From Slacking to Stacking: Jumping Back Into Action After a Time Off from Your Workout

How to Go Back to Your Health and Fit Self

If it’s been a while since your last workout and the thought of getting back into a regular fitness routine can seem intimidating. It happens to the best of us; there will be times in our lives where we aren’t able to work out as much as we’d like to. Sometimes, this is a result of illness or injury. Other times, we’ve just lost our motivation and can’t seem to get it back no matter how hard we try.

But don’t be discouraged from getting back into the swing of things.

Starting Out Again is Your New Fitness Beginning

There are many reasons why some of us stop exercising: health/medical conditions, a personal affair that needs to be taken care of, an injury, accidents, and among other things. These factors have taken over our schedule, so exercising is taken out of the equation. It can be temporary or permanent.

Whether it’s been several days or several years since you’ve worked out, we’ve got you covered. Fitness Expo, the wholesale fitness equipment experts, has created a list of things to keep in mind as you get yourself back in gear:

Slow and Steady Wins the Race

It can be tempting to jump right back into a rigorous workout, but doing too much too soon can actually leave you feeling overwhelmed. It’s important to keep in mind that you probably aren’t going to feel as fit as you were when you left off. Start with short workouts of 10 to 15 minutes per day. And aim to increase them by 5 minutes each workout, giving yourself enough time between sessions to adequately recover.

Before you know it, you will have worked yourself back up to your regular routines and will be cranking out reps and running like a cheetah on the treadmill at home or your local gym.

Fair warning though: If you overdo it, you may end up injuring yourself. And nothing is more discouraging when trying to get back into working out than a new injury.

To reduce the risk of injury, consider starting off with low-intensity workouts. These low impact but high result workouts are often the best way to get your body reacquainted with activity. As long as you are able to maintain proper form, you can start to increase the intensity level of your workouts after a week or two. Focusing on good form in the beginning stages sets a strong foundation for a solid workout in the future.

In your search for home gym fitness equipment, the Precor TRM 223 Energy Series Treadmill is the perfect machine to help get you back in shape.

Do What Works For You

The main thing is to get moving again. If you only feel comfortable with committing to one workout per week in the beginning, that’s perfectly fine. Just hold yourself accountable to the plan you commit to. Mark your workouts on your calendar and do your best to stick with the plan no matter what. Staying fit takes dedication and willpower, but it’s absolutely worth it.

And if you can’t make it to the gym, consider buying a few key pieces of equipment to utilize at home. Fitness Expo has a great selection of residential and home gym equipment you can use right in the comforts of your own home.

Over time, the workouts will get easier, and you may even want to increase your workouts to 3-6 days per week depending on how your body reacts. Remember, your body responds best to consistency, and you’ll likely experience the best results if you maintain a regular routine with gradual but increasing difficulty or time.

Rest Days are Important

The recovery period following a workout is just as important (if not more important) than the workout itself. If you’re working out too frequently, your body won’t have the opportunity to replenish energy stores and repair itself. While they may be called “rest days”, your body is actually working very hard to repair itself after the strenuous activity you’ve put it through. Rest is essential to overall wellness, and is an essential element of muscle growth and injury prevention.

Warm Up and Cool Down

A proper warm up is part of the workout, and is especially important when returning to the gym after a long absence. Warm ups help to prepare your body for the oncoming increase in activity. It gets your muscles and joints warm and prevents injury. Alternatively, the cool down gives your heart the opportunity to slow down to a resting rate and prevents blood from pooling in your chest (thus reducing the cardiovascular stress on your system).

If you have not been active in some time, you can expect that your muscles will experience DOMS, or Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness. This typically occurs for 24-72 hours following a workout. Cooling down can help to alleviate some of the soreness that follows a sudden increase in activity.

Try hopping on the BH Fitness LK500UI Upright Bike for a low-impact and effective warm up.

Stretching –boring but necessary

Stretching can be considered as part of the warm up and the cool down, but it’s so important that it deserves its own category. Dynamic stretches help to prepare your body for the sudden need for increased flexibility that may accompany a workout. Stretching increases your range of motion, improves athletic performance and may decrease your risk of injury. It also helps to reduce the buildup of lactic acid, which is responsible for muscle soreness and stiffness.

Listen To Your Body

If something doesn’t feel right, don’t force it. If you notice pain with a particular movement, stop doing it. Pain is a signal that something isn’t right; don’t ignore it. You will come to learn the difference between the pain that feels good in an energizing, calorie-burning kind of way and the pain that means you are about to injure yourself. There’s a big difference.

Get Enough Sleep

Being physically active in requires lots of energy. When you’re just starting to work out again, you may find that you feel very fatigued. Your body is doing its best to adapt to the sudden change in routine, and all of the excess calories that you’re burning. Give yourself enough time to get a full night’s sleep each day.

Focus on these key concepts as you begin to get back into your fitness routine. Your mind and body will thank you for it.

Closing Thoughts

Working out is hard. Returning to your fitness routine after an extended absence can be even harder, but it’s well worth the struggle. The tips in this guide can help Kenner residents get back to the gym or physical activity in a way that is manageable and reduces the chance of injury.

If you’re in the market for residential or commercial gym equipment, give us a call or stop by our convenient location today. We proudly serve and help clients get fit and live a healthy lifestyle through physical activity. We also have fitness consultants to help you guide throughout your purchasing journey. Visit our other stores in Baton Rouge, Shreveport, Metairie, and Jackson in the Mississippi area.