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How your fitness has changed as a result of Covid-19

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For the OP, an interesting question.

i have been taking advantage of my government sanctioned exercise hour and going for a run each day, either 9.5km or 10Km depending on route (although the 9.5k runs takes me about two and bit mins less than my 10k, it’s tougher as it has a whacking great hill in the middle, that I run around for the 10k)

Im also trying to do a yoga session once or twice a week - for this I use a video on Amazon Prime, these sessions are about 30 mins long. In “normal“ times I do a yoga class once evening a week for an hour, so doing the video class wasn’t all new to me. I’m a big fan of yoga - I’ve been doing it for about 3 years now, and am more more flexible than I was. I‘m 51, and recognise that if I don’t do anything like this, my mobility will be begin to degrade as I age.

So I’m keeping fit, but I am conscious that it is only one type of fitness (running). Normally, I’d also have the workout of ref-ing a 90 min game, I go spinning once a week and will swim as well. I’d typically only do one of those each day, but the variety was good. I do anticipate that, when “normal“ returns, my swimming, spinning and refereeing fitness will have diminished, whilst my ability to cruise round a 10km run has increase.
 
My exercise is almost non existent. Between training a new puppy we got just before lockdown and walking the existing dog I am not allowed back out after that.
I do sometimes run with the dog and have been trying to source a reasonably cheap exercise/spin bike.
Have discovered free Les Mills workout so going to be doing those over the next few days to keep my fitness up
 
Its a credibility thing especially where there are crowds, if you walk out of the tunnel with your gut hanging over your shorts you've lost half of the battle already.

In terms of my fitness I've used Coronavirus as an excuse to get fit. I've lost almost 7kg and nearly 4% body fat since I started working from home 5 weeks ago. The primary reason is undoubtedly that the lack of temptations that exist at the office, like staff canteen, local cafes, team biscuits and cakes, etc, don't exist, and most importantly there's no one tempting me to go for a pint after work. So I am eating healthily and haven't touched a beer for five weeks, although may have had the odd gin and slimline tonic. I've also got more time to cook properly so it is goodbye ready meals and hello freshly cooked healthy food

Now I don't have to travel I get more time to exercise. Instead of heading to the train station at 06:30 every day to go to the City I can go for a run or get on the cross trainer, or if I fancy a lie in I can use the time I'd normally be on the train home to exercise.
 
Have you lost weight since that infamous picture @RustyRef of was it a blustery day and the photographer was just being mean? 😂

I had gained a lot more since quitting L3, but I'm now lighter with less body fat even than in those days. That photo wasn't flattering, I was driving back from a Sunday morning game trying to work out why my phone was going crazy with messages along the lines of "have you seen the Non-League Paper" .... ? :)
 
Our season should be starting now. I should have just got back from a week of non-stop refereeing at the Iber Cup (probably 15 shorter games). Our fitness test would normally be next week. I am 47 and rely on doing loads of games to stay fast and fit because I absolutely hate jogging in the street/park. I've missed out on a few weeks of indoor track running and practice for yo-yo tests. But mostly I've missed out on the 5-15 games a week.

Things have got so extreme that I have actually gone out and ran 5k a couple of times!

Apart from hating it, the other problem with jogging in the evening is that it's usually still working time, because the whole day has been offset by homeschooling. I am compensating a bit by exercising with the kids but that's nothing like doing 6-10k 5 times a week at matches. So, yeah, I have probably put on ah maybe a half to a kilo a week in 4 weeks of distancing.
 
For the OP, an interesting question.

i have been taking advantage of my government sanctioned exercise hour and going for a run each day, either 9.5km or 10Km depending on route (although the 9.5k runs takes me about two and bit mins less than my 10k, it’s tougher as it has a whacking great hill in the middle, that I run around for the 10k)

Im also trying to do a yoga session once or twice a week - for this I use a video on Amazon Prime, these sessions are about 30 mins long. In “normal“ times I do a yoga class once evening a week for an hour, so doing the video class wasn’t all new to me. I’m a big fan of yoga - I’ve been doing it for about 3 years now, and am more more flexible than I was. I‘m 51, and recognise that if I don’t do anything like this, my mobility will be begin to degrade as I age.

