How To Start Working Out After A Long Break
Remember the days when your workout was a non-negotiable part of your daily routine, as essential as breakfast, brushing your teeth and your 9 to 5 job? A day without a fitness activity felt incomplete, and you were in your element.
Whether you were recovering from an injury, went for an extended vacation, or transferred a job, somehow your sweat-drenched session stopped. Whatever the reason you became inactive in your regular gym session, now you are not getting the motivation to head back.
But the good news is with a little planning and patience, you can start working out after a long break. Read on to find out how!
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Getting Back To Workouts After A Break
1. Take It Slow
You won’t do yourself any favors if you work for a sweat-dripping 90-minute gym session after a long break. When you stop exercising for an extended period, your joints become stiff, and flexibility goes null.
To avoid any serious injury and joint pains, it is advisable to go slow and easy with your workout. Start with a little warm-up and pace yourself on the machines.
Begin with lower weights and resistance and set the treadmill at a lower speed. Start with a short-term fitness goal first. You need to create a strong foundation to build consistency.
2. Schedule Your Workout
There should be a plan for every goal. Your new exercise routine will depend on your aim for fitness. So, try to create a realistic plan and set a specific time and day for your workout.
Schedule your workout on a calendar like you schedule your meetings, appointments, social gatherings, and parties. It can help you overcome other inclinations for last-minute cancellations.
Whether you prefer early morning sessions or evening exercise, make it a non-negotiable part of your regular routine. In the beginning, plan some warm-ups and small workout sessions and increase the session time after a bit of practicing. Do you feel comfortable working out one day a week? Great, mark it on your calendar and gradually increase the number of days with time.
3. Shift Your Focus
When you remove a regular activity from your routine life, it takes a while to get back on track. Along with scheduling, it will take an enormous amount of time to begin with regular workout sessions and continue that with consistency. Go lighter and aim at the body movement instead of taking heavy weights.
In the beginning, you will find multiple reasons to skip your gym sessions, but remember consistency is the key to getting your body into shape again. Do not let small things shift your focus, and if an emergency occurs, plan your workout for another shift or late at night.
4. Set Yourself A Challenge
A task without a goal is incomplete. Setting a goal is one thing that will help you stay motivated on your journey. After a long gap, going back to the gym regularly can be daunting. You will find multiple reasons to skip your leg day every day. But to regain fitness and shape, it is essential to take on everyday challenges. Initially, go with slow and easy exercises, and later on, as your body becomes habitual, increase the time and difficulty of daily challenges.
5. Find Workouts That Are Motivating And Engaging
It may sound cliche, but you have to enjoy routine exercise for better benefits. No matter what your motivation is, you will be spending a lot of time exercising, so it is better if you enjoy what you do. Your liking towards workouts will make them more fun, and it will also make you come back again on time.
Try to find out what workout to do. Take a look at the past exercises and figure out if you derive some enjoyment from them. If yes, then repeat the same routine.
Also Read: Morning or Evening Exercise: Which is more effective?
6. Discuss With Your Healthcare Professional
Yes, it is one of the most important things that should be on your priority list before you begin the workout sessions. Even professional athletes discuss with medical staff to make sure that the exercise they are doing fits the body well.
Let’s say you suffered from an injury and restarted the gym sessions after a long gap, so the medical staff will advise you on the correct time and exercise to begin with.
But if your break was because of some other reason, and you may want to pick off where you left off, but your body is not where you left off, getting a check-up and advice from your health professional will give you peace of mind, that you are appropriately doing the workouts.
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7. Stretch A Lot
Before the sweat-drenching session, it is crucial to incorporate stretching into the new routine. Instead of rushing to the gym to lift heavy weights and running wildly on the treadmill, give some time to stretching to awaken the muscles resting for a long time.
Begin with basic stretching exercises like side and calf stretch, standing quad stretch, hamstring stretch, spinal twist, upper back stretch, and many more.
These exercises will help in increasing flexibility and reduce body pain. Try these simple stretches and get back to your regular exercise routine.
8. Remember How Good It Makes You Feel
Sometimes, the effort becomes the biggest hurdle, and we forget about the outcome. Obviously, workouts can be a bit harsh on your body, but you will definitely get the best feeling when your body is back in good shape. So, if you find it challenging to step out of bed, it’s okay to acknowledge that you require something to motivate you. Try to remember the feeling that you get after a workout. Other than sore muscles, you will never regret a gym session.
9. Prep The Night Before
Exercising in the morning was your daily habit, but now you are struggling to turn off the alarm. So, prep the night before to make it easier to get back to the rhythm. Prepare your bag with gym essentials and put it inside your room. Set multiple alarms to resist the 5-minute sleep.
Once you are out of bed and your gym bag is ready, you will not find any unnecessary reason to skip your gym sessions. Those who work out after job hours can also keep their bag packed in the car or below the office desk.
10. Begin With A One-Month Challenge
If you want to make exercise part of your daily routine, begin with a one-month challenge to kick-start your routine. Various yoga studios and gyms offer a monthly challenge. If 30 days seem like a big task, lower the barrier and commit to weekly challenges. Rather than getting immediate results, focus on making it a habit. These weekly and monthly challenges will help you get consistent and compliant.
