Brooke Erickson: Silver Linings Playbook

Is, or was, there anything to be gained from enforced social isolation?

We asked seven fitness professionals how it has impacted them both for good bad. And you can use their advice to make your own home improvements.

BROOKE ERICKSON
Mother of three, body and nutrition coach

THE POSITIVE

Ironically, one month before Covid-19 became a serious issue in our country, I sold all of my garage gym equipment due to continuous parking issues in my garage. Then my gym closed three weeks later.

At first, I felt super frustrated, but then I reminded myself that I train to be healthy and more agile and to have those things, I don’t need a bunch of equipment.

I reminded myself that I have two legs that I can use to go running or mountain biking and two arms that I can use to do push-ups and
bodyweight dips. This situation forced me to rely on myself, rather than something outside myself, and I haven’t missed a training day yet!

GOAL ADJUSTMENTS

I have shifted my goals to what I have available to me and what I feel will challenge me enough to keep me excited and focused on training. For example, I am not a runner, but now I am focusing on becoming a better one.

We all have activities outside of our comfort zone that we can focus on for this temporary situation!

ADAPTIVE EATING

My diet hasn’t changed that much except for the fact that I now have three teenagers at home all day and they are non-stop eating machines!

I have gotten a lot better at not snacking all of the time because I am using this as an opportunity to teach my kids that having an awareness to the amount of food they eat, is important.

We don’t have the concept of “good” food or “bad” food in our house. Rather, we focus on too much food or too little food and how to know the difference between actually feeling hungry and mindless snacking.

You can get free access to TRAIN for HER issue 86 and read the full article by clicking here.