The latest in our #AtHome with PAUSE series, we shot some questions over at @mac_griffiths_ to chat all things fitness, motivation, wellness and home workouts during the lockdown. Check out the interview by @rhysmarcusjay in full below:
Explain how your training regime has shifted due to us being in lockdown.
During the lockdown, I have had to alter my training from six days a week in the gym lifting heavy to maintaining my muscle mass via bodyweight training and utilising objects around the house. I have also taken some more time to work on my endurance and taken up running 5k around 3 times a week this is to keep my fitness up while in lockdown so once all this is over, I’m not trying to catch up to much on lost fitness.
What are your fitness goals and how do you plan to achieve them?
So my current fitness goals are to become a lot healthier overall, that’s why I’ve taken up more cardio than I usually do, but my overall fitness goal is to get back on stage and compete again in the near future as back in 2018.
I stepped on stage for the first time in a men’s physique competition and in the same year placed 3rd in the PCA British finals. With the instant buzz I got from standing on stage I knew I wanted to do it again, having done competitive sports for the majority of my life, I’ve always been a competitive guy and always pushed myself to complete failure when I train, so my level of commitment has to match the level of commitment of the people I look up to in the sport of bodybuilding. During lockdown, I plan to keep to a strict regime of eating healthy and ensuing I improve on my run times and increase the intensity of my workouts so when it comes back to training in the gym it’s 110% from the start to stepping on stage again.
Are there any apps that you use for assistance when doing home workouts?
Being a fully qualified personal trainer of nearly 10 years, I know that there are things you can learn through this industry from everywhere and almost anyone so I keep an open mind when it comes to taking hints and tips of other training professionals and their recommendations on apps to use, however, the only app I use at the moment is the Nike running club app as I find its most accurate at tracking my distance and time during my runs, but I did use and would recommend MyFitnessPal to anybody who wants to track their food in order to manage calorie intake throughout the day.
What is your day to day diet like and how does that impact your fitness goals?
I tend to stay well disciplined as it had been pretty much drilled into me from my sporting background and since being a personal trainer, my nutritional knowledge has only grown over the years. I got into a routine of weighing all of my food and ensuring I prepped it daily so I knew just how many calories I was taking in daily to reach my end goal. During lockdown I have allowed myself some leniency, I’m still eating all healthy meals and managing portion sizes however I’m not weighing everything as that level of completion commitment takes over the fun in creating new dishes when cooking and I like to eat and create new dishes.
Is there any advice that you can give to those who are lacking the motivation to train at home?
I myself lack motivation at home because I don’t associate home with training, so the way I overcome this is I take my training outside, I find waking up early and having some sort of morning routine quite effective. I wake up to make my bed and say five things I’m grateful for, then I head out the house to do my training so I’m not home and I can get my mind into a training mentality. I find training early sets your day off right and puts you in a better headspace.
What motivates you train?
When I was younger I was quite a chubby kid, I had two brothers who were very athletic one was a wold class taekwondo fighter and the other was a very good football player so I figured I had to compete with them from young and I think that competitiveness stayed with me through the years in order to be the best I can in everything I do. I guess what motivates me is thinking of those who are currently better than me and pushing myself to work harder than I believe they are working.
How many days a week do you train?
When I’m back in the gym and my routine is in full swing I train six days a week.
What does wellness mean to you?
Wellness for me is maintaining a healthy balanced life. I think balance is the key thing in wellness so looking after your body and fitness will help your overall wellness and provide a positive mentality.
Has this heightened since the lockdown?
I’ve always made a conscious effort to look after my mentality and wellness, however, during lockdown, I have noticed the importance of a regular routine as you can quickly fall off if you don’t maintain an effective one.
Is there anything you’ve done differently during this time that you think you may continue to do post lockdown?
During this time period I have taken more time to relax and in a way meditate to clear my mind and help myself stay focused. I will continue doing this post-self-isolation as I have found my mind is a lot clearer and I am becoming a lot more focused.
