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How did you stay fit during lockdown?

Re: How did you stay fit during lockdown?

Postby Gordie12 » Sat May 01, 2021 4:17 pm

Hi Simon

I've walked the same five mile route from the house more or less everyday since the 1st lockdown. It's fine for a bit of exercise but it is next best thing to flat so not that much help for getting back in to the hills.

Since lockdown finished I've done five near twenty mile walks on hill tracks with a bit more climbing involved and at the same time I've gone on a bit of diet and lost 13lbs in 3 weeks (can't compete with Jupe's 31lbs!).

I'm hoping that the increased mileage and the loss of some weight will mean that my body won't get too much of a shock when I start climbing but only time will tell.............
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Re: How did you stay fit during lockdown?

Postby AJ01 » Sun May 02, 2021 11:42 am

I was doing reasonably well on my aim to re-gain some hill-fitness until the New Year when the combination of very wet weather and the much-increased use of local footpaths turned the ground into a boot-swallowing quagmire when every time I put my foot on the ground it slipped sideways, and it was impossible to push off on a stride with my rear foot because it just slipped backwards instead of propelling me forwards. At this point I gave up going for walks other than a few round my local town.

So my answer to the question in the thread title is the same as Lightfoot2017's: I didn't. :(
I did get further than the fridge :wink: but still managed to gain half a stone. :roll:
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Re: How did you stay fit during lockdown?

Postby dav2930 » Sun May 02, 2021 11:55 am

I'm completely hopeless at indoor exercise regimes - I just don't have the motivation or the discipline to keep them up. The only indoor physical activity I used to do regularly was on local climbing walls and as they've all been closed through the lockdowns that hasn't been an option either. But fortunately for me there's some pretty decent hill country I can call "local" to my home, especially the North Pennines - Kirkland is only about 4 miles away - so I found myself going up Cross Fell more often than usual! Given the total lack of clarity of what "local" was actually supposed to mean in England, I must admit I started giving it the fairly liberal interpretation of, in my case, NE Cumbria, so I drove quite often to places like Mungrisedale, Mardale Head, Swindale and even Patterdale for some good winter fell walks. Since I was on furlough through most of the winter I think I probably did more walking than in previous winters, which seems a bit ironic, not to say cheeky! But really, the outdoor environment and the ease of maintaining proper social distancing therein always made me feel infinitely less likely to contract or transmit any viruses than did, say, a trip to the supermarket. The "spirit" of the guidance, I felt, ought to be rationality rather than masochistic self-deprivation. :?
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Re: How did you stay fit during lockdown?

Postby Veryhappybunny » Sun May 02, 2021 2:46 pm

I bought a climber/stepper but to be honest it was pretty boring, so it didn't get as much use at it could have. This was combined with local walking in the suburbs of Glasgow and latterly out to the wee hills on the outskirts, plus some cycling on the unusually quiet roads. However when I did get back to the hills in August it was very clear that a lot of hill fitness was lost.
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Re: How did you stay fit during lockdown?

Postby simon-b » Sun May 02, 2021 7:10 pm

Veryhappybunny wrote:I bought a climber/stepper but to be honest it was pretty boring, so it didn't get as much use at it could have. This was combined with local walking in the suburbs of Glasgow and latterly out to the wee hills on the outskirts, plus some cycling on the unusually quiet roads. However when I did get back to the hills in August it was very clear that a lot of hill fitness was lost.

Perhaps an aerobic step would be more fun than a climber/stepper? It would provide a greater variety of moves, and as well as traditional step aerobics you can do modern HIIT step, and use it for all sorts of exercises.
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Re: How did you stay fit during lockdown?

Postby Pointless Parasite » Sun May 02, 2021 7:46 pm

simon-b wrote:Interesting to hear about Pointless Parasite's current residence in France. A friend's mother lives in the Jura region (French Jura, of course!), more than 15 km from Cret de la Neige but same general area, near Lons le Saunier. I went there a couple of times with friends. We went to Saint Claude once, and crossed the Swiss border (pre covid, of course!) at La Cure a few times. You might well know those places, PP. And we've drunk the local vin jaune, an acquired taste but worth trying. I guess you get a good view of currently forbidden Switzerland from Cret de la Neige, I've not climbed it, but one of my friends has.


