What started as two mates training together on Zoom became a worldwide fitness community that helped hundreds of people through one of the strangest periods of our lives.
When the COVID-19 pandemic hit in March 2020, nobody really knew what was going on.
The country was entering lockdown, gyms were closing, people were suddenly working from home, and our normal routines had been turned completely upside down.
Like everyone else, we were trying to work out what the hell was happening and how best to adapt.
For me, personal training didn't actually stop.
My working hours remained pretty much the same throughout lockdown. The biggest difference was that instead of seeing my clients face-to-face, I was coaching them remotely.
It's easy to forget now, but Zoom was still a relatively unfamiliar concept to many people. The idea of coaching someone through a screen, let alone running an entire group workout, was pretty novel.
But remote personal training worked remarkably well.
My clients continued making progress, and it opened up opportunities to coach people regardless of where they lived. In fact, I still train clients remotely today who live too far away to visit me in person.
What I hadn't anticipated was just how successful remote group training could become.
And that all started with a very simple idea.
Two Mates, One Zoom Call and a Lunchtime Workout
Myself and Scott, my fellow BearWolf Training coach, decided we'd start training together at midday.
Nothing particularly ambitious.
We'd jump on Zoom, plan a little 30-minute workout and get stuck in.
Training has always been our go-to for feeling better. Whether it's clearing our heads, managing stress or simply enjoying the satisfaction of doing something physically challenging, exercise has always been something we've been able to rely on.
And during lockdown, we needed that more than ever.
After a little while, we thought it might be nice to invite some of our clients to join us.
They enjoyed it, so we invited a few friends.
Then our clients started inviting their friends.
And those friends invited more friends.
Before we knew it, our little lunchtime workouts had become something much bigger than either of us had anticipated.
From Two People to 60 Training Together
What started as two coaches working out together eventually grew into daily classes of up to 60 people training simultaneously.
Over the course of the pandemic, hundreds of people joined us from across four continents.
Every weekday, we'd plan a workout and upload it beforehand so everyone could see what was coming.
We'd then get together on Zoom, talk through the movements, explain what we were trying to achieve and offer any necessary modifications.
And then we'd all get stuck in.
Importantly, Scott and I weren't simply sitting behind our screens shouting instructions.
We were doing the workouts alongside everyone else.
We'd be sweating, struggling, laughing and occasionally questioning our own programming, just like everyone taking part.
It created a brilliant atmosphere.
People were training in their living rooms, kitchens, garages and gardens. Some had bits of equipment, others had nothing beyond a little floor space.
But everyone was working towards the same thing.
Getting moving, challenging themselves and enjoying a bit of company.
And it worked.
Getting Stronger Without a Gym
One of the things I particularly enjoyed about this period was how much it challenged my own approach to training.
I'm primarily a strength coach. I love lifting heavy weights, picking up stones and working with all manner of unconventional equipment.
Suddenly, most of that wasn't available.
I managed to borrow a 50kg kettlebell from the Commando Temple, which quickly became one of my most treasured possessions during lockdown.
Naturally, I incorporated it into as many workouts as I reasonably could.
But I also found myself doing an awful lot of things I wouldn't normally prioritise.
Burpees, for example.
Lots and lots of bloody burpees.
Without access to the heavy equipment I was accustomed to, I had to find different ways to challenge myself.
And the results were genuinely surprising.
My conditioning improved enormously. I developed strength and endurance in ways that were different from my usual training, and I became considerably fitter.
It was a useful reminder that while equipment is fantastic, you don't necessarily need much of it to create an effective workout.
You need an appropriate challenge, some consistency and a willingness to put the work in.
I was learning that firsthand alongside everyone else.
More Than Just Exercise
As the classes grew, something else became increasingly apparent.
For many people, these workouts were becoming an important part of their wellbeing.
Lockdown was an incredibly difficult period.
People were isolated from friends and family, worried about their jobs, dealing with uncertainty and struggling with the psychological effects of being confined to their homes.
We received hundreds of messages from people telling us how much the classes meant to them.
For some, it was an opportunity to get outside into the garden and do something physical.
For others, it was a reason to get out of bed, establish a routine or simply have something positive to look forward to.
We saw people who had barely exercised previously become regular attendees, putting aside time to train five days a week.
We watched families join the same workouts from different households, using the sessions as an opportunity to spend time together despite being physically separated.
And we saw people find a little solace in strength during some genuinely challenging circumstances.
I don't think Scott or I fully appreciated at the beginning just how important those lunchtime sessions would become to some people.
We'd started them because we wanted to train together.
But they became something that people could depend on.
And that was incredibly rewarding.
Hundreds of Workouts, Four Continents and Countless Burpees
We started our daily workouts at the beginning of the first UK lockdown in March 2020.
And we kept them going every weekday until July 2021.
Even after restrictions began to ease and people gradually returned to something resembling normal life, the classes continued.
They'd become such a regular part of everyone's routine that there was no particular reason to stop.
Eventually, as gyms reopened and people's lives changed again, the sessions naturally ran their course.
By that point, we'd delivered hundreds of workouts to hundreds of people across four continents.
Countless repetitions, enormous amounts of sweat, plenty of laughter and some genuinely impressive improvements in fitness.
And we'd made hours upon hours of training content available for free.
What began as a little 30-minute lunchtime workout between two mates had grown into one of the most memorable things we'd ever done through BearWolf Training.
What Lockdown Taught Me About Coaching
Looking back, I'm incredibly proud of how we handled that period.
Not because we invented anything revolutionary or discovered some magical new training method.
But because we adapted.
We took the resources available to us, found a way to make them work and created something positive during an extraordinarily difficult time.
It reinforced a few things I've always believed about coaching.
Good training doesn't need perfect circumstances.
You don't necessarily need an expensive gym, an elaborate programme or access to every piece of equipment imaginable.
Those things can certainly help, but they're not prerequisites for making progress.
Sometimes you've got a fully equipped strength facility.
Sometimes you've got a kettlebell and a bit of space in your garden.
Sometimes you've got nothing but your own bodyweight and half an hour at lunchtime.
There's almost always something useful you can do.
It also reminded me just how valuable the social side of training can be.
Exercise is often discussed in terms of strength, muscle, body fat and cardiovascular fitness.
And rightly so. Those are all important.
But the friendships, shared experiences, encouragement and sense of belonging that can develop through training are every bit as meaningful.
During lockdown, we saw that on a scale neither of us had expected.
Thank You for Being Part of It
The BearWolf lockdown workouts remain one of my favourite memories from an otherwise incredibly difficult period.
I'm proud of the coaching we delivered, the community we helped create and the physical progress so many people made.
But most of all, I'm grateful to everyone who turned up.
Whether you joined us for one workout or hundreds, invited your friends, brought your family along or simply helped encourage somebody else through another round of burpees, you contributed to something special.
What started as two mates training together became a genuine source of connection and support for people all over the world.
And that's something I'll always be proud of.
Sometimes strength is about lifting something heavy. Sometimes it's about finding a way to keep going when life gets difficult.
During lockdown, we got to experience a little bit of both.
Thank you to everyone who was part of it.
Ben — BearWolf Training
BearWolf Training continues to offer personal training, strength coaching and remote coaching. Whether you're training in person at the Commando Temple in Deptford or working with me remotely, the principle remains the same: effective training should fit around your circumstances, challenge you appropriately and help you become stronger and more capable.