Summer in Australia has always meant cricket but there have been few years where our national sport has attracted quite so much attention as in 2021.
Tests have been on again, off again, moved, then on again but with reduced crowd numbers.
And while trying to figure out exactly what’s going on — or whether it will be on at all — has been a nightmare for fans of the sport, it’s been just as hard — or harder — for those who make a living off it.
Honestly, it’s enough to drive you to drink. Or, if you’re Fox Cricket presenter Kath Loughnan, enough to drive you into the drink.
I caught up with Kath this week, who told me that when things get a little tough, she hits the water to swim through her stress.
“I always begin the day with some sort of exercise. Usually either a 3km swim session at the local pool, a steady run, or an interval-style run session,” she tells Health Hacker.
“I don’t meditate but I always find an easy swim (two or three kilometres non-stop at a steady pace) helps clear the mind. If I’m ever feeling like an emotional and irrational female, I’ll head to the pool or beach and swim it out.
“It’s in everyone’s best interests!”
Like for almost everyone in Melbourne, 2020 has proven a year to forget, with some of the country’s longest and most strict lockdowns keeping everyone indoors for much of the year.
But Kath tells me she’s been able to find some positive learnings from the year that was.
“For me, it’s the power of exercise in keeping a positive mindset. It was easy to focus on the negatives during lockdown in Melbourne but daily exercise kept me hopeful and optimistic about the future.
“I’m over home workouts though — they can take a hike!”
And with 2020 now having taken a hike, too, I thought I’d ask Kath what she was most looking forward to in 2021.
KATH LOUGHNAN ON …
NY Resolutions
“I want to drink less coffee and tone up in the gym. I’ve recently started working with a personal trainer and I can’t wait to reap the rewards of the strength and conditioning program. As for the coffee, I’m aiming to pull back to one latte a day. I can’t promise I will, though.”
Life after COVID
“I just wan to enjoy all the simple things we used to take for granted pre-COVID! Fitness-wise, that’s going to the gym and pilates. And no more home workouts!”
A healthy diet
“I keep it clean and simple 80 per cent of the time. The other 20 per cent is wine and guilty pleasures. Five things I usually always have in my fridge are watermelon, cherry tomatoes, avocado, hummus and Sprite Zero.”
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