Lock-down, an opportunity for self-development?

• Tuesday 24th March 2020

Well it’s hit – lock-down for at least three weeks!

PM Boris Johnson addressed the nation 24 hours ago confirmed that the only exceptions to the ‘stay at home’ requirements going forward would be “for the following very limited purposes”:

• Shopping for basic necessities, as infrequently as possible
• One form of exercise a day - for example, a run, walk, or cycle - alone or with members of your household.
• Any medical need, to provide care or to help a vulnerable person; and
• Travelling to and from work, but only where this is absolutely necessary and cannot be done from home.

Johnson stressed: “That's all - these are the only reasons you should leave your home.”

The Way Ahead

Now that all but ‘key workers’ are in ‘stay at home’ mode we have been given a vital role to play. Yes, we’re in lock-down but there opportunities for us all if we look for them with open eyes.

However, maintaining our physical and mental health during the lockdown is critical and Climber will be doing ‘our bit’ to help by posting self-help across a number of various categories – with help from others – as the days go by. We hope to bring you suggestions on physical health, mental health as well as things to motivate and inspire you.

Mental Health

Mental health during lockdown is going to be especially important. Mind.org has a wealth of useful info on this subject here…

Personal Hygiene and a Daily Routine

This is another important area and one which is vital we don’t overlook. Personal hygiene is even more important than ever – especially as this is one of the positives that we can do to help reduce the spread of Covid-19.

Establishing a daily routine is recognised as a vital ingredient for personal well-being.

Motivation and Inspiration

We all need motivation and inspiration to help us work towards our goals; now even more so! Here’s a list of things which should help…

Climber Magazine Content

Climber will be posting regular articles on-line that will hopefully you get through lock-down and be in the best possible shape for when the Covid-19 restrictions end. This will include destination articles, training and skills tips, videos, good reads where we feature an extract from a great book, interviews and more. Keep taking a regular look out across the site.

Climber also hopes to bring a series of mini-interviews with prominent climbers on what they’re doing and how they’re handling lock-down.

There are numerous podcasts out there to listen to and absorb fantastic information from. Training geeks are probably avid listeners to their favourites but if you’ve not clued-up on these you would do well to check-out the two US-based podcasts - Training Beta here or the Power Company here. If you’re keen to stay on this side of the pond and have something more broader than training then Grimer’s podcast here might just be what you’re after. Finally, and in case you haven’t heard any of them as yet, Mina Leslie-Wujastyk and Hazel Findlay, have a new podcast up and running  - The Curious Climber Podcast here the last episode of which talks about the Covid-19 virus pandemic with virologist, Levi Yant.

In addition, many of the numerous training coaches are giving advice to clients and other climbers on home-training opportunities – in particular on how to swop-out or substitute their regular gym-based sessions for home-based activities. Having already indicated that they will be doing a regular posts/live session on training and other subjects during the lockdown now is a great time to be checking-out what is available.

Here’s a quick summary of some that is available:

Neil Gresham posted earlier this morning on Instagram that he will be doing daily video of a training session. Check Neil’s IG feed here.

Tim Cunnington of Peak Pro Fitness has confirmed that having just moved to on-line training sessions with their clients they are planning to do more generic training session on-line which he hopes will soon open to the public. Stay in touch with developments via their FaceBook page here.

Finally, Tom Randall told us that Lattice Training have pushed through ‘home-training’ session via their Crimpd App so that clients and users alike can swop out session for home-based equipment as well as developing and releasing training updates and advice via their YouTube channel. Check that out here.

Streaming and YouTube Videos

There are literally hundreds of climbing videos on a variety of YouTube Channels, company’s social media and athlete pages.  For starters, get onto mainstream streaming channels and re-watch Dawn Wall and Free Solo!

Films

Most climbers won’t be following Piers Morgan’s “stay home and watch telly” advice all day but will switch on, in all probability, in the evening to relax. As with videos, there are numerous films to watch; we’ll be signposting some of the best, and our favourite, climbing flicks.

Books

What better way is there to finish off the lock-down day than to read a book?! A favourite mountaineering book perhaps, or an autobiography or perhaps an inspirational coffee-table book? We will be recommending a list of books from a variety of sources and climbers in the coming days and weeks.