According to the Centers for Disease Control, 80% of Americans don’t get enough exercise. Often, we attribute this to a lack of time.
In between running the kids to school, going to work and extracurricular activities, it can admittedly be tough to get a workout in.
Even if it seems impossible, you can start exercising again to work at getting back in shape. You don’t have to constantly push the thought around in your mind. Instead, you can take charge and start your exercise regime today.
Here are seven of our top tips on getting back into shape after a long absence.
1. Choose Something You Love
Some people love going to the gym. Other people hate it. If you’re one of the people who love going to the gym, fitting it into your daily routine won’t be much of a problem. But if you hate it, you’ll make every excuse in the book to avoid it.
In order to make sure you actually stay active, pick something you like. Did you like biking as a kid? Try renting one and riding around your neighborhood for 20 to 30 minutes.
Did you like dancing in college? Sign up for a local dance class. If you’re actually looking forward to the exercise, you’ll be much more likely to carve out the time to do it.
2. Getting Back into Shape: Make It a Family Affair
If part of the reason you’re having trouble exercising is that you’re too busy with your family, include them into your new routine. Exercise is important for people of all ages, so create an activity all of you can do once or twice a week.
Think of something you like to do as a family. Do you like playing soccer? Do you like hiking? What about biking around the neighborhood?
Whatever it is you fancy, you can organize a family outing on the weekends. This way, you’ll get to bond and spend time with one another while being physical.
3. Don’t Dive In Head First
You may have once been incredibly active and able to run five miles. That’s awesome. But if you haven’t done that in a few years, you won’t be able to do it again immediately.
Instead, you need to work up to where you used to be, or to your fitness goals. If you go in head first, you might be able to meet your goal on your first day, but you won’t maintain it. Instead, you’ll be sore and run down and not likely to want to continue.
Start slowly and work your way back up to where you were previously. This way, your body eases back into shape and you’ll be able to maintain your goals.
4. Always Warm Up with Stretches
No matter where you used to be in your workout routine, you’ll need to warm up with stretches to ensure you don’t injure yourself. Start by stretching the muscles you’ll be using in your workout. If you’re running or riding a bike, stretch your leg muscles to ensure they’re properly loosened up.
You don’t want to risk an injury, and being properly warmed up will help ease your body into physical activity.
5. Be Consistent
If you’re serious about developing a fitness regime, you need to be consistent. This means you need to stick to your workouts or classes. Don’t start yoga and never go back, or start a fitness routine you never actually finish.
Being consistent will help you get to your fitness goals and help you feel less discouraged over time. It can also boost your mental health and help you keep a more positive general outlook on life.
If you decide to take a class, for example, make sure you go to it every week or twice a week. Don’t allow yourself excuses to skip. If you are truly ill or injured, you should sit out.
But “I’m tired,” or “I don’t feel like it,” are not good excuses. You wouldn’t take them from your children or employees, so don’t take them from yourself.
6. Be Easy on Yourself
While you need to be consistent, you also need to be easy on yourself. Don’t do cardio to the point that you’re winded and can’t breathe. While you’ll need to push yourself a little bit when it comes to getting back into the swing of things, you also can’t push yourself to the point of collapse.
If you’re just getting back into walking or running, for example, do it for short periods of time. Set yourself a limit of 20 or 30 minutes so as to hold yourself accountable. As your stamina builds, you’ll want to do more exercise more often.
7. Add In Rest Days
The most intense trainers will advise that you take at least one rest day a week. Some will advise that you take two. This is because your body needs time to recuperate.
If you go too hard and do it every day, you’ll risk injury, which will put you out of the game for even more time.
Schedule at least one to two days per week to not exercise. This doesn’t mean you’ll sit on the couch doing absolutely nothing, but it does mean you won’t be in the gym hitting the machines.
Instead, go about your day as normal, with the walking and physical exercise it would include.
Be Kind to Yourself
When getting back into shape, the most important rule to follow is to be kind to yourself. No one goes from couch potato to Olympic athlete overnight, or even in a year.
It may take a while to get back to your weight and fitness goals. But as long as you’re on the journey, you should be proud of yourself.
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