Before you start or restart any exercise program the importance of mindset should not be underestimated. Get your mind set right and it is much more likely you will see success in your program and smash your goals.
So many of the people who train with us have been fit before and for whatever reason - pregnancy, injury, Covid, change of circumstances etc have lost their fitness mojo.
Getting back into exercise is not just a physical undertaking but a mental one too. Your mind is like a muscle, you need to gradually increase its load to build its strength. Jump in too fast physically and you can injure yourself, likewise jump in too fast mentally and you'll burn out, lose enthusiasm and not build long lasting and sustainable exercise habits.
Your Body and Mind Need to be Aligned
When people return to exercise many, from my experience, forget that their body is no longer aligned with their minds. It’s easy to think you can just return to where you left off, ‘I used to train 4 times a week, so I’ll start with that’ is a common statement.
Although having been fit before will have some advantages to your fitness coming back quicker, it will still take a few months for your body to start condition again.
Be Realistic or You Will Fail
We have all been there, after a over indulgent weekend or holiday break, a common attitude is to, ‘train every day and only eat lettuce’. As good as your intentions may be in that moment in time, it won’t last.
It is so important to be realistic with how much effort you can put in a week (that will last long term) and a realistic time line of how you are going to get to your fitness goals. You must think long term. If you jump straight in you will burn out. You are simply setting yourself up to fail and creating an unhealthy relationship with exercise.
A healthy fitness goal would be to start with two sessions a week for 6 weeks and to then reassess. You need to take into account how you pull up the next day, how much energy you expend during the workout.
Be Kind to Yourself, Be in the Moment
Rather than rushing to get to your goal enjoy the process. How good is it to tick off your weekly habit goals with confidence. How good is it to leave a workout with all the endorphins flowing and knowing you’re going to feel great for the rest of the day. How good is it to feel you are on the right track and it is easily accomplished. Once you get your mind set right getting back into fitness is an actually easy and an extremely rewarding process.
Your body is one of the most precious things you have, look after it and make sure your mind does too.
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