So I’m keeping fit, but I am conscious that it is only one type of fitness (running). Normally, I’d also have the workout of ref-ing a 90 min game, I go spinning once a week and will swim as well. I’d typically only do one of those each day, but the variety was good. I do anticipate that, when “normal“ returns, my swimming, spinning and refereeing fitness will have diminished, whilst my ability to cruise round a 10km run has increase.

My partner does yoga 3 times a week. I've joined her in a couple of her YouTube classes last week.im terrible at it but it is definitely something I'll keep at.
 
My partner does yoga 3 times a week. I've joined her in a couple of her YouTube classes last week.im terrible at it but it is definitely something I'll keep at.

Do keep at the yoga. I was pretty terrible when I first began, and I‘m certainly no yogi now, but I am a lot more flexible than I was, my core is a lot stronger and, I think, I’m less injury prone as, at least once a week, I stretch properly.
 
I’ve had what they suspect was Coronavirus (wasn’t sick enough to need hospital treatment so no test, but had the main symptoms) and it’s totally killed my cardio fitness.

3 weeks since I recovered from it and I’m now only slowly building up my fitness. I did my first 5k since being laid up and it was awful, around 9 minutes off my best time and really hard going.

I’m trying to balance the need to get back up to where I need to be to pass the fitness test (as have been nominated to go up to L4) with not going too hard and fast and causing myself an injury that will set me back further.

I didn’t realise quite how nasty it would be coming out the other side of it.
 
I’ve had what they suspect was Coronavirus (wasn’t sick enough to need hospital treatment so no test, but had the main symptoms) and it’s totally killed my cardio fitness.

3 weeks since I recovered from it and I’m now only slowly building up my fitness. I did my first 5k since being laid up and it was awful, around 9 minutes off my best time and really hard going.

I’m trying to balance the need to get back up to where I need to be to pass the fitness test (as have been nominated to go up to L4) with not going too hard and fast and causing myself an injury that will set me back further.

I didn’t realise quite how nasty it would be coming out the other side of it.
Fitness tests run all the way into the early part of the season so pick one that's suitable. Sure, you won't be able to do an level 4 games but you could still pick up local games until you have taken and passed. Or you can chance it as you get a second attempt if u fall short on 1st
 
Fitness tests run all the way into the early part of the season so pick one that's suitable. Sure, you won't be able to do an level 4 games but you could still pick up local games until you have taken and passed. Or you can chance it as you get a second attempt if u fall short on 1st

That way well change. Chances of the FA being able to hold fitness tests in June are next to none. July might be more feasible, but if the season is able to restart in August they might have to do it on trust and let people referee without having passed the test and do them retrospectively. All bets are off in terms of timing and procedures for next season.
 
Another reason could be that law changes, one that springs to mind is offside, have made laws more complex, no longer do you just have to say a player was offside but you have to decide 1) is he offside and then 2) does he commit an offence.
Sorry, but I'm going to be pedantic and pull you up on that one. Referees have always had to do that. It has never, ever been the case that the law said referees should give a player offside simply for being in an offside position.

It is true though, that there was a time when it seemed many officials did not really, fully consider the requirements for actual involvement in play and that more recently, the criteria for deciding on when a player is involved in active play have become more complex, so to that extent, you have a point.

However offside has always consisted of the two parts you mention (at least according to the law).
 
That way well change. Chances of the FA being able to hold fitness tests in June are next to none. July might be more feasible, but if the season is able to restart in August they might have to do it on trust and let people referee without having passed the test and do them retrospectively. All bets are off in terms of timing and procedures for next season.

that’s the only light at the end of the tunnel for me. Still think I’ve got a decent runway to try to get up to pace.

Lockdown here in the UK will be extended into May and during this part of it, I think all eyes will be on China that has now started to see a small uptick in locally transmitted cases, another 3 weeks will show us whether this is going to be a full on second wave or not.
 
