Lessons from lockdowns - 2020 in a nutshell
For many people 2020 was a tough year. Training became trivial for many who’s livelihoods were threatened and personal situations were far from ideal. I don’t want to gloss over the fact that as a coach and trainer, my work changed dramatically and supporting my family narrowed in my focus. Training - something I discovered I took for granted - was sporadic and often forgotten in the wake of being locked-down in a seemingly never ending tier system.
Heroes and villains:
Whatever your political views, opinions on public health or the global economy, we were all subject to change beyond anything I’d experienced before. Self-employed sole-traders like myself in the fitness industry were in deep water. Adapt or suffer. Or both. But from the difficult decisions, tense days and sleepless nights came many life-long lessons.
Gyms were vilified in the press in early March 2020. Touted as festering pools of germs, and hot-beds of infection. The fitness industry stood its ground as best it could, implemented measures to increase hygiene and introduced social distancing. When back out of lockdown statistics appeared to show gyms among the lowest rates of COVID-19 transmission of all leisure activities. I think many of the cleaning protocols will remain long after Corona virus is forgotten.
What we learned first in 2020 is that in real terms, so few people in the UK go to gyms and leisure centres (as a percentage of the whole population) that even when health is at the forefront of everyone in governments mind, gyms are not seen as part of a solution for public wellness. It was deemed more important that people could watch football and drink alcohol because there are simply far more people who rely on those things. And it makes more money…
Gyms aside, sports like weightlifting are not understood. When we are told “go outside and get your daily exercise” it is clear that not many people at the ‘top’ lift weights, let alone do weightlifting. If something isn’t even on the radar of the decision makers, whether they understand it becomes irrelevant. So whilst I whole heartedly disagreed with the decision to close gyms, I was not surprised by it. Until a sport like weightlifting is taught more widely in the UK it will not be recognised as a valuable pastime.
Dedication:
In 2020 I learned how much weightlifting means to some people. Even outside of the lifters I coach, I’ve seen people create spaces to train in underground carparks, back-gardens, inside sheds and even in living-rooms. Risking your TV and finest crockery to get some squats in proves how this sport can become a necessity for both physical and mental health. And made for some great content on the Gram.
Money was spent and commitments were made to use kit rain or shine. One highlight for me was putting up a gazebo in the rain so I could do some cleans, pulls and rows (it was too low to do anything overhead). When anyone complained their set up wasn’t perfectly flat or level we all referred them to kids training on rusty bars in Cameroon on make-shift platforms that literally had to be reconstructed after any failed lifts. I think we all got a bit less entitled this year too.
Companies making barbells and plates made a killing this year but I do wonder what happens when gyms re-open. Will we all keep them or will Ebay be flooded with Mirafit plates? Who by the way I think became heroes in their own right this year. I wish I’d been an investor…
Turning a corner:
On both a personal level and with the lifters I coach, I’ve seen how even in a year where the months of ‘proper’ training can be counted on one hand it has still been possible to get into good shape, hit good numbers and for many of them, hit personal bests. It is a testament to how hard they’ve worked and how resilient they’ve been. I’m very proud to coach them all.
Looking into 2021 we know that COVID-19 isn’t gone. We know that it could be months in-and-out of tiered lockdowns. And we also know that even locked-down, with only a shed to train in we can still do what we love and enjoy doing it.