Monday 20th April saw the latest in a new series of events from Assenty #VirtuallySpeaking in response to the #COVID19 outbreak and the move to remote working for the majority of businesses.
We spoke to our community about the topics that were most important to them, with managing remote working and fitness taking prime position as an area of concern.
We invited along self confessed fitness fanatic and MD of Make Events Holly Moore, Personal Trainer and Founder of Recover Yourself Fit Kelly Marie Williamson and Professional Boxer and Public Speaker Stacey Copeland hosted by Assenty Founder Chi-Chi Ekweozor. Together they shared tips on keeping yourself and your team motivated, fitness as part of business culture and getting creative with workouts during lockdown.
We kicked things off by hearing from Kelly Marie on keeping healthy and fit through nutrition and how to combine the two whilst working remotely.
” It’s really about getting in the kitchen and embracing fresh food and cooking, we’ve all been given this gift of time in one way or another so let’s use that time to get to know food better, understand what makes us healthy and focus on making cooking and eating a real family affair. Help the kids learn about food and nutrition and what fuels their body, and don’t go on any restrictive diets during this time.
Our bodies and minds are under different and new stressors so focus on drinking lots of water, it’s easy to forget when we’re out of routine and at home all day, eat lots of veg and try to avoid snacking out of boredom where possible.
Then we spoke to Holly on running a business, finding the time to keep active and making the most of it.
” I’m solo isolating so in some ways that makes it easier to create time for exercise but I am also running a business in one of the most challenging sectors right now and so the reality is I’m working more than full time at the moment. To help with this I’m trying to keep to a similar schedule as life pre-lockdown I’m doing my exercise first thing, setting me up for my day and as a business we’re having our regular meetings at the same times and trying to keep things as ‘normal’ as possible.
It’s also about knowing what suits you, I’m fortunate that I have a little gym set up in my garage at home but despite that I knew I still wouldn’t do the same workouts I usually do. Outside of lockdown I have personal training and do classes so with the magic of Zoom and other technologies I’ve managed to keep that up which is important because that’s what suits me.
The main thing is ‘ You have to exercise, you’ve got to get your body moving for your physical and mental health. Even my Mum has rediscovered Jane Fonda during lockdown! – it’s all about mindset and it doesn’t matter what you do, as long as you do something!
And finally we spoke to Stacey about staying motivated despite the circumstances, drawing on her experience of being a professional athlete and sharing strategies for fitness consistency whilst working remotely.
Keeping routine is really crucial and in boxing we have set training times to train with team mates or coaches. As much as possible I’ve tried to train at the same time of day so it still feels proper and usual.
If your entire life revolves around sport and that’s taken away your identity and purpose goes with it – but that’s the same for everyone else, the people who play sport and go to the gym it’s part of what they do and who they are.
To keep motivated and focused, goal setting is really important. As an athlete you have to learn to reset your goals and that’s the same again for people who aren’t professional athletes, you can’t do what you’d usually do, so keep at those goals, keep setting them but adjust them accordingly and don’t get frustrated.
Say to yourself ‘ I’m going to control what I can. I’ve set out to be a world champion – that goal is front and centre and I have to keep it there – if I’m going to get there. That’s the same for everyone, no matter what the goal might be.
For all the insights from Kelly-Marie, Holly & Stacey you can check out our Twitter Feed.
What’s next?
The next #VirtuallySpeaking takes place on Monday 11th May at 2pm, we’re still confirming our line up but will be discussing the topic of remote working and homeschooling – and how on earth to manage the two.
The conversation doesn’t have to end
Why not join the #VirtuallySpeaking community and keep in touch with the community, share tips and advice or just have a chat and keep each other company. We’d love to have you!