MONTREAL -- Some in isolation are watching more TV, going for more jogs or cooking an array of dishes they have always wanted to.
For Montreal Alouettes fullback Christophe Normand, isolation has meant finding his inner lumberjack and hauling trees, splitting wood and running the hills around his property in Bromont, Que.
“I’m doing some cleaning on my lawn,” he said. “There are a few dead trees, one had fallen during the windstorm, so I had to clean it up.”
Normand would typically have started intense training with his Montreal teammates this month in preparation for the May 17 kick-off to the CFL regular season. The season’s indefinite postponement and cancellation of all team practices has meant the 6’2”, 239-pound fullback has had to stay motivated and in shape at home instead of at the Alouettes' practice and training facilities.
“The thing that’s hard is usually with training camp coming around the corner, April is a big month where we get a lot of conditioning and work a bit harder towards the season,” said the 28-year-old who played 18 games for the Alouettes in 2019.
Normand said staying motivated and working out isn’t a problem but he does worry the season may be completely cancelled.
From his hometown of Bromont, he said he has been able to keep a strict workout regimen using his home gym and natural environment even if he can't do the usual team training he is used to.
“I have a nice set up here, and even running there are some pretty steep hills so I’m not afraid of not being able to work out, but it does change the preparation because I don’t know when I’m going to start,” he said.
Normand has trained solo since he graduated university in 2015, so isolation doesn’t change his routine as much as some.
“I used to go to the gym at 8 or 9 in the morning when no one else was there, so it’s the same thing for me,” he said. “I’m just working out at home.”
The Alouettes released a video of its players announcing the cancellation of school visits and ultimate football tour, and encouraging people to stay home and find a new passion, do some renovations, read a book or try something else that makes you happy.
