Find a Way to Train
The first weekend in March 2020, I flew to Wichita Falls, Texas, for a Starting Strength seminar. As I sat at the Dallas airport waiting for my flight back to Philadelphia, I quietly laughed to myself at how ridiculous it was that people were wearing masks at the airport. There had been some rumblings in the news about COVID, but most of the population didn’t seem too concerned about things just yet. Little did I know that about ten days later, the Pennsylvania governor would order a pseudo-lockdown, make masks required in most public places, and force the closure of gyms and other businesses that the almighty government decided were, “non-essential.”
Life is tough for a lot of folks right now. People have lost their livelihoods, had their businesses closed, been forced to move, missed meals and housing payments, lost friends and loved ones, and just had what feels like one kick after another during the past seven months. It’s not hard to understand that for many, training is way down the priority list. For those of you that find yourselves in a very difficult and stressful life situation, training might be the one thing that you can control. You can decide to relieve some of that stress through hard training and activities. You can choose to stay sharp and not let situational uncertainties sap you of all of your mental and physical well-being. You can maintain a high fitness standard and not let yourself stray from the path.
But my gym is closed.
Sounds like the perfect time to get primal with your training. Forget about the clean and climate-controlled fitness center full of fancy equipment and shiny weights. It’s time to change things up and find a way to get it done. Don’t let what you deem to be perfect be the enemy of good.
Do you have an old duffel bag in the house? Good, 50-lb bags of play sand cost less than five bucks at Home Depot. Fill up your duffel bag and carry, drag, press, and shoulder it until your lungs are on fire and your body is trembling.
Many people have some kind of weights lying around collecting dust. Dig them out of the basement and get to work.
That AirDyne you bought in 1995 that has been acting as a clothes hanger for the last decade? It’s time to crank it up.
Get out of the house and walk or hike. You might be pleasantly surprised at how many people you meet in your neighborhood by simply going for regular walks.
Find a big rock or log in the woods that you can take home and lift like Rocky training for Ivan Drago in Rocky IV.
Go for a jog or run some sprints. Is there a hill near your house? Even better.
Go to a local park and do some pull-ups on the monkey bars. You could also find a suitable tree branch or drape a towel over something sturdy and do pull-ups while also building a vice-like grip.
I get that equipment is hard to find and people are price-gouging right now, but I’ve heard a lot of people with $1,000+ dollar iPhones declare that they won’t spend $50 on some weights that could transform their life.
People always seem to find a way to afford the things that they deem valuable, and training is no exception.