Workout Restart Tips
Whether your choice of workout is lifting, swimming, cycling, running, or some other activity, some basic tips are essential to restart the workout routine. Once your health checkups are completely fine, you can commence your training sessions.
Some of the workout tips are –
1. Overdoing a particular exercise when you start a routine can lead to multiple injuries. So, start simple and gradually increase the workouts as you develop flexibility.
2. Focus on the form, as it is the key to getting the most out of any exercise. Restarting a routine will help in building muscle memory.
3. For appropriate training, mix up cardio and strength training. Adding variety to your existing routine will keep you motivated to try something new.
4. With a proper post-workout muscle plan, give your muscles time to recover and relax.
5. Before hitting the gym after a long break, go for some health checkups.
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How To Stay Consistent With Work Out Routines?
Now that you have decided to restart the gym sessions, the question arises: How do you maintain consistency in what you are doing? Sometimes, you may go to a social gathering, work event, party, or family function, so how can you take time out from your busy schedule for regular exercising?
1. Making It Social
Like everyone else, you also find joy in hanging out with friends. So, to improve your consistency level, find a gym buddy. Exercising with a friend adds fun to your workout. You can chit-chat in between and set a challenge for every day. Also, it can motivate you to hit the gym on the days you were thinking of skipping anyway.
2. Doing What You Like
Set a workout routine you find the most amount of joy. With a fun-filled workout schedule, you will be more likely not to miss a single day of your favorite gym session. Along with challenging and strength-building exercises, add some workouts that bring joy to you as they will help you maintain a balance between regular exercise.
3. Use Fitness Trackers
Setting a workout routine and tracking your progress on the positive side is one of the most happy feelings. Various digital watches track your fitness. From how many calories you burn to the number of steps you take in a day, the watch tells everything. Other than that, you can also download fitness apps that will help you with the results of everyday gym sessions.
4. Dedication Is Essential
Just like you schedule your important tasks and meetings, start planning your gym sessions. Make it an unmissable part of the day. Whatever happens, do not skip your workout routine. Maintaining consistency will make you more likely to keep the routine. Give your dedication to exercising and see how your body gets in perfect shape.
What To Consider Before You Start Exercising Out Again After A Long Break?
Thinking about restarting the fitness schedule? Firstly, you made a good decision, and secondly, if you have made up your mind, there is no better time than today to begin a healthier lifestyle. Once you get involved in routine workouts to get back into shape, all the other things will be secondary to you.
While it’s all thrilling to begin the new journey of fitness, some ordinary and natural feelings may emerge. Maybe you feel anxious that all the previous progress has gone to waste, and now you are back to square one. You may also lose patience, and your body may not respond to fitness workouts like earlier. Remember, these feelings are entirely okay, and it will take some time to develop a habit.
In past times, it may have been easy for you to lift heavy weights, but simple workouts now feel more challenging to you, so give your body some time to get habitual of daily workouts. Start at a slow pace and increase the workout with time. Accept what you are right now and have the patience to get to where you want to be.
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How Much Time Will It Take To Regain The Fitness?
The amount of time it takes to regain the strength depends on how long the break is. If your break was short, chances are that your muscles still have strength left. Within a few weeks, you will be able to regain your fitness and reach the same level of strength. Depending on the type of exercise, the time can vary. For endurance and cardio, it is a little different.
In case you have taken an extended break, your muscles and body will need some time to regain strength and fitness. It will take around four to six weeks, although sometimes it depends on the individual’s fitness level.
The Bottom Line
You must be excited to begin your fitness journey again, but getting that fitted body with muscle strength may be difficult. From waking up early in the morning and packing the gym essentials to maintaining a healthy diet and consistency, everything will take some time.
Instead of putting it to tomorrow, start your workout session today. And do not begin with heavy-weight exercise; give your body some time to adapt. Start your initial days with easy exercise and gradually increase the difficulty level with time.
Find joy in what you are doing. Once you will see yourself getting in shape again, the effort will be worth it. Follow these tips and tricks to restart the workout after a long time.
And always remember, no matter how long your break was, there is no time like today to dust off the gym kit and start introducing healthy habits.
Hope you find joy in the journey to fitness!!
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
1. How long will it take to get back to my previous fitness level?
Depending on how long your break was and how fit you were when you stopped working out. It may take weeks or months, depending on the duration of the break, to regain the strength and fitness like earlier. The most important thing is to maintain consistency. Fitness is a long journey, so do not skip your gym sessions, and within some time, you will get your strength and flexibility.
2. Can I take a break of a week from working out once I am back on the track?
Although taking a break is good for resting your muscles if the break is one week due to other commitments, but if you are planning to take a long one, your body may lose the progress that you made from sweat-dripping gym sessions. And it may take longer to reach the desired fitness level.
So, to manage the regular routine in the gap, you can do some other activities like switching the elevator to the stairs, doing some household chores, and stretching in the morning as you step out of bed. With these activities, you can maintain your fitness for a week.