I've not been to the places you mention yet, although when the situation allowed I climbed a couple of the Swiss Jura mountains. I climbed Crete de la Neige for the 6th time today and found it depressingly hard work. Clearly I've got a long way to go to get back to full fitness :( . The views are great, but it's mainly the French alps you can see. Obviously there's Mont Blanc, but on a clear day you can see Barre des Ecrins, which is much further south (the most southerly 4000er I think).
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Re: How did you stay fit during lockdown?

Postby Sgurr » Tue May 04, 2021 10:42 am

Was, by sheer coincidence, given a fitbit for Xmas 2019, and averaged approx 12,000 steps per day in 2020 discovering local paths I never knew about. Stayed fit enough to climb the 7 wee Fife hills in a day last year, but this year I sprained an ankle in January and had all February and half March before I got back to "normal". Not tried big hills yet as husband isn't well. Now I am sick of the local paths, but set myself challenges like "the ring road" walking all the way round town on paths (only 9 miles).Not gone back to stair climbing as in Up My Stairs and Down My Stairs https://www.walkhighlands.co.uk/Forum/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=96452 https://www.walkhighlands.co.uk/Forum/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=96412
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Re: How did you stay fit during lockdown?

Postby malky_c » Tue May 04, 2021 11:41 am

I was in Glasgow for the first lockdown - I just upped my cycling and running a bit to compensate for no hills. I probably cycled 1600 miles in the 3.5 months we were restricted for travelling, all within a 20 mile radius of Glasgow.

We then headed back to the Highlands in July and have been there ever since - so no late-autumn lockdown for us.

For the Winter 2021 lockdown - as above, except travel to local hills was a bit more feasible in the Highlands, so we were able to do some walking as well.

I think it was partly just fortunate circumstances. It's useful to have other activities that aren't hillwalking that you already do regularly.
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Re: How did you stay fit during lockdown?

Postby overloaded » Tue May 04, 2021 12:29 pm

I live close to countryside in the South of England and I have been fortunate in being able to get out almost everyday.
Last year I mostly walked around 5-6 miles a day and this year I have increased that to 8-9 miles a day. Also this year started core strength exercises and a few with weights. Changed my diet alternating between meat and vegetable only dishes.
Lost around 2 stone in the process.
I am 65 by the way :)
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Re: How did you stay fit during lockdown?

Postby WeeHills » Tue May 04, 2021 1:39 pm

Lockdown version 1 was spent in the garden growing veggies, drinking wine and blethering with the neighbours (or as him indoors calls it 'gossiping like a bunch of auld fishwives). Fitness? What fitness?

The 2021 version by contrast probably involved more walking than any winter since about 1992, thanks to a combination of fine weather and (somewhat unexpectedly) only having to show up at work twice a week and the freedom to fit in work from home hours at a time to suit myself.

Admittedly even taking full advantage of the five miles over the boundary rule didn't allow me up anything higher than Hill of Stake but to be fair I've always rather been with the birds in thinking winters are for heading south anyway so really haven't felt like I missed out very much. And spending four or five days a week traipsing through heather has kept the thighs in reasonable nick.
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Re: How did you stay fit during lockdown?

Postby MusicalHiker » Thu May 06, 2021 3:09 pm

We were in Inverness at the time of the first lockdown and so I got out the bikes and we cycled down the quiet side of Loch Ness, and walked around the canal, and I took up Yoga. Having only recently moved down from Orkney where there are no big hills I always had that 'aargh I haven't done this for ages' feeling anyway, due to only getting off the island to climb something once or twice a year. The rest of the time, it's just walking and biking, but we really did enjoy the quieter roads during the first lockdown! Now, I also have a large garden.... nothing like a few hours digging the garden!
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Re: How did you stay fit during lockdown?

