Since most of us are stuck at home due to COVID-19, the real test comes through our creativity to use space in order to keep training.
At first glance, I wasn’t expecting much from home training. Resistance training was fine, since the size of the room doesn’t matter.
But cardio?
How could I get a great cardio workout? After all, the space inside my house is small and I have no equipment.
The first week or two was an eye opener. I learnt through trial and error and also by watching how others taught classes online. It hit me that yes – you could get a good cardio workout by using a small space, and yes – you could really get a sweat going!
Like some I later spoke with, I had assumed that bigger space = better workouts.
It was great when I realised that I was wrong.
Let’s take practising the martial arts basics as an example.
Until now, I’ve always practised this moving forwards, rep after rep. Faced with my small indoor space that could afford me a maximum of two moves forward, this simply couldn’t work.
Using our creative mind forces us to review the challenge to find a solution. The solution here was to step forward for one rep, return to centre, before continuing with the next.
This drill is great to practise the basics, which underpin everything else in martial arts training, and also leaves you with a great cardio workout the higher the effort you put into it!
Unlike many other forms of cardio workouts, I found that I could just get on with this drill on my own. You could rep 10 of each defensive and offensive hand and foot technique that you know, and before you know it, you’d have a decent 30min cardio workout!
