Falke, a locally designed and manufactured leading local sock brand available at select Dis-Chem stores, is encouraging endurance athletes to stay fit, healthy, and positive during the lockdown.
We spoke to friends of the brand, Falke-sponsored athlete Natia Van Heerden and Falke ambassador Ziyaad Solomon for useful tips on how we can all maintain a regular and active lifestyle while indoors.
Avoid the lockdown rut
Most of us are probably experiencing a mixture of emotions during the lockdown- frustration, helplessness, self-pity and loneliness just to name a few.
Instead of fixating on the lockdown period, rather:
- Focus on daily motivation and goals.
- Break your time and activities up into shorter periods. It may make it easier for your brain to process.
- Take it day by day to make up the week.
When it comes to maintaining a healthy and active lifestyle indoors, it’s important to avoid falling into a rut. Create and commit to a daily schedule and always make time to fit in your workouts.
“I know that exercising regularly and working up a sweat means I’ll feel better afterwards because of the endorphins pumping through my body,” says Natia, a professional triathlete who is working hard at maintaining a fitness level that will allow her to continue competing at a professional level once the lockdown ends.
“You never regrets a training session once it’s completed!”
Conquer it together
If you’re struggling to exercise regularly, try to encourage other members of your household to join you or stay connected and active with others online.
“I often share the workouts in our Stride Run Crew Group and we work out together or share our experience afterwards,” says Ziyaad, a triathlete and runner.
When planning your workouts, we are fortunate to live in a world where access to information and online resources are at our fingertips. Free videos and downloadable apps are in abundance. You can work out from the comfort of your home without fancy equipment or weights.
Since gyms and studios have been shut, most trainers have turned to social media to share free workouts. You can now join and participate in live Instagram workouts and gain access to daily circuit exercises to complete at home.
Find virtual support
If you’re looking for an ideal at-home workout, Falke posts daily workout ideas to its Instagram stories each morning. Follow @falke_sa for access to their free circuit guide.
“I recommend following social media accounts like Katrin Davidsdottir and CompTrain for easy to follow at-home workouts that anyone can do,” adds Ziyaad.
“For cycling and running, I use a program called Zwift. It’s an online game app and you can ride with friends, compete in e-races, or do structured workouts. It’s an amazing platform to build your fitness plus it has the social aspect of a group activity where you can chat with your friends and meet up for a ride or run. Zwift is for all fitness levels so it’s really worth giving it a go,” continues Natia.
Lastly, the way you perform in your daily exercise can be directly correlated to your comfort, Natia and Ziyaad both recommend the Falke Coollayr crew socks as they are light and breathable with unique cooling properties-perfect for indoor cycling.
The Hidden Dry sock is another go-to for Natia. “They fit perfectly and never cause friction or blisters. I have done many IRONMAN races in those socks!
