One minute you’re training regularly, enjoying exercise and feeling great and then, something comes up. It might be working more or a roster change. Maybe your personal life gets in the way. Or you know, restrictions and lockdown (thanks Covid). Whatever the original reason, a day off becomes a week off. A week off becomes a month off and before you know it, you’re left wondering how to get back into exercising after a somewhat lengthy hiatus.
This is where I’m at right now.
I feel as though I was in quite a good routine but working more with a change of jobs and then a change in my childcare arrangements meant that getting to gym was a little trickier. Then they shut down and changed the rules for booking and I just lost momentum. I also usually do quite a lot of waking, it’s one of my favourite things to do but the winter weather and kids does not equal an enjoyable brisk walk for me. Don’t get me wrong, the kids will come along for some fresh air and we all get to stretch our legs but it’s not really at a fast enough pace to get the blood pumping.
Hallett Cove conservation park, one of my favourite walking trails
I miss being active, or at least I miss the way it makes me feel. Healthy, strong, happy. I also miss feeling tired from knowing I’ve accomplished things rather than that sluggish tired from the daily grind and then too much tv. Does that make sense? Honestly, I know I could have kept the physical activity up, but sometimes despite our best intentions, life gets in the way.
So how do you get back into exercise after a break? I’m going to try and do the following to get myself back into a routine I feel happy with. Thought I’d share for anyone else struggling to get back to it.
Firstly, I’m going to try really hard to resist the temptation to go hell for leather right from the start. I’ve done this far too many times, thinking I could just jump right back into the same schedule and intensity of activities I was doing before. Trying to do too much at the beginning is risky as I know I’m bound to get demotivated at the thought of the mammoth task I’ve just set myself. I’ve also ended up hurting myself by pushing it too hard to fast in the past and an injury is not conducive to easing yourself back into movement, trust me! So I’m going to take it easy and not beat myself up over how many times I can get to the gym. Walks will be back on the agenda but 5kms is more than enough, I don’t have to smash out 3-4 8kms walks a week (can you hear me talking to myself!). Even one gym session a week is a reasonable goal if you’re just starting out. The key to any sort of sustainable change is to start small and build up from there. So I’m going to resist the ‘all or nothing’ mentality and plan a realistic schedule to ease back into exercise after this break.
Booked into one of my favourite classes!
So this is very cliche, but the saying is true; fail to prepare, prepare to fail! Urghh! Yeah I know! I’ve heard more than once that the best way to get back into the habit of exercising after a break is to treat your training sessions as an important appointment with yourself.
Scheduling the date and time of your sessions and treating them like any other appointment can really help keep you on track. I’m not great at this but I do feel that if I’ve kind of outlined the days I can either get to the gym or go for a walk somewhere fun like Marino or Punchbowl, I’m more likely to go. So I’ve checked out the timetable at my gym and have put a class in my diary for my day off and will aim to get there before work on at least one other day this week. I haven’t done a trail around the Onkaparinga gorge for awhile so I’d like to do that on my other day off. I’m feeling more motivated already!
The biggest hurdle I have when getting back into exercise is always mindset. Feeling annoyed at myself for letting the working out and exercise I was doing slip, is what it is. The old me probably would have been beating myself up hard for it for “failing” but I’m not going to do that anymore. It’s not helpful, it just makes me feel bad about myself which I’m not subscribing to anymore. Yes, exercise is good for your health but sometimes life gets in the way and that’s ok. I also believe that exercise should make you feel good. It shouldn’t be a punishment and it shouldn’t really be a chore. I know now that when it does start to feel like that for me, I’m doing it for the wrong reasons and I need to reset – whether it be a break or to switch up what I’m doing.
Setting goals helps to keep me motivated, but I need to make sure they are small and achievable to get me started. Getting to the gym once or twice a week after a long break and getting some walks in is a win, so that’s how I’ll treat it. While I am talking about goals, one of the hardest things to do for me is to resist the temptation to focus on appearance-related goals. It’s a slippery slope. Yes I’ve definitely put on a few kgs but I can’t let that mess with my head. So my goals will be based on performance and the way exercise makes me feel. There are so many fantastic reasons to exercise that have nothing to do with how our bodies look. I’m going to focus on the process, and the rest will fall in to place!
Returning to exercise after a break can feel overwhelming but I’m determined not to go it alone! I’m going invite my friends along to workout with me which always means I have a better chance of sticking with it while motivation is low at the beginning. For the days they can’t come along I will make sure I’ve charged my headphones, I always forget and then hate myself for it. This goes back to being organised, I’m really going to try and make this happen as music is a huge motivator for me! I’ve booked that class this week at my gym which I know will be great. I like the class and being in a room with everyone keeping pace, keeps me accountable.
Getting back to exercise after a break can often be a bit of a struggle, and getting started is often the hardest bit. I know I really want to get back into doing more physical activity, I miss how it makes me feel and that’s got to be the best first step there is.
Another favourite walking trail. See you later this week Punchbowl!
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