Postby simon-b » Thu May 06, 2021 4:12 pm

MusicalHiker wrote:We were in Inverness at the time of the first lockdown and so I got out the bikes and we cycled down the quiet side of Loch Ness, and walked around the canal, and I took up Yoga. Having only recently moved down from Orkney where there are no big hills I always had that 'aargh I haven't done this for ages' feeling anyway, due to only getting off the island to climb something once or twice a year. The rest of the time, it's just walking and biking, but we really did enjoy the quieter roads during the first lockdown! Now, I also have a large garden.... nothing like a few hours digging the garden!

A combination of yoga and soil cultivation gives a new meaning to the term plow pose.
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Re: How did you stay fit during lockdown?

Postby goth_angel » Fri May 07, 2021 1:04 pm

The honest answer is that it seems I didn't despite trying to!

During the first lockdown I made myself get out for a walk every day in the local area (largely as a way of trying to avoid going insane) and actually lost a bit of weight. It all went to pot in the second and third ones due to miserable weather. I did buy an exercise bike but wasn't using it every day.

Finally got back to the Lake District for a couple of days last weekend and my hill fitness was clearly nonexistent as I hauled myself up 2 Far Eastern fells puffing and panting. My timing was actually okay (if a bit slower than it would have been pre lockdown) but I really felt the ascent. Nothing remotely resembling a hill near where I live and it seems the only thing that really keeps you fit for hill walking is hill walking.
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Re: How did you stay fit during lockdown?

Postby litljortindan » Sat May 08, 2021 9:21 pm

Last year March-July we had decent weather and we live in the countryside so local low level walks were plentiful. Indoors I would use my wife's treadmill on bad weather days, just for a ten minutes jog and occasionally joined my wife for one of her recorded fitness programmes, the most intense (but only 20 minutes in duration) being with Caroline Pearce. I also started jogging up and down the nearest lane but that has gone by the wayside a bit now as I was sometimes sprinting the last part to get to the loo! July-December I was pleased to manage a few walks of 10km+ without too much difficulty. Probably kept within my capability to avoid injury and mountain rescue but not that much within.

This year I added squats and star jumps to my daily routine (as promoted by TV's Michael Moseley) -just a couple of minutes of these before breakfast and I upped my use of my wife's treadmill to twenty minute jogs as well as joining her for even more Caroline Pearce. I was a bit quick off the mark in going to Carn a' Mhaim in early March, only registering the bit of guidance about the legal travel limit rather than the recommendation of minimising travel but I was pleased to find that I managed the walk very well (though the path is very good I have to say) and I am sure that the little bit of exercise each day approach helped. However, further lengthy walks in the southern Cairngorms in April left me with a hamstring ache and a sore knee so I won't be pushing myself too hard over the rest of the year.

Pre-pandemic I was playing football twice a week most weeks and I think that gave me a certain kind of fitness but also left me thinking I didn't have to do anything else. I think my fitness has actually improved since then but I always put hydration first and will let the weather and water sources set my limit. And I'll never be trying to go as fast as possible because:
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Re: How did you stay fit during lockdown?

Postby simon-b » Sat May 08, 2021 11:36 pm

That's an interesting video, litlj. It's known that it's possible to overtrain if someone seriously overdoes it. If somebody has decent base fitness and no underlying health issues, I don't think there's anything wrong with going as fast as possible for short intervals, eg sprinting, burpees etc. Whereas excess ultra endurance activity can potentially be counter productive health wise, numerous experts have stated that.
Some really good points were made by all the speakers, although the often quoted 150 minutes per week is an over simplification. The guidelines given by the British NHS, American Council on Exercise etc are:
Per week, minimum:-
150 mins moderate cardio OR 75 mins vigorous cardio (or an equivalent combination of each);

PLUS strength exercises for each major muscle group at least twice a week. Strength exercises should be with a resistance that's challenging for 2 or 3 sets of 8 to 12 reps.
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