I've managed to avoid piling on the pounds too much, but I credit that mainly to having the time to cook better food than I usually would. My other half works at a supermarket - lots of cons to that of course, but one of the pros is she doesn't have to queue to get into the shops, just has to pop round quickly during her break. Means we've not been wanting for fresh fruit and veg, unlike the usual work cakes and big lunches.

I've taken up a bit of yoga too and am definitely seeing some benefits already, but my usual cardio exercise is swimming and refereeing. Like @santa sangria I can't stand running without the refereeing to keep my mind occupied, so I haven't managed to drag myself out for runs yet
 
Sorry, but I'm going to be pedantic and pull you up on that one. Referees have always had to do that. It has never, ever been the case that the law said referees should give a player offside simply for being in an offside position.

It is true though, that there was a time when it seemed many officials did not really, fully consider the requirements for actual involvement in play and that more recently, the criteria for deciding on when a player is involved in active play have become more complex, so to that extent, you have a point.

However offside has always consisted of the two parts you mention (at least according to the law).

True, but not that long ago (80s?), "attempting to gain an advantage" was still in Law 11, which meant that pretty much anything an OSP player did beyond turning his back to the ball could be enough to get flagged. (Hence the old language in the law that a player cold step off the field to show he was not getting involved.)

(Aside: for those who find the meaning of "gaining an advantage" in Law 11 a bit hard to link to the words, this is why: "attempting to gain an advantage" was narrowed to "gain an advantage" and the meaning of that narrowed to what we have today--getting the ball from a deflection, rebound or save. Certainly not the language that would have been chosen if we drafted from scratch.)
 
True, but not that long ago (80s?), "attempting to gain an advantage" was still in Law 11, which meant that pretty much anything an OSP player did beyond turning his back to the ball could be enough to get flagged. (Hence the old language in the law that a player cold step off the field to show he was not getting involved.)

(Aside: for those who find the meaning of "gaining an advantage" in Law 11 a bit hard to link to the words, this is why: "attempting to gain an advantage" was narrowed to "gain an advantage" and the meaning of that narrowed to what we have today--getting the ball from a deflection, rebound or save. Certainly not the language that would have been chosen if we drafted from scratch.)
Actually, it said "seeking" rather than "attempting" but that's a minor quibble. However the very next line after that in the law during the 80's was the quite clear instruction that:
A player shall not be declared off-side by the Referee [...] merely because of his being in an off-side position.
You are right though (and I alluded to it in my previous post) that many officials of that era took a rather broad interpretation of "seeking to gain an advantage" and there was a distinct tendency to ignore the intent of the wording in the following line.

Incidentally, I have long argued that the offside law would have been much better if they had just dropped the constantly misinterpreted phrases "interfering with play" and "gaining an advantage" altogether, as soon as they brought in the "expanded" definitions in 2003.

If by "interfering with play" you mean "touching the ball" - just say so. Instead of "gaining an advantage by touching or playing the ball or interfering with an opponent when it has:" etc, just say "by touching or playing [...] when it has:" and have done with it. Those antiquated and misleading phrases quite simply don't need to be there, especially now that the full explanations are contained in the main body of the law..
 
If I wanted to actually study the effects of fitness on referees, I'd study the last 10 minutes of a match. Exhaustion affects the mind as well as the body. There is a reason players in sports that push endurance make strange mental mistakes in the late minutes--they aren't thinking as well. Similarly, I think, when referees are exhausted, they aren't able to make the same quality of decisions they could earlier in the match, even if they are in a good position. (Of course, that doesn't mean fitness is the be all and end all--without the skills, all the other key skills, all the fitness in the world won't make you a competent referee.)

I'm in this comment and I don't like it. I've made such weird decisions in the final ten minutes that players often didn't even question because they were tired too.

As for relevance to the topic: I was suffering from a broken fibula, so I'm recovering quietly at home. Did bugger all for the first couple of weeks so I'm having to undo the damage done. All in all, I think I'll come out of this a bit fitter than I was
 
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