What are the ways you can get back into exercise after taking a break, whether because of injury, life circumstances, or any other reason?
How do you get started again, in a way that doesn’t leave you yo-yoing or injured?
We’re going to talk today about how our process works to get you moving and increasing your health, fitness, and overall wellness from precisely where you are today, as well as give some tips for getting started on your own!
We are here to help and support you in creating sustainable, enjoyable lifestyle change!
Ways to Get Back into Exercise: Work with a Professional
The first thing we do when working with a potential new client is what we call an “Exploratory Session,” and within this session, we do an assessment of where you are starting from in your fitness: your movement patterns, your rate of perceived exertion through a few key exercises, and if you have any muscular imbalances in your foundation that we’d want to address before adding fitness on top of it to prevent injury. It’s a very comprehensive view (and priceless, IMO) of where you’re at so we can build your plan and progression forward from there.
Here’s an article from Healthline on 9 benefits of working with a personal trainer!
Ways to Get Back into Exercise: Mindset
If you’re on your own, doing things to get an idea of where your fitness is at with a conservative mindset is key. When you are just getting started or restarted, it’s possible that you may feel like you “should be able” to do something or that because you were able to do something previously, you should be able to do it now.
Even if that’s not logical, it’s still a mental game to dial it back as far as you can to just see how your body shows up and not judge it any type of way for doing so.
Ways to Get Back into Exercise: Breaking Mental Barriers
Make your body your friend, not something that you’re beating into submission. Pay attention to what feels like a good push and what is too far. Yes, you want to challenge yourself, but ideally, you’re not going past a 6/10 on the exertion scale for the first few weeks.
Set your expectation to just getting started/restarted into a routine. Most often, we like our clients’ first goals to include just that: getting into routine. That means that if you did something that day, be it a walk, a jog, some strength training, dancing, whatever your modality is, that you accomplished the goal for that day. The more days you can string together like this, you’ll find yourself 6 months from now so proud of yourself for sticking to it.
Make that the goal: sticking to it. Let’s face it, restarting can stink. I know, I’ve been there. However, within a few weeks of sticking to a routine of movement, you’ll find yourself feeling better during and after, as well as ready to start progressing forward.
Ways to Get Back into Exercise: Putting it all Together
Knowledge is powerful, and yet it can still be difficult to follow through. That’s alright – as humans, we were not created to be islands!
We’re here to help with guidance and accountability. If you’re not already working with us, apply for an Exploratory Session today and let’s explore what it would look like to get you started/restarted with the best foundation for your sustained success!
