Getting into a fitness routine requires motivation and commitment, particularly if you haven’t exercised for a while. Whether you’ve been sidelined because of injury, or your schedule simply hasn’t enabled you to hit the gym, re-starting a fitness regime will boost your confidence and your health. To fast-track your journey, take a look at these top four tips for getting back to exercising after a long break:
1. Get a Check Up
If you haven’t exercised in a while, it’s important to get a health check before you commit to starting a new routine. Although exercise is a great way to enhance your health, you do need to ensure that a new workout regime won’t compromise your health or exacerbate any long-term conditions. This is particularly critical if injury or ill health resulted in you taking a break from exercising. Once you’ve got a clean bill of health, you’ll know exactly what type of exercise you can do and have renewed confidence in your abilities.
2. Reset Your Fitness Goals
When you start exercising after a long break, don’t expect to have the same level of fitness that you had weeks or months ago. While your baseline fitness may have improved, it could take time to build up your endurance and strength. Attempting to match your previous performance may increase the risk of injury and leave you feeling demotivated, so take the time to reset your fitness goals instead. By assessing your current fitness level, you can set achievable targets that will help you to boost your overall performance. Whether you’re focusing on weightlifting, distance running or Pilates, gradual yet consistent progress will deliver the best long-term results.
3. Treat Yourself to New Fitness Gear
If you’re going to get fit, you’ll need to have the right equipment to hand. While going to the gym can give you access to a wide range of professional-grade equipment, having your own weights, fitness machines or resistance bands will enable you to workout at home. As a result, you can increase the frequency of your workouts and achieve your goals more quickly. Fortunately, you don’t have to blow your budget to get the equipment you need. With a little online research, you can save on fitness products and still get all the gear you need to embrace a healthier, fitter lifestyle.
4. Find Time in Your Schedule
If you’ve missed out on exercise because your schedule got too busy, then you’ll need to make some changes to ensure that your new routine doesn’t fall by the wayside too. It’s easy to let exercise slide when you’re busy with work, school or homelife, which is why it’s so important to find fitness options that match your lifestyle. Perhaps you can’t hit the gym in the evenings because you don’t have childcare available, for example. If so, choose an activity that the whole family can get involved with and make it part of your routine. Alternatively, fit exercise into existing tasks, so that you don’t have to go out of your way to make extra time for a workout. Taking the stairs instead of the lift, getting off the bus a stop earlier or hitting the gym on your lunchbreak can be savvy way to fit exercise into your day when you’re short on time.
A healthy amount of exercise can enhance every aspect of your life, so be sure to make it one of your top priorities. With realistic targets, the right mix of equipment and a workable schedule, you’ll be surprised at how easy it is to make exercise a fun and enjoyable part of your regular routine.
