How to get the most out of your training in lockdown

Blood flow restriction trainingis a technique that was developed by Dr Yoshiaki Sato in Japan 1966 as a means of maintaining muscle during immobilisation. Resistance training for bone mineral density and the maintenance of muscle mass underpins musculoskeletal health. Whether you are a young athlete trying to maintain muscle mass or older individual trying to maintain functional capacity in a home-based setting, BFR or Blood Flow Restriction Training can be a useful strategy. Some studies have shown that strength training at 20-30% 1 RM have been shown to elicit comparable improvements in muscle mass to training at 70% 1 RM. Obviously, sing heavy loads above 70% 1 RM in your living room is going to present some challenges so BFR is a potential avenue which could provide some food for thought.

If you are new to exercise or simply enjoy your afternoon walks or runs, activity monitors are a fantastic way to record steps, kilometres and even record challenges with friends. Fitbit, Garmin, Apple produce fantastic products which you can pair with your phones or earpieces to help you better monitor outdoor activities. Research continually demonstrates the synergistic benefit of combining physical activity and connectedness to the great ‘outdoors’, and how this could be a powerful tool to help fight to growing incidence of non-communicable disease and physical inactivity.

Online communication platforms like zoom provide an environment where you can connect with friends or family to keep each other accountable. If you are looking for online exercise classes Walk at home has exercise video options which are great for to try with the whole clan.

Alternatively, you might like to start a step challenge with friends to ensure you are also reaping the benefits of the great outdoors! Just ensure you are wearing your VPA^® mask in accordance with public health guidelines and to show your support for the VPA^® team