What to do about the COVID blues… (Part 1 of 3)

We’re fresh into 2021 and much of our fitness family around America (and the globe, really) is still in disbelief. “How can we still be in quarantine after all this time?? When is my gym gonna open up? Am I really supposed to trail run with a mask on??? And how is there a shortage on free weights??? Two bucks a pound??? Are you kidding me???”

Yeah! Ok. It’s been a little tough. So if you’re one of our radio listeners who is bouncing off the walls and suffering from the COVID-19 blues, then here are some tips that might help.

Step 1 – Sell your kids. Those little buggers are expensive and they’re not going to help you save for that Olympic weight set you saw on CraigsList. If that’s too extreme for you, then you can try this modified exercise: Don’t sell your kids.

Go ahead and keep them but you’ll need to address the issue. Because let’s face it, you need your sanity, but they need theirs too. Be brave and explore ways to balance being engaged with them versus having your own alone time. How do you do that? How the heck would I know??? I don’t even know how many kids you have! But ok, let’s try this:

1- Keep your kids on a regular sleep schedule. No matter what, bed time is ___pm and everybody is up no later than ___am each morning. Doesn’t matter if school is on or off. Doesn’t matter if it’s the weekend. Just do it! I know, I know. How cruel. Kids can’t stay up late on a weekend? Well sure they can! And you might even enjoy them being unconscious for a little longer on Saturday and Sunday morning. Just remember, there’ll be a fight Sunday night and hell to pay on Monday morning. So let your conscience be your guide on that one. I recommend consistency.

And by the way, this goes for your teenagers too! Yeah, maybe you give them an extra hour or so before they have to go to bed compared to the little tikes. But the formula of consistency is where the magic lies.

2- Wake up long before your kids do. You might think you’re doing this already. You’re not. Here’s why. Even if you’re up at 6am every day, and your kids wake up an hour later at 7am, it’s not enough time for you. I recommend a three hour window before their scheduled wake-up time. That’s one hour for getting yourself moving and taking care of the business of the house (chores, lunches, water plants, etc), and another hour for you and your partner. Get some together time, meditate, pray, enjoy some coffee or a morning pre-workout beverage or light meal. Then you have another hour to shift into Gear 6. Click open the Murph Workout Radio app, click your favorite flavor of fitness music for that day, and get ready to sweat it out! Don’t think you can? Believe me, if you can fit work into your life, then you can fit workOUT into your life and that means you can fit radio into your life… Murph Workout Radio, of course!

Now some of you are saying, “yeah, but my kids get up at 6am”! OK. So what? Get up at 3! Better yet, change their routine to 7 or even 8 if you can. But if you can’t, you better step it up. This is the one time you have to set up your day and get some balance in your life before the chaos of the day takes over and you’re just along for the ride. 3am isn’t reasonable? Be UNreasonable! Yeah, ok, ok… not gonna happen, right? That’s still ok. Just modify the formula. Take the three parts down to a half hour per segment or 40 minutes, or whatever it takes. But commit to it and make it necessary.

3- Put your kids to work. That’s right. Fitness is a family thing. It’s not just for flabby adults anymore. So you can work this part a couple of different ways. If you have a problem getting up three hours early, shoot for two hours early and have these kids join your workout. Don’t worry, they won’t break. Modify the exercises and go slow. You may not get all the reps you want, so focus on form, breathing, and strength-building. Change the routines frequently, and make sure to add music. We strongly recommend Murph Workout Radio’s Dance station for the kiddies. Or if you’ve got all girls, Girl Power is sure to fire you up too.

If early morning togetherness is not the way for you, then get them moving during the day. Set an alarm for every half hour, 45 min, or hour, and have a quick easy 10-rep exercise or 30-second plank for them to break up the routine. Join in and have some fun! By the way, it’s not a bad idea to plan a few exercises in advance and have them written down nearby so you don’t waste time thinking about what to do. If kids see and feel momentum, they’re much more likely to jump on board. Now good luck!