Strategies For Getting Back Into Exercise

3: Make It Ridiculously Easy

If you used to bench 300lb and now you’re looking at maybe managing 175, that’s depressing. Look how weak you are! You’re focussing on your numbers. But what about if you make the session so easy that it’s the training, not you, that’s ridiculous? Take yourself down to the gym and bench, say, 100. Easy. Ridiculously easy. So easy, you can relax and focus on rebuilding your fitness habits, getting back into the rhythm, recovering your form, remembering how it feels. The same goes for any fitness endeavour. Run one mile. Cycle round the block. Constrict your training so you’re bursting against your self-imposed constraints, so you always finish your sessions wanting to do more. Trick yourself into building a "capital of enthusiasm" you can invest in your training.

4: Plan for Manageable Success

It takes between four and eight weeks to make a constructive difference to your body. So make a realistic goal that you can reach in that time, and build a plan that gets you there. Suppose you want to run three miles twice a week. You’re never going to manage that if you don’t run twice a week, so make that your first priority. Even if you only go around the block, hit the pavement at the appointed time. Gradually build your distances until you’re reaching your goal — with room to spare. Don’t make it a plan you can succeed at: make it a plan you can’t fail at. Build a capital of positive feeling about training that you can then reinvest in your training and in your life.

5: Boast!

Enlist the help of family and friends. Use social media to report on training sessions — OK, you probably don’t really want to boast, but it’s easy to enlist family and friends to give you supportive messages while you’re trying to improve your life. And get your training partners on board too. Tell the people you used to run or cycle with where you are and what you want, and ask them for time or tips. If you’re getting back to something organized like dance or martial arts, ask the teacher if you can spend some time in the beginner’s class going over the basics and sharing tips with the newbies before you return to the main class.

And Remember…

Everyone who’s been training for any length of time has had an injury, been laid up and come back from it. If you’re open about where you are, you’ll be surprised how many positive comments, shared stories and encouraging tips will come your way from people who really know where you’re coming from, because they’ve been there.

See Also: Correction: What If The Whole Way We’re Going About Corrective Exercise Is Completely Wrong?

If you think this is helpful, or I've missed your favorite hack, tell me in the comments section below!