The end of summer and the promise of a new season is the perfect reset button for me. Back from holidays, back to school and most importantly, back to routine. For me, this routine includes properly getting back getting back into my workout routine, with focus and planning.
Don’t get me wrong. my fitness doesn’t come to a halt over the summer months. But with the better weather (for the most part), and vacations, I tend to focus more on things like beachside running and other outdoor activities thrown into the gym workout mix. So changing it back into my normal 5/6 sessions a week at the gym needs planning to get the most out of the workouts without risking injury.
If this is you too, (or if you’re starting to workout for the first time), read on for my tips on how to define and plan for your own goals.
Don’t feel pressurised by other people and what they’re doing. Build your routine around where you are, with your goals always in mind. There’s often a pressure to go straight back into the workouts you were doing before you ‘took a break’, to go hard the first time you hit the gym and in every workout. Don’t be afraid to listen to your body and to what it needs. If you need to regress your workouts to build up your muscle strength or cardiovascular health again, then that’s the best thing to do, for you. You’ll be back to your previous workouts in no time and your body will thank you for it.
Ensure active rest time between your workouts. Recovery is so important, not only to prevent over-training, but also to prevent injury. And it means your next workout will be all that much stronger. If you’re not getting enough rest and active recovery, your muscles never get the chance to repair and grow stronger. Rest doesn’t have to mean sitting on the sofa with a bowl of popcorn. Active recovery could mean a low-impact workout (like walking) on those days between strength workouts.
If going back to the gym and weighted workouts feels a little daunting, don’t discount an at-home workout. Body weight exercises can be just as challenging, if not more so, and can be a great way to build up your strength (and confidence) before you walk back through those gym doors. And if you wan tto up the intensity of an at-home workout, use items around you to help you. A backpack filled with books can add weight to your squats and lunges, a coffee table for tricep dips… you get the picture.
Low-impact workouts are an important element of the mix, so make sure to include these in your workout plan. Not only do they give your muscles a chance to rest in between workouts, but they also give your joints a break, especially important if you’re doing a lot of HIIT and cardio, which can be major stressors on your joints.
Stretching is so vital to your physical health, and sometimes it’s my favourite part of my workouts. Proper stretching keeps you flexible, prevents injuries and will help improve posture. Mobility in a workout (your body’s ability to move through a range of motion with control) translates to moving better in your strength workouts, your HIIT and cardio workouts too, so it’s a win-win.
Yoga is a great way to introduce some stretching into your routine. Not only does it encourage flexibility, it will help you to tune into your breath, which will help you to destress. Research shows that regularly practicing yoga can lower cortisol levels, the main hormone associated with stress. Tapping into your breathing and learning the right breathing techniques can help you in your weight training workouts too – muscle to breath connection and control is key for weight training!
So what are you waiting for? If you were weating for a sign to get back into working out (or getting started for the first time), this is it. Even a short workout at home TODAY could be the start to a whole new you.
Comment below if you want more tips like this, and I’ll be sharing my own personal workouts on here in future posts.
Happy training! xx
