Your complete 28-day lockdown fitness guide

From yoga to spinning and strength training, the lockdown challenges to keep you in shape
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The last lockdown was spent mostly restocking the booze trolley and googling flourless banana bread recipes, and while we fully intend to continue with both those things in quarantine 2.0, the next four weeks  offer the perfect opportunity to factor in some nourishing of the body and soul -  your mental health will thank you for it. 

Consider the next 28 days a chance to reset, to finally devote the time to nailing your crow pose, start journalling or getting consistent with your cardio. 

Whether you’re into yoga, Pilates, weight training or running - here are the challenges that will spur you on and give a well-needed sense of community throughout isolation - let’s at least go into this with some good intentions…

Become a yogi

In need of some zen? Devote the next four weeks to perfecting your downward dog, and you’ll reap all the grounding benefits.  

Over on the Soul Sanctuary, super strong and bendy Cat Meffan is offering a free seven-day trial to her online yoga membership platform, which aims to help “grow your inner and outer confidence through the power of yoga and meditation,” kicking off with seven 30-minute practices, with a different focus each day. Once you’re hooked, monthly membership costs £22, and includes two new 60-minute flows, two new 30-minute flows, plus access two 31-day yoga challenges, should you wish to delve deeper into your  practice. You’ll be doing handstands by Christmas.  

MoreYoga, meanwhile, has launched the 30-day Self Care Cocoon, an initiative which encourages you to devote 30 minutes to your body through a nourishing gentle vinyasa flow each morning, plus 30 minutes of  journalling each day in lockdown. The Wake Up and Flow classes will kick off on Thursday November 5 on YouTube at 8am each weekday and 10am on weekends, non-members can sign up for a one-off lockdown month membership for full access for £39. 

Make gains

Personal trainer Alice Liveing has launched a  28-day challenge, kicking off on November 5, based on progressive overload training, which gradually increases your exertion in each session. She is offering four 20-minute strength training workouts per week, Mondays and Thursdays target the lower body, while Tuesdays and Fridays focus on the upper body, with a rest day in between, a sweaty Metcon (metabolic conditioning) sesh on Saturdays and stretch on Sundays. Each session will go live on her Instagram page at 7am every morning, but will be saved  to IGTV meaning you can do them anytime, anywhere. You’ll need four dumbbells, two lighter for the upper body  and two heavier for lower (Alice is using 8kgs and 12kgs), but you can improvise with two objects that way the same if you don’t have weights.

Elsewhere, the strength training pros at Team Foundry, have launched Where the Strong Belong, an online platform full of live and on-demand sessions, including the studio’s renowned Combine and Sweat classes, led by their team of experts, including Laura 'Biceps’ Hoggins and Ben Gotting.  Snap up a free seven-day trial for a taster, monthly membership costs £19.99 thereafter. 

Keep spinning 

Spin addicts, listen up, all is not lost in lockdown. Digme is offering a clever solution to keep you spinning from home while its eight London studios remain  closed by offering a flexible bike rental option without the  long-term commitment.  For £79 a month you can rent a Keiser m3i lite bike spin bike (the same model used at Digme studios) and receive access to over 80 live and on-demand classes a week led by the likes of Kim Hartwell and Claudia Mirallegro (including spin, yoga, strength, HIIT and breathwork) - or you can pay £29.99 for the latter without a bike.  Users can download the iPad app to access the classes. 

Sculpt and sweat

Ciara London trained a squad of over 9,000 people on Instagram in lockdown 1.0 - and now she’s back offering daily free live workouts for anyone and everyone. Her celebrity fans include the likes of Maya Jama, and Rita Ora - but these workouts are open to one and all. Kicking off on Thursday 5, she’ll be leading a 50-minute class Monday-Friday at midday, plus an 11am session on Saturdays and 10.30am session on Sundays. Each workout takes  a different focus, from Tabata boxing to skipping and HIIT to abs, plus full body AMRAP. You’ll need dumbbells (or improvise with shampoo/water bottles),  kettlebells (or a filled rucksack) and a skipping rope - expect to sweat plenty.  

Mega mileage

The first lockdown turned everyone into budding runners, but if you need some motivation now it’s that bit chillier out there, you’re spoilt for choice with running-focused challenges. 

Do some good while you’re at it by signing up to the Make a Move Movember challenge, which is encouraging everyone to run or walk 60km over the month -  60 for the 60 men we lose to suicide each hour, every hour across the world. 

TrackMafia founder Cory Wharton-Malcolm’s “Coach Cory’s Mile a Day” November challenge on the Nike Run Club App is all about forming healthy habits as part of a daily routine that will benefit both mind and body in lockdown. “We are creatures of habit who miss a number of things when we’re isolated. I’m hoping this will help people and communities to continue to connect virtually until we can all run together again,” he says. Expect running drills,  warm ups and interviews with running specialists about everything from recovery to mobility and massage. Sign up by  downloading the app and adding Cory as a friend.

If you’re after a PB out of quarantine, then running coach Tashi Skervin- Clarke, of the TSC Method, is launching a mega eight-week 10km training plan designed to help you finish the year feeling strong. Kicking off on November 9, you’ll work on building  speed and endurance to become a more efficient runner -  you just need to be able to run for 30 minutes without stopping first.  Membership costs £25 and includes three guided audio runs a week, plus two TSC methods online classes to complement your training.  

Longer, leaner limbs

For something lower impact, enroll for a month of Katie Gray’s Kind by KG online classes which  gives you access to seven live classes a week (£60/month). Katie’s technique blends dynamic Pilates and barre to condition, sculpt and tone the body, while also being kind on joints, you’ll notice a stronger core and better posture in no time.  Classes run each morning between 7.15am and 9am and you’ll need a Pilates ball, a thigh band, a long band and light weights. 

Louisa Drake, another expert in delivering sculpted physiques and former PT to Gwyneth Paltrow and Victoria Beckham, has launched the  LDM Lockdown Reset,  a holistic plan to refocus the body and mind by factoring in some me-time.  Early bird membership costs £90 and includes access to daily Zoom classes, health and wellness workshops and fitness and nutrition advice. The reset kicks off on Saturday November 7, opt in for membership plus the LDM home workout kit (£115) for all of the kit you’ll need while you’re at it - loop bands, resistance band, stability ball and gliding discs. 

Mix it up

If cross training’s your thing, Psycle has got you sorted with its Feel Great in 28 plan featuring tone, sweat and revive classes.  It’s pretty simple: over the next four weeks you factor in moving six times a week, including three toning Barre or Strength workouts, two sweaty Met-Con , Cardio Barre or Ride classes and a reviving Yoga or Meditation class.  You can get a free 14-day trial of Psycle at Home here, unlimited memberships costs £35/month. 

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