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A Jersey-based kickboxer has been sharing home workouts to inspire those in need of motivation, convincing her mum and a friend who hadn’t worked out in three years, to finally get moving.
In addition to her personal training, Monika Markowska also coaches classes at the Jersey Taekwondo/Kickboxing Club.
For Monika, the first couple of days away from the gym were the hardest as lockdown began.
Used to visiting the gym sometimes several times in a day, she was forced to create a new routine. Luckily, as she lives with two other athletes - her boyfriend and coach, Frank, and her friend, Vicky - there was plenty of equipment available at home.
Pictured: Monika has plenty of equipment at home to train.
“We have a bike, mats, kindly lent to us by Rob Staples from Gracie Barra MMA Jersey Academy, medicine balls, free weights, some resistance bands, but most importantly lots of energy and smiles for every day,” Monika said. “Plus, we are lucky as we have each other to practice.”
Monika starts her day with a mix of cardio on the bike and free weights workouts. At lunchtime, she goes running with Rocky, Vicky's dog, and then finishes the day with an evening session of kickboxing, boxing or fitness, which she shares on Facebook.
In between her training sessions, Ocorian accountant Monika works from home.
“The company actually reacted to the current situation amazingly well, we all were provided with full set of PCs with two screens, flexible hours and amazing support; so we are all working from our small set-up home offices,” Monika said.
Pictured: Monika's home office.
All in all, Monika says her days pass quickly, but, as she is spending more time at home, she is able to cook, which is says is one of the positives of the lockdown.
“Normally, I would live on yogurts and raw food as I was never at home leaving at 06:00 and back at 21:00,” she explained. “Now it's cool to actually eat something hot and do the training while it's cooking!”
But Monika admits she is missing her students, as well as her boxing and kickboxing partners.
The sparring sessions are what she misses the most, as she doesn’t have enough space at home to do any with Vicky and Frank.
Pictured: At lunchtime, Monika goes running with Rocky.
“I do miss the adrenaline hit of the competitions too, unfortunately that can't be replaced by anything,” she said. “We need to wait until we see normality again. Hunger to compete is growing but I try to calm the excessive energy with good training sessions at home every day.”
Like many other athletes, Monika is using social media to stay in touch with her students and her fellow instructors, with whom she has a created a taekwondo training group on a remote learning app.
“I have an amazing team of instructors who help me train the kids that way, Melinda Isherwood, Aleksandra Anderson, Lada Yates, Becky Vautier and Wioleta Celinska Drozd, they are all giving their time to train groups of kids and prepare them for their next grading,” Monika said.
“The whole world is in a time of madness, but we are trying to carry on with small routines and help each other. Kids are full of energy and it's good to help the parents to use this energy in good way.”
Video: Monika has been sharing her evening training sessions online.
Monika has also made the most of lockdown by connecting with students and instructors from Scotland, Norway, America and Ireland from the Taekwondo Alliance.
“We are helping each other with training ideas and learning more,” she said. “I was planning a training trip to Scotland for a few years, and couldn't fit it in to my schedule, but we are using the lockdown situation to be more creative and actually coming together in that way.”
The ‘Queen of the Ring’ has also created a ‘Taekwondo Kickboxing Keep Training’ Facebook group where she shares her daily training sessions.
The idea for the group came on 21 March after Fort Regent was closed and Monika, along with other coaches, was advised by Jersey Sport to cancel their group classes.
Pictured: Monika starts her days with cardio on the bike.
While Monika says she is lucky that she does not have to motivate herself to train, she recognised some people might need some guidance, motivation and structured training sessions.
“I am an athlete so sport and exercise is like oxygen for me. Regardless of the madness outside, I had to do my daily training sessions,” Monika said.
“Everybody can join and have a slight de-stress, a happy healthy hour in these restricted days. It's free, it's our (me and Frank) input to help to survive this difficult time, to help with a healthy lifestyle."
As she normally does not like cameras, Monika said she had to go “far beyond” her comfort zone to film her first session.
“With every session I am getting used the new formula, I am just having to trick my brain and switch on my imagination,” she explained. “Instead of seeing the camera I picture the ‘people’ on other side.”
Pictured: Even Monika's mum has tried following her sessions.
With the “pretty amazing” feedback she has been receiving so far, Monika is not planning to stop sharing her workouts any time soon. Most of her students have been joining the live workout or following them in their own time.
Her work colleagues, old friends, as well as people she has never met, have also been following her sessions and enjoying the training.
“Even my mum in Poland has tried! She said she couldn't do it all, though, as it was too hard for her, but she did as much as she could, at her own pace and as much as her fitness level let her,” Monika said.
“Also, my friend who we live with, Vicky, started exercises after a break from sport for over three years, so that is mega positive side of these current hard times.
“The sport gave me so much in my life, so I’m just sharing the passion and it is my way of giving back time to community.”
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