I have an excuse. I had surgery two months before the first lockdown, sending me into a spiral. What was I going to do? How could I see my physio? And, when would this all be over? I had no answers; all I had was crutches and Netflix.
I’m a student athlete but tell that to my body. Playing first team football for UEL plus study was meant to be my university experience. Who would’ve thought that in the dog days of 2019 by I would have torn my anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) putting me out for the rest of the football season?
I was walking on a busted leg, watching my team train and assisting when I could. Which was not often, as even walking was a task. Cycling was my limit. Cycling!
I was at rock bottom – on hold, waiting for a surgery date.
January 28, 2020: the day couldn’t come faster. Finally, I had a surgery date and hope again. I just wanted it to happen so I could recover and play ASAP.
By the full lockdown of March, I was only just beginning to walk again.
Lockdown has made us all lazy, one way or another. And I’m no exception. Over the many lockdowns, I lost my motivation and my will to even try. My new problem was finding the motivation and drive to do more, and get myself in a place where I was comfortable enough to strive to perform at a high level again.
I was physically limited and it killed me on the inside, so I had to find a way to get my body moving – jogging, home workouts plus a strict diet. How, in my underwhelming days, was I going to do that?
It began with strategically placing equipment and clothing in plain sight, to nudge myself into using them. I want to work out at home. The night before, I place my gym clothes on my desk and my equipment in the middle of the room. I cannot ignore them – they will annoy me so eventually I have to use them.
I wanted to restart smoothie breakfasts to help lose the dreaded quarantine weight. Same solution. I left the ingredients on the dining room table mocking me to make a smoothie – or rot – when I walked into the kitchen. No running around and looking required. I have everything I need to start my day, with a side of no excuses.
Having everything ready, awkwardly in the way, encourages you to do something about it. You cannot ignore what is going on before your eyes. We can all use this awkwardness to give the indirect motivation we need to get started.
Think of this as providing triggers to action. Dining room table untidy with ingredients (Trigger) making a smoothie to tidy up (Solution). Do this enough and it becomes a habit – an automatic cause and action.
These small changes in my daily life have helped me recover, lose my post-surgery bed-bound weight gain.
As outside slowly opens up, I have tweaked these new habits. With gyms reopened, instead of leaving my gym clothes on the desk, I now pack my gym bag and leave it by the front door to encourage my morning workouts…after my morning smoothie.
All these tweaks ensure I cannot overlook the tasks I’ve set for myself.
I am even maintaining these habits through fasting for Ramadan. Currently, of course, my eating and training schedule is very different. However, established habits don’t just immediately drop dead when you’re not using them. Your brain locks them away until needed. Once I put my prompts back in the awkward places, my body and mind will kick back in.
You, too, can create these kinds of habits. You simply have to figure out what you want to achieve and plan out a way to maximise your time – prompted or mocked by the strategically placed tools you need to get going.
If a half-broken man can do it then you and your able-body have no excuses not to bounce back better too.
