Japan never experienced a lockdown like other countries. There was a period in the spring of 2020 when kids couldn’t go to daycare or school. Days were spent working in the parking lot under the maple trees while the kids ran around. Despite the time in the shade and sunshine, I wasn’t moving. Too much time in the camping chair as I typed away on my laptop.
I had experimented with apps or tried advice from guides on routines to follow. My longest streak was around 6 months, but I couldn’t get over that hump. After some time there would be something that threw me off, where I would lose my motivation.
It clicked in that spring of 2020.
I was reading a marketing book by Mark Schaefer where he brought up the brilliant work by Joe Wicks in building his brand. I went to check out what he was all about and happened to stumble upon a gold mine. He had just started his PE with Joe and I thought I would give it a go. His daily commitment to bringing challenging workouts was exactly what I needed. I found that the thing I was missing was having someone in on the journey with me. Despite his great physique, Joe seemed to break a sweat during the workouts and it felt good to struggle together.
Joe kept up his daily exercises long enough to get me into a rhythm. A habit. It stuck. Even when he pulled back to 3 live workouts a day, I started going through all of his old videos. I found that the surprise that comes with a workout I haven’t done before keeps me motivated.
However, there came a time when I had gone through most of his content and he was now putting up videos only once a month or so. I could feel my motivation starting to lag, so I looked for alternatives. There were tons.
I’ve now landed on a rotation between:
Thanks to Dan’s videos, I’ve gotten into using weights as well now and managing to put on a bit of muscle. His 6 week shred series is pure gold in giving you structure and variety. Oliver has some challenging cardio workouts that get my heart rate up. I especially like his jump rope for beginners video. 10 minutes and I’ve got a solid cardio workout done.
Highly recommend checking out the videos from all of these folks if you looking for some motivation and finding a way to get on the fitness bandwagon.
Happy burpees.