One of the silver linings of The Great Corona Lockdown has been a chance to hit the reset button on my exercise routine. In normal times, I try my best to stick to an idealized plan but my workouts often nestle into the compromises among my various commitments. This means that I rarely get a chance to exercise without paying some kind of cost - a morning run means less sleep, a basketball game means bringing my equipment to the office, a bike ride to an appointment means less energy for strength workouts.
The 'stay at home' advisory has changed all of it. I'm now able to ensure my workouts move me closer to my goals without ceding progress toward another priority. There is, simply, nothing else in the way. I haven't enjoyed this freedom to focus on exercise goals since I hurt my ankle in 2014 (when being on crutches for six weeks forced me into a lifestyle not dissimilar to the current situation). Like I did back then, I'm doing as much cardio work as I can tolerate, then expending the rest of my energy on strength work.
A universal truth about disruption is the opportunity to establish new routines. One new exercise I'm trying out is the Bulgarian split squat. If effective, it will do wonders for my current strength imbalance while forcing my core into more strenuous stabilization work than when compared to a two-legged squat. There are plenty of helpful instructional videos out there, but I won't pass up the opportunity to link to a Liverpool player demonstrating good technique for this exercise (well, based on his body leaning forward rather than staying upright, he probably should start with his front leg closer to the bench, but what do I know).
