The pandemic initially changed our exercise routines, particularly in the weeks and months that followed. If you're physically ready now, but you're finding yourself mentally struggling to get back into fitness, the following should help.
Gradually build up your routine
With exercise it is important to gradually build up your exercise routine, so you give yourself time to adjust. Overdoing on your exercise routine can lead to injury, so remember to start simple, and small. Motivation works better when you start small.
If you can, avoid long breaks in exercise. It's easy to want to make up for lost time, or to build up fitness quickly. When it comes to exercise, slow and steady wins the race. That way you're less likely likely to give up, or get to 'burn out.'
Personalise your exercise routine
You don’t have to join a gym to keep fit. There are plenty of other ways to work out which don’t involve the gym. This is key for making it an enjoyable part of your exercise routine. If you’re a nature enthusiast and wish to do more cardio, go for a run local park, or even simply around your neighbourhood. Alternatively, if you’re into strength training but don’t enjoy the gym, buy some equipment such as dumbbells and work out from home.
Exercise with a partner
Finding a friend with similar fitness goals is beneficial for lots of reasons, but particularly because a fitness partner can motivate you to get ready and during a workout, your partner can push you such as increasing the duration on the treadmill. Exercising with a partner also has the advantage of making exercise a time to socialise so that you look forward to it more.
Set short-term goals
It’s always important to think of the long-term result as this allows you to plan your workout and figure out which exercises are best suited to you. However, having only a long-term goal can become frustrating when you aren’t seeing progress straight away, and can even result in you giving up. This is especially easy to do when you’re trying to get back into an exercise routine.
It’s vital to set goals over shorter timeframes that are manageable, as well as not just focus on your appearance. For example, you may wish to become stronger, so a short-term goal for the end of a month could be to increase your squat by 10 kilograms rather than lose weight or get fitter which are achievable in the longer term.
Conclusion:
There in wrong or right way to get back into fitness routines. We should also take the virus into consideration here, because times have changed, since the pandemic started, our fitness levels may not be what they were. Exercise fitness levels will depend on whether you’re up to exerting yourself.
If you have long-covid you’re less likely to be able to achieve any goal, let alone your long-term goal. Remember gently and slowly wins the day.
This is a very timely blog. I feel I have turned a corner having had Covid last month - I am not coughing so much and want to get back into exercising and these are all great tips.
As the weather improves, I am looking forward to going for long walks too.
Thanks. It is good to hear you're on the mend and have turned a corner. No one really knows how their immunity will cope with Covid or how they will react to catching Covid.
I lived with fear with all the scaremongering, and because I deal with a disability. I didn't die having caught Covid and the paralysed feelings of fear should I catch it has eased.
I too need to get back into exercise, but I have now caught a coughing virus (with cold), so I'm not fit enough yet.
While the pandemic has changed everything, whether we admit it has or not, we're now living in a completely different world.
I spoke too soon, as I now have this nasty coughing virus which is rampant in the UK. I did some exercises last night and it whacked me right out.
Having been poorly myself for so long, it's been weeks since I was in my own exercise routine. In Covid it's been a lot more difficult for us to exercise, but if you're not a natural with exercise and you have to push yourself to exercise, these tips will probably help.
I'm not a natural, but living with a disability, I was always aware it wasn't something I could ignore. But I don't think any of us can. Exercise is important.