym member in the coming months – he or she won’t be much cop on the SkiErg, but they will definitely put a smile on your faces!

Looking back to January at the goals I set this year, both personally and professionally, it’s all a little blurred. If 2020 has taught me anything, it’s how to let go of my plans, to expect the unexpected, and how to adapt in a rapidly changing world.

Here’s what I know for sure: No matter what life throws our way, the importance of taking care of our health and wellbeing remains the same. So, whilst we may not be able to make big plans and chase our dreams just yet, we can reflect on what we’ve learned from what we’ve been through, and create a vision of how we want to look after ourselves for the rest of this extraordinary year and beyond.

For some of us, lockdown presented a chance to train in different ways and explore new avenues, and for others it was an incredibly difficult period that affected their mental health in ways which they may not yet be aware. This is a unique time that we’re experiencing together and it seems like every day there is a new challenge or restriction put in place for us to navigate, but by making time for your body and your mind you’ll feel more strength, balance and calm that can shift your whole mood.

When it comes to your training, don’t beat yourself up or feel guilty if you’ve fallen off track with prioritising self-care. Many of us have been home working, home schooling, taking care of loved ones or working on the front line, and that’s what’s been important in the last few months. But now we’re out of full lockdown and able to go about our daily business – albeit in a masked and socially distanced way – there’s a semblance of normality returning to our lives, and that means reviving your pre- COVID routine of training your body and your mind.

We adapt. We improvise. We connect.

There’s no doubt that the way we train has changed over the past few months with

much of it being done virtually, but is this set to replace the physical gym or should we look towards a blended way of continuing our growth and smashing our goals?

A physical gym offers easy access to equipment and workout space – two things that are expensive and not readily available at home. They also offer face-to-face personal training and direct access to the expert knowledge of trainers and class instructors. Furthermore, being able to tap into community knowledge and have the support of other people working out – a shared suffering – is really important too.

Online and virtual training is easily accessible, and there’s so much available there’s something to suit everyone at every level of fitness. It’s flexible and fits your schedule, any time and any place. But does it offer everything you’ve identified as important to your training regime and is it as motivating as physically being at the gym?

Judging by these five new trends that have emerged as we’ve come out of lockdown, there’s room in your life for both the physical and the virtual.

Personalisation – one size does not fit all.

No two people are the same, no two people face the exact same challenges, and no two people have the same goals, and this is why a personalised training plan is so important.

Training Apps – challenge, achieve, celebrate.

It’s hard to train alone. We need encouragement, a challenge, instruction and guidance, and some good old-fashioned camaraderie. We need to be pushed to our limits to get the best from ourselves. When we were locked out of our gyms, more people than ever turned to technology to fill the void left by lockdown. It’s a way to connect with other likeminded athletes and a means of mapping your training, and it’s really quite nice when you get a badge to reward your efforts!

On demand.

When there’s a disconnect in life, people feel the need to reconnect via any means available. During lockdown, that meant virtual training or pounding the pavements. Moving into the virtual space is now a necessity for every gym and training facility, and these online or virtual classes might not have otherwise happened if not for COVID. From live streaming classes, PT sessions and posting videos for on-demand consumption, to motivational coaching online and even renting out equipment, it’s accessible, flexible, and it’s here to stay.

Home gym.

Purchase of home gym equipment spiked in the lockdown period – from big ticket items like treadmills to the more basic and affordable dumbbells - as people tried to keep up with their pre-COVID fitness routines. It’s incredible what you can do with a set of dumbbells, just ask your PT.

Learn and live.

Possibly the most important message to come out of the pandemic is the need to look after our mental and physical health and to address any pre-existing issues we have to give us the best outcome should we become ill. The education we have received since the pandemic struck has been nothing short of an information dump and is often hard to comprehend the science. The really good news – yes there is some – is that hundreds of thousands of people across the globe are now training for the first time and seeing great results. Long may it continue.

The next step.

Look back to January at the goals you set and work out what you’ve learned over the past six months. What would you change about the way you navigated lockdown? How have you coped without a physical gym and how would you best prepare yourself for future lockdowns? Now’s the time to futureproof your training and work out how you can keep on track throughout the duration of this pandemic, and if we go into lockdown again you’ll be ready.