Delayed

The current situation with Covid-19 has undoubtably changed our lives this spring. The virus has made entire cities close down. Schools, restaurants, cinemas, libraries and gyms have all been forced to close their services. I can imagine that many of you feel deprived of your spring. Travel plans cancelled, concerts cancelled, sporting events and matches cancelled too. I, as everyone, has lost something to the virus. For me the study abroad experience only got halfway. It’s easy and only natural to feel sad or angry over what has happened. But we all do well to remember that some people has it even worse. Some people have lost family members and friends and their lost is way heavier than anything I’ve had to go through. 

Last week the final decisions about the olympics came, for the first time in 124 years it will be postponed. It’s almost impossible to imagine all these athletes working their entire life towards this moment only to have it slip away. Some will not be able to perform at the level they are now in a year. In many sports such as gymnastics for example, age is a very big factor, you only have a year or two at the top before your performance starts to decline. 

However if you listen to most of the athletes they are not bitter or angry. They are of course a bit disappointed but they seem to take it well. World champion Katarina Johnson-Thompson was one of many who raised concern about competing in the Olympics this year. When the news broke her respons was fairly simple and with a bit of humor, ”Waited eight years for this, what’s another one in the grand scheme of things?”. What an inspiration to all of us. I know people that gets pissed off when they have to wait 30 minutes for the bus. 

Another good example of how to tackle this whole thing comes from world champion hurdler Lolo Jones. She took to twitter and posted a video of herself eating a not so healthy breakfast saying she could now enjoy herself for a bit. 

I think this is the kind of approach we have to take in dealing with the pandemic. Of course it sucks not being able to go travel of see that concert, but we can make the most out of things. You get some extra time for yourself where you can develop your own well-being. Go on a run, read an interesting book or try to learn a new skill. Taking the mental approach of elite athletes seems like the most logical thing to do. See it as an opportunity to practice for another year, become one year older, one year better. 

To summarize the current situation seems to be taken a toll on us mentally. To combat this we have to see things from the bright side, easier said than done. But as I mentioned this is an opportunity to develop yourself and come out of this stronger. If Johnson-Thompson can look on the bright side of this after training for eight years, then we can approach it the same way to. 

Stay safe!

// Lukas 

Some weeks ago none of us thought that in the middle of March almost the whole world would be stopped. But the coronavirus reached us and now most of the people are willing to stay at their homes. And now it affects all of our normal weekday things we usually do more than we have ever believed. And doing a sport is a big part for most of us.

As all gyms and sport facilities are closed down(depending on where you live) and training stopped for the next couple of weeks it becomes a bit more complicated to keep doing our daily training routines. But it’s not impossible. Moreover we have really good opportunities and we don’t even need to have professional sport equipments. But if you have the opportunity you can buy some basic tools like dumbbell, yoga mats, skipping rope, rubber bands. They are all small equipments but makes your training more comfortable and effective. 

Making and watching Instagram and Facebook live videos are already so popular but this current situation gets out the best of the content creators’ creativity. There is something good in every bad situations. We can watch and exercise ’together’ with fitness gurus, yoga teachers and this way we can have some social interactions which is really important to keep up these days. And for me personally doing the trainings in real time and knowing that others are connected too is more motivating than just watching a Youtube video or using an application. But these are really good ways too, because some of the applications are really advanced and developed so we can personalize them so well and get an exercise what we really need. Just find the way that you enjoy the most. One of a personal favourite is the instagram account Cassey Ho (@blogilates) who has a lot of easy to do at home videos and now she did a new Quarantine named instagram highlight. But you can also find her on Youtube too.

And a recommendation for apps is the Sweat by Kayla Itsines or the Nike training up. You can choose a lot of different exercises depending on what you want to shape or where you want to lose weight. 

Another way to move is running and biking. Maybe it’s not as fun alone but at least you can relax and turn off your mind. But try to avoid people while doing this as much as possible, and what is another important thing to notice is to not use a mask when you are running or exercising because when it becomes wet it’s worth nothing, or maybe it can be harmful instead of useful. 

And if you want to bring the family a little bit together play a ballgame for example like football, tennis, basketball or any other playful sport game. It’s fun and a little bit of moving too. 

Whatever you choose the point is to keep on moving. If you care about your body and physical condition that will affect your mood and mental health too in this weeks.

Take care!

// Emöke