It’s ok to not be ok…

It’s ok to not be ok…

I’m sure for you, as it was for me, lockdown presented a great opportunity to attain all these goals that I "don't always have time for"...

 

...Even here at CoachParry HQ we've been advocating that this lockdown period is the perfect opportunity to build on your strength base as we are not necessarily able to run. (Disclaimer - I do still agree with this and I am still super keen on everyone building some amazing strength in this time)

 

Lockdown training has been going super well for me. 

 

I am lucky enough to have been able to borrow a wattbike for lockdown and with all the live strength sessions we have put in place I am keeping more than consistent and really enjoying it. 

 

I’ve also been working remotely and while its had some challenges and been super busy its been exciting to challenge new ways of working.

 

It’s all been going well…

 

...But towards the end of last week, it got to a point where it felt like this "maximise your time message" was the message from every angle. 

 

Things are starting to unravel...

 

Work, training, personal pressure and in general social media telling us constantly to be more productive, more efficient, more anything. I've even ventured into cooking (which for those who dont know me well, is not a good idea for me or for those around me - haha).

 

It all just got a bit much on Thursday evening and after much guilt, I decided to take Friday off. 

 

Off work, off training, off social media (and no cooking).

 

I was feeling so so guilty for not training and working. Not taking the opportunity to "get so much done".

 

After a chat with the friends I am currently in lockdown with as well as Lindsey, Brad & Devlin, I gave myself some leeway and decided to be a bit more gentle with the pressure I am placing myself under. 

 

I think these are extremely unprecedented times and the way each person is dealing with it is different. (I am also an extremely social being, so this is very hard for me in general).

 

I landed up taking Saturday morning off as well, the gloomy weather was perfect for a netflix day, and I decided to "get back on the bike" only on Saturday evening. 

 

I had a great ride on Saturday eve, a very cool run around the house on Sunday and felt back and rearing to go again this Monday morning when I woke up.

 

The point of my very long story is this...

 

Why am I telling you this and what's the point of it all you ask? Here are the 4 things I want you to take away from this:

 

  1. Be kind to yourselves. 

This is an extremely pressure filled time in so many ways - Many of you have children and now have to play the role of teacher as well as parent, the general levels of stress of business and income, maintaining a household and keeping up work and family (all while still trying to maintain good levels of fitness) is a lot to take in.

 

  1. It's ok to not be ok 

Even though all of social media is telling you to maximise this lockdown time, it really is ok to take a day, especially due to the factors in point number 1, it's ok to take a day or two to not be ok. To rest and recover so as to allow yourself to bounce back.

 

  1. Use your community

Speak to the people around you, lean on the community you have, ask for help and use this forum to reach out. We are going through a collective traumatic experience and so you'd be surprised how many people are also feeling the pressure and theres comfort in knowing that youre not the only one and we're all in this together. When we built the Coach Pary training platform that was one of the main things that we wanted it to be - a community of like minded people supporting each other.

 

  1. "Get back on the bike" 

After my lazy Netflix day on Saturday I only got on the bike at 6pm. But I was better for it and after allowing myself some time to reset, I had a very cool session and each session after that has been awesome. It can also be easy to fall into the cycle of deprecation, so give yourself some time but "get back on the bike". Ask a friend to hold you accountable or use the live sessions we're hosting to hold you accountable so you join in.

I promise you, you will feel so much better after it.

Shona 🙂

About Shona Hendricks

Shona is currently the Head of Sport Science at the High-Performance Centre, University of Pretoria. She returned from Madrid, Spain, in 2013 where she completed her MBA in Sport Management with Universidad Europea de Madrid (Real Madrid FC). She is currently completing her Master’s degree in Sport Science (MSc Med Sport Science) and she has also completed the NSCA Certified Strength & Conditioning Specialist (CSCS) course.

Shona began her career at the Institute for Sports Research at the High-Performance Centre during her honours degree in Sport Science in 2007, where she was the lead strength and conditioning specialist for the SAFA Girls/ Basetsana U20/U17 National Ladies Football Academy. She has worked in all national levels of Women’s Football from u17, U20 and Senior National Team (Banyana Banyana). And has also worked with PSL teams such as Kaizer Chiefs, Moroka Swallows and Mamelodi Sundowns on a consultation basis. Learn more about Shona here...

What are you training for?

Simply click on any of the images below to access our running training programmes.

Faster Beyond 50
The Coach Parry Training Club
Running Through Menopause