Desk-bound and desperate for change? Celebrity PT Sarah Lindsay, founder of Roar Fitness and the Roar At Home fitness platform, shares her top 5 reasons for welcoming weight training into your weekly routine…
Boosts self-esteem
Sticking to an exercise that you have created instantly creates a sense of achievement and pride and when you feel a sense of jubilation for lifting a slightly heavier weight than the week before or finishing your morning run a little faster than the previous day, take a moment to celebrate. When we win with our exercise routine, it rewards us emotionally and equips us to take on other personal and professional challenges. You’ll also feel a reduction in stress and when you’re juggling a hundred work deadlines, or feeling vulnerable because of job uncertainty, investing half an hour into exercise to improve cognition and mood is a no-brainer.
When my clients have been through a physical transformation, there are improvements to their body language, posture, level of eye contact, their choice of vocabulary and the decisions they make. They know they can physically do anything and that achievement translates into how they communicate and hold themselves, both socially and professionally.
Creates a sense of community
Remote working has stacks of benefits but there are pitfalls too. A recent study revealed that 46% of UK workers experienced lonelines while working from home and if you’re familiar with that feeling social isolation, you’ll probably also know it can impact productivity and add to feelings of work stress. A live online fitness class like Roar At Home is great for counteracting that. They create an instant sense of community because the instructor talks to you through the camera and you’re working out with others at the same time. During lockdown, people doing my Instagram Live workouts all started talking to each other because they shared a common interest – fitness!
Increases energy
We’re not designed to sit at a desk all day. If you do, you’ll end up experiencing aches and pains, you’ll feel lethargic and you’ll probably gain a few pounds, which can be detrimental. When your bones carry more weight, there’s greater pressure on your heart and lungs, which need to work harder to get blood and oxygen around your body. If you’re currently chained to your desk from 9-5, start diarising exercise to keep you motived. Once you start moving more, you’ll notice you have more va va room, improved focus and creativity and able to tackle problems with a new perspective. Want more good news? Moving more needn’t eat into work time. Complete a half-hour home workout during your lunch break, power walk around the garden during a work call or whack out some emails while standing instead of sitting. Saying “I don’t have time for exercise” doesn’t wash with me!
Enjoy better sleep
You can lie in bed for ten hours, but if you aren’t getting enough quality sleep, you may not enjoy its restorative benefits. Sleep and the body’s internal clock, known as circadian rhythm, help regulate hormone production, specifically melatonin, which helps aid sleep, and growth hormones, which promote bone and muscle development and metabolism.
When suffering from insomnia, it’s tempting to drink alcohol or use medication to aid sleep, but that only leads to poorer, disrupted sleep.
Research shows that, over time, exercise increases the length of deep sleep, which helps us maintain a healthy brain and metabolism.
How many hours sleep we all need is down to the individual but my advice is to aim for more. If you normally get six hours, go to bed 30, 40 or 60 minutes earlier.
If you’re sacrificing sleep to work late into the night, it’s time to rethink your priorities and make self care a priority.
Reap the benefits to your diet
When you exercise, you’re more likely to make healthier food choices. Studies have shown that people who eat fruit or vegetables at least four times a week perform 25% better at work than those who don’t.
If you exercise then enjoy a healthy breakfast, you’re much more likely to continue those good habits through the day and then as soon as you feel the benefits of those investments into you, you feel motivated to continue. .
Also don’t forget the importance of hydration. Your body is a high percentage of water so if it’s dehydrated, every cell process is affected and therefore every function of the body is affected I recommend a minimum of 1.5 litres a day and if you’re drinking tea or coffee, which are diuretics, aim to drink a glass of water with every mug.
Sarah Lindsay’s top 5 exercises for weight training beginners
DUMBBELL DEADLIFT
Grab dumbbells – or a bar if possible – and lower the hips back and down
Lift chest, retract shoulders and sit the hips back and down while holding dumbbells
Brace core and drive evenly through feet to stand up
Reverse the movement and lower dumbbells with control
CHEST PRESS
Lie on bench or chair with knees bent holding a pair of dumbbells at shoulder height
Set shoulder blades back and down
Press dumbbells up to ceiling
Lower weights slowly to starting point
SEATED DUMBBELL PRESS
Sitting on a chair, hold a pair of dumbbells at shoulder height with palms facing forward
Brace core and press weights overhead
Lower dumbbells to start position
SPLIT SQUAT
Start with one foot in front of the other.
Slowly lunge forward, loading the weight onto the front foot.
Drop the back knee to the floor.
BODY EXTENSION
Lie on your back, extend your arms and legs out straight (add a dumbbell if you’re feeling strong). Keep your head on the floor and your torso still.
Raise your arms and legs straight up in the air then slowly lower your arms over your head and your legs down to the floor keeping them both straight.
Your lower back will develop a natural curve. Don’t push it into the floor but don’t let the angle of the back change
Head to www.roar-fitness.com for details of live ROAR workouts, studio classes and how to subscribe to the Roar At Home platform