The Covid Weight Gain is Real - Time to Get Outside and Burn It Off!
This past year has been nuts on everybody. Changes to the schedule that usually kept us more active occurred and many of us lost events that would normally motivate us to train / lose weight for things like class reunions, graduations, weddings, sporting / racing events have all disappeared. This year required more self-discipline than ever before as it was easy to stay home and avoid doing our normal routines. The physiological and psychological stresses on us are obvious and one of the first signs of our reaction to stress is unwanted weight gain.
The charts are a breakdown of the American Psychological Association survey of groups of American adults that are gaining weight (42%) this past year due to COVID. The obvious reasons of closed facilities, fewer sports and recreation activities, constant snacking, increase alcohol consumption all lead to increased weight gain each year. However, when the average American typically gains ONLY 1-2 lbs per year on average, this past years statistics should alarm you. More exercise is the very thing that makes us better able to fight this illness and has to be more aggressively pushed by us all.
On the bright side, 18% lost significant weight and 40% maintained their current weight, so good job 58% who started or maintain good habits of exercise and not overeating. Here is the breakdown of many different groups in America and how they did (good and bad). Some groups on average lost more weight than they gained! Keep moving!
Click to see full study / survey
For those of you who have found yourself on the wrong side of the weight charts above, or stuck at a current weight, consider a few basic concepts to moving more and eating less.
Fitness For Beginners - Get Started for FREE - Everyone starts off as a beginner at some point. You might as well make today Day One! This week, a question comes from a gentleman who was once fairly active, former military, but has not done anything in a year other than an occasional weight lifting session at his gym. The question is, "How do I get back into working out again without killing myself after a year hiatus?"
Move More, Eat Less, Sleep Better, Less Stress - Most of us need to look for ways to start getting serious again and stop bad habits and focus on good habits. Here is a quick and easy motivator and mantra you can try to help you with maintaining discipline to be better at exercising, eating better (and less), sleeping better, and learning ways to mitigate stress.
The Basics Done at Home With Less
There are many workouts you can do with little to no equipment. Some of my favorite calisthenics workouts are the Pyramid, SuperSet, and the Max Rep Set Workouts. Not only are these progressively challenging to all levels of exercises, they are fool proof to improving PT Test scoring for any of the Tactical Professions.
Top Ten Pyramid Workouts - Some classics to choose from when you need new ideas. Check out the Pyramid Workout Book if you like Pyramid Training.
But one of my latest creations is called the Calisthenics and Cardio - No Equipment Needed Guide For Body Weight Exercisers and maybe a good option for people of all fitness levels to stay home or get outside and train.
Perfect For ALL LEVELS of Fitness
Here is what you get with this BOOK or EBOOK:
- A 30 Day Beginner Chart to get moving again - TRUE BEGINNERS.
- A Six Week Intermediate program that progresses with miles of running and meters of swimming as cardio options along with building a calisthenics base.
- An Eight Week Advanced Spec Ops Level PST prep cycle that will focus not only on the PST, but many of the other exercises seen in grinder PTs and beat down activities (Bear crawls, fireman carries, lunges, etc).
NEED TO REPLACE SWIMMING? There will be swimming involved as a cardio option - but you can replace swimming with a variety of idea - See Swimming Replacement Ideas
Get the BOOK today. If you want the EBOOK - see link:
Calisthenics and Cardio Workout EBOOK
Some More Helpful Ideas for Home Gyms, Creative Training Options, and
Building New GOOD Habits
Balance Stress, Fitness, Recovery and More - Think of the stresses that life brings upon us and the recovery from that stress as a see-saw. Too much stress whether from your daily experiences (real or imagined), work, personal, or life in general will weigh on one end of the see-saw and everything you do to help you balance and recover on the other end.
Homemade Gym Equipment for the Expensive Home Gym - When it comes to inexpensive ideas to add to your training, the new portable squat rack I just made that fits on local pullup bars and the homemade sandbag are two classics. You can also add 5 gallon buckets of sand or water as well as 5 gallon water jugs to add to your outdoor gym as well. Sometimes, you cannot wait on the weight room and need something to get stuff done! These ideas came out of necessity for outdoor workouts we do with fairly large groups.
Can't Lift? Can't Swim? What To Do When the Pool and / or Gym is Closed - During this time when pools and gym / weight room are closed, there is something you can do - in fact MANY options are available to you. You just have to get creative and maybe open to new methods of training for a cycle. Here is a list of options for you to try now that your daily habit of training has been altered.
List of Beginner and
Intermediate Level Prep Guides
Beginner / Intermediate Fitness Guides
The Beginner / Intermediate Guide to Fitness
Reclaim Your Life Erin O'Neill Story (beginner / intermediate)
Veterans Fitness Baby Boomer and a Flat Stomach
Circuit Training 101 Beginner / Intermediate Guide to the Gym
The Busy Executive Workout Routine
NEW: Calisthenics and Cardio (only) (Spring / Summer Cycle)
Tactical Fitness (40+) Phase 1, Phase 2
Stew Smith Fitness Membership – You have access to years of workouts for both beginner / intermediate and advanced / special ops levels of fitness. Each week you will receive new and unpublished workouts being tested by Navy SEAL veteran / Stew Smith CSCS and his local group of future tactical professionals in both basic training and advanced spec ops training programming. The latest videos, articles, and other programming will be part of the weekly data feed to members as well. We go through the Seasonal Tactical Fitness Periodization program one week at a time.
Online Personal Coaching – Receive one on one training with Stew Smith as he personally designed programs for you that fit your schedule (time per day / days per week), abilities, facilities / equipment, and goals. There personally designed programs for YOU are received one week at a time and each week YOUR feedback helps to create the following week of training. We work around issues that get in the way of our typical training days – injury / aches / pains, work, family, travel, and deadlines. Call and talk to Stew to see if it is right for you.
Best of all, if you have questions, email Stew Smith himself (Stew@stewsmith.com). Join the tactical fitness group discussions, latest articles, videos, podcasts at the Stew Smith Tactical Fitness Training Closed Group on Facebook.
Questions? Just email me at Stew@StewSmith.com
At StewSmithFitness.com - List of Products and Services
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