Taking health and fitness during the pandemic by the horns

With many still in quarantine brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic, they had to make drastic changes to their lifestyles, including how they maintain their health and fitness.

Health and Fitness during the pandemic was discussed by Pinoyliga.com founder, Benny Benitez, along with physical, mental health and fitness practitioners during the fifth episode of Bull by the Horn webcast last July 25.

These professionals are: Sports Medicine Surgeon Dr. Rich Pasion; Kerry Sports Manila Director of Sports and Recreation Mike Montes; Strength and Conditioning Coach Martin Alido; Mental health advocate and resource speaker Olivia Yao; and AA General Insurance Agency Sales Head Bardz Zotomayor. Along with these credible people, sports analyst and anchor Migs Bustos fulfilled the role of co-moderator for the webcast, who kept the conversation going and asked questions.

"Physical and mental wellness is not only relevant to athletes, players, or the ones involved in the sports industry--but it applies to everyone, so they get a better understanding of what's happening," Benitez said.

NEW NORMAL 

The esteemed guests shared the ‘new normal’ in their respective fields.

For Montes, the government-mandated lockdown came as a shock Kerry Sports Manila. While he expressed that it was difficult to tell patrons that they can no longer enter the doors of the gym for the time being, he has laid down some plans for the future.

"We'll try to emulate countries and see what have they down with their fitness industries to make a safe and healthy environment again,” he said.

Safety measures will be put in place once Kerry Sports opens. For example, exercise equipment such as treadmills will be placed meters apart as well as the benches.

For now, classes are being held via online video calls and they are posting fitness tips online. "We are always keeping in touch with our customers," he added.

Meanwhile, Dr. Pasion is surprised at the consultations he has received recently. "I've gotten referrals from those who hurt themselves at home because they've done workouts they saw online and they never done before," he shared. These injuries include isel ones and shoulder dislocation.

“It's not only you get a list of exercises, but you should know how to do them properly," Dr. Pasion advised.

Batang Gilas Coach Alido is handling a new kind of sports today, ‘e-sports.’ He said that because the members of the basketball team are training through computer simulation, the players are much less active and "more sedentary."

"Imagine they play more than eight hours a day, so they need more physical activity," he said. His current goal is to prevent the players from experiencing fatigue.

Meanwhile, Zotomayor shared a much-needed safety blanket during these extraordinary times. The AA CPlus from AA General Insurance Agency offers COVID-19 Insurance coverage as well as online consultations.

NEW CHALLENGES 

The online platform can challenge gyms, Mike Montes observed. "Because while there are a lot of good information (on workouts) online...we (gyms) have to think of something different to compete with them."

The social aspect of going to the gyms has disappeared since the pandemic, especially at Kerry Sports, where the "yoga and basketball community is pretty close."

Moving on to tackle the mental health of the public, everyone agreed that the mind is as important as the body that carries it--however, people can experience problems in both areas.

Mental health advocate Yao shared her observations: "Pinoys are known to be resillient, but since the lockdown, people have been showing signs of anxiety, depression...and they are more open about feelings."

She explained further that suicidal tendencies have gone up and cited some questions people may be pondering during quarantine, which could be a cause for their anxieties, such as: "When is the lockdown going to end? What if it doesn't?”

Anxiety, Yao observed, is our minds creating scenarios and looking too far into the future.

NEW KNOWLEDGE 

Moving on to more positive things, all of the physical fitness experts imparted these key advice:

1) Warm-up before taking on a workout routine to gauge if your body can handle the activity. If your body is capable, do the less-strenuous parts of the routine first before gradually moving on to the more stressful ones. This will prevent you from having sore muscles the next day.

2) Take on exercise routines that are equal to the level of your body strength.

3) And as much as possible, consult a professional or research before doing any routine to avoid getting injured.

Meanwhile, Yao observed that we must "acknowledge that mental health is important, and we must do something with it." She shared how people can do just that.

1) "Recognize that we are all grieving," Yao advised, "the loss of control, freedom."

2) "Be gentle with yourself and everyone around you." After all, she explained, we all need to look out for one another, given the current situation.

Yao also pointed out that people may experience "closeness fatigue," which is a condition that makes a person become easily angry with the people you live with, and shared that people must be aware of this condition.

3) Create a schedule and develop a routine. "A schedule is a list of activities, while a routine is how you do those activities."

4) "Create positive talk with yourself and everyone...be generous with praises."

‘Bull by the Horn’ by Benny Benitez is powered by Smart, PLDT, and AA General Insurance Agency.