While many millions of Americans are at home waiting until it is safe to be around large crowds, professional wrestlers need those crowds to be able to work. What do you do when your career is traveling, working out in gyms regularly, and performing in front of thousands? For Ring of Honor's Caprice Coleman, now's the time to get everything done that you've been putting off.

“I’ve been working out from home and doing stuff around the house that I should have done," Coleman told Medical Daily. "I used to have an excuse before, but now I don’t.”

Seeing as how Coleman's life normally involves so much time away from home, he's found ways to see many positives with the current pandemic. "My wife picks at me that it took an act of God to get me home," he joked. "Now that I’m home, I get to spend time with my family, however I’ve come to realize that I really love my job. We [wrestlers] love doing what we’re doing." That said, Coleman is still very much appreciative of the full-night's rest he now can get every night, and the ability to eat healthier than he can when he's on the road.

Coleman has a history as a physical therapist, so while he does still miss visiting the gym regularly, he has found ways to still get a workout while at home. Of course, half of the battle when it comes to working out is mentally getting yourself motivated to do it. Coleman says his secret is to try to not do anything different. “I force structure into my life. I have an alarm in the morning to get up, and I run in the morning and train after I run, or I run and then train at night," he said. "I just make a structure of what I’m doing so when things go back to normal I don’t have to retrain myself for a normal day. I just have to adjust a little bit.”

With his physical therapy experience, Coleman has seen people go from wheelchairs to walkers and walkers to running, and thinks now is a perfect opportunity for those at home to get started on their own journey into physical fitness. It doesn't even require fancy equipment, as right now Coleman has been using his own body weight and resistance bands during his workouts at home. The important thing to remember is to try to know your limits.

"I think it’s wise for people if they are wanting to start something to not be afraid to start at the beginning level to see where their body is," said Coleman. "The worst thing you can do at this time is to injure yourself and have to go to the hospital. Use wisdom, be smart, and it’s great to try to exercise. Even starting with a walk outside, you can then move to a fast walk and then to a jog. Or when you’re at home you can do push ups, squats, sit ups.”

This all sounds so simple, but as previously mentioned, the mental hurdle to get up and work out can be the biggest obstacle for many. Coleman's advice here is actually helpful in more ways than one right now: be social.

“The main thing is having someone to talk to. I feel that the people who are suffering the most are people who live by themselves. People that don’t have anyone they can talk to. That leaves people to have mindful conversations with themselves, and with these conversations we just continue to make ourselves right in whatever we’re thinking," Coleman said. "So if you think something is good, your mindful conversation will continue to think it’s good. However, if we think something is bad, our mindful conversation will seek things out to show how bad things are. Being mindful of what you’re feeding yourself, being mindful of what you’re looking at or watching. If you look at some news or social media you’re going to get negative feedback on whatever you’re looking at. But there’s also news and social media to give positive feedback, so it’s really what you’re looking for and understanding that whatever you feed yourself, that’s what you’re going to look like. I’m not even just talking about food, but spiritually and mentally as well. If you’re continuing to feed yourself with negative feelings and negative thoughts, you’ll put yourself in that mindset where everything is that way. If you use the things that you’re doing and that you’re looking at to change your mindset, it’ll give you a better way.”

The trick here, according to Coleman, is to look for someone who may have a different mindset than you. “Find someone to talk to who doesn’t think like you. You can talk to someone, and if you’re both negative, you’ll be even more negative. If you’re finding someone to talk to who is a more optimistic person, who has a better understanding or can more easily find the positives in situations,“ he said.

As for Coleman's return to Ring of Honor, he's mostly excited to see his co-workers again, who he feels have come together like a family. "We’re in a blessed situation. There are a lot of companies that aren’t doing good right now. Through the grace of God, Ring of Honor has held strong to the contracts that they have given us. They’ve still been paying us even when we’re not working," he said. "Going back to a company that you know has your best interest in mind, and you know you have your friends there, you want to put on the best show you can.”

When outside the ring, Coleman gives his time to the organization Christian Premiere Events. An annual fundraising 5K race had to be canceled due to the pandemic, but the organization is accepting donations to purchase shoes for children in need. If you would like to make a donation, or purchase a pair of shoes outright, check out the Beautiful Feet 5K fundraiser page.

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