Return to - or Begin - an Exercise Routine Safely and Confidently

As with everything in life, there is an ebb and flow. I’m here to help you ease your way back into a routine whether it’s been 1 week, 1 month, 1 year, or more!

There are numerous road blocks we hit on our fitness journeys and while they may vary slightly from beginners to more advanced trainees, there is overlap in how they present themselves. To understand how to work around or with these roadblocks, let’s first make a short list of some of these concerns:

1. Anxiety

2. Injury

3. No Time/Too Busy

4. Where to Start?

5. What to Do?

6. Something Else

Let’s start with Anxiety as it pops up quite frequently and ties into both Injury and What to Do? categories. If you experience anxiety around going to the gym in-person because of performance anxiety, fear of embarrassing oneself, feeling unsure about how to use equipment, what if I injure myself because I make a mistake, what equipment to use, oh my where to start with all of this? It feels so daunting!

What if I Injure myself? Maybe you have an old ankle sprain you’re worried about re-injuring, maybe you’ve never been injured and would like to keep it that way, maybe you have persistent muscle pain and are sure that an exercise program would exacerbate it, no matter the case, it’s a real concern!

Okay, let’s say you neither experience Anxiety around working out nor have any Injury concerns. What prevents you from a return to or new endeavor in fitness may be that you find yourself with No Time to work out. You’re Too Busy between work, family obligations, education, having a social life, etc. There’s a lot going on every week especially in this ever-fast-paced world! Finding 30-60 minutes 3-4 times per week sounds completely unachievable so why even bother, right?

I don’t even know Where to Start so I feel frozen in place at the starting line. With the amount of information online, so many newfangled fitness products to try, “get fit quick” schemes, and the ever-growing research on health and wellness, it can feel like one has to do an absurd of research before even stepping foot in a gym (or before rolling out your mat at home) in order to set oneself up for success.

Lastly, let’s say you have the time, you’re ready to start, you’re ready to work out from either home or in a gym-setting, and the last thing you need to know is: What to Do. But seriously, what the heck should you be doing to optimize your training? Tying into the Where to Start is What to Do. What are the first things to come to mind when you think about a gym program? Something like cardio + strength + stretching with no specifics? Or do you go straight to specifics and think run + bench press + squat + can’t forget the abs?

Maybe none of these previously listed concerns are YOUR concern. Maybe it’s something else for you. There’s always Something Else that can throw a wrench in our plans. That’s totally normal! Regardless of what is occurring be it a setback, a change in goals, a drastic life change in need of space/time/recovery, the tips I’ll outline below to start or return to an exercise routine will be valuable for you as well.

Now that we’ve established there’s plenty of reasons that can prevent us from exercising consistently or provide hurdles to getting started, let’s discuss some ways to make it a manageable endeavor.

What are some physical activities that you already enjoy? Do you like walking around town? Yoga? Soccer? This is a great place to start. Make time to perform an activity you already enjoy once a week to get started. You can increase the times you do these activities or add other workouts into your weekly routine to supplement your preferred activity as time goes on.

Give yourself 15-30 minutes to write down some of your goals. Do you want to sleep better? Run a 5k? Do 10 pushups consecutively? Now that you have your list, decide which one of these is the one you’d like to focus on first - if you’re not sure what you’d like to focus on first, just think about which one you care most about compared to the other options in the list and go with that one. Let’s say it’s the 5K goal. Break it down into what you can currently do, which is maybe walking 5 minutes, running/jogging 1 minute, and repeat until you hit 30 minutes. Do this at least once a week. Increase your run/jog time and decrease your walk time as you continue to work on this goal. As this goal becomes more manageable, add another day or two and/or supplemental workouts during the week like strength training.

Another great option is to find a personal trainer (Hey! That’s what trainers are here for!). I can help you figure out your health and fitness goals and then create a program around that which works with your lifestyle/schedule as well. What makes us happier than helping you achieve your goals? (Okay, maybe that slice of cheesecake but that’s a short-lived joy, once it’s gone that’s it!) Achieving your goals is a long-term pursuit and I love to see my clients’ progress!

TL;DR?

There’s plenty of reasons why we hesitate to start or return to a program. You can help yourself by 1) making incremental adds, don’t dive into everything all at once as it may result in injury or cause burnout and 2) make sure to find time for an activity you enjoy. Maybe you hate weightlifting - so why force yourself to do that 4 times per week when you can do it 2 times per week and rock climb 2 times per week. There’s a balance to be had that includes your goals, your interests, and your lifestyle.