Getting back to working out after a break isn’t as easy as dusting off your sneakers and renewing your gym membership. If you’re wondering how to start exercising again and feel overwhelmed about where to even begin, well, that’s totally valid.
First things first: Know that it’s completely okay that you had to pause your exercise routine in the first place, Teddy Savage, CPT, a Baltimore-based national lead trainer for Planet Fitness, tells SELF. Life happens, and “fitness journeys can start and stop and restart again,” he says.
So instead of beating yourself up because your three-times-a-week cardio habit fell by the wayside, celebrate the fact that you’re taking steps to start working out again—and yes, reading this article counts as a step.
To help you navigate your re-entry into fitness, we tapped exercise pros for their advice on establishing a routine that is safe, effective, and actually enjoyable. From how to build a workout plan, to the importance of setting realistic fitness goals, to simple tips for reducing injury risk—and a whole lot more—here’s the intel you need to get back on track with a good workout groove.
No matter your current fitness level or the amount of time you’ve been out of the game, let this be your go-to guide for how to start exercising again. Let’s get sweating, shall we?
1. Make a plan—and start small.
If you’re just easing back into exercise, creating a workout routine can help you stay consistent without overdoing it. Without a plan, you may be tempted to slide right back into your old gym routine or strive to hit your former fitness benchmarks, Kellen Scantlebury, DPT, CSCS, founder of Fit Club NY, tells SELF. But this may not be realistic or safe based on your current fitness level. (On that note, if it’s been a while since you’ve been active, it’s a good idea to check in with your doctor before beginning a new program—just to make sure you’re all cleared to exercise, says Katie Pierson, CPT, a Montana-based certified personal trainer, spinning instructor, and contributor at Girl Bike Love.)
But instead of mapping out the next six months (or some other daunting period of time), start by planning the next two to four weeks, Scantlebury suggests. In terms of frequency, strive for two exercise days a week at the start, Pierson adds. “A lot of people are like, ‘I have to be working out six days a week,’” she continues. “No, you really don’t.” Striving for that frequency off the bat can lead to burnout—plus, it’s just not necessary for progress.
You can gradually increase that to three days a week, Pierson says. And if it makes sense with your schedule and goals, you can eventually work your way up to a couple more. (Here’s how to create a balanced and effective weekly workout program.)
Once you’ve dialed in your plan, plug it into your calendar. Having it set as a concrete part of your day can make you less likely to cancel on yourself.
2. Set doable goals and celebrate progress along the way.
Setting goals can be a great first step when navigating starting to exercise again, but the key is to ensure that they’re realistic. Attainable objectives can provide confidence-boosting wins and give you the mojo you need to achieve long-term results.
Gauge what’s feasible for you by testing your current level of fitness before coming up with your goal. That way you have an accurate picture of where you’re starting from now instead of holding on to what your past self was able to achieve, says Scantlebury. For example, evaluate how long you can hold a plank with good form or how quickly you can bike a mile.
Use that intel to then set a goal that’s doable for you, following the SMART method to ensure it’s specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and timely. Savage suggests acknowledging smaller steps along the way that inch you closer to your ultimate goal. For example, celebrate the fact that you chose great workout clothes and footwear that allow you to exercise comfortably and safely, or that you made it to the gym twice this week.
As you work toward your goal, try not to focus on what you can’t do (say, a full set of push-ups, a weighted squat, or a 30-minute HIIT workout) and instead think about what you can do, says Pierson—like walking a mile or some modified push-ups.
Also important: “Allow yourself grace and know that not every day is going to be as good as the day before,” Savage says. No one’s fitness journey is 100% linear, so don’t beat yourself up if you have an off day in Spin class or complete a full strength workout exactly as you planned it. As long as you’re moving incrementally toward your overall goal, you’re crushing it.
3. Start with basic bodyweight moves before adding load.
Yes, strength training provides a lot of amazing benefits. But instead of jumping immediately into heavy lifting—which may not be safe, depending on your current level of strength—start with just your bodyweight.
“Bodyweight exercises are super important to train your body how to move through the mechanics of the exercise safely and with the optimum amount of range of motion,” Savage explains.
Focus more on your form and technique rather than speed or the number of reps. Honing in on numbers, whether it’s the number reps or the number of sets, can discourage you—especially if you’re not at the benchmark you were before your exercise break. Instead think about doing as many reps with good form as you can in a certain time interval—say, how many quality bodyweight squats you can do in 30 seconds.
Once you do start to incorporate external load, Scantlebury suggests that you focus on lighter weights with higher rep counts (think 12 to 15 reps) over lifting heavy. This will help build up your muscular endurance before you shift your focus to increasing your muscle size or strength (which requires lower reps and heavier weight). Continue to work on your cardio as well by including endurance activities into your routine, such as walking, biking, and rowing. Building up your cardiovascular endurance can help you tire less quickly in workouts—reducing the risk of injuries caused by fatigue-induced form errors.
Quick note here: High-intensity interval training (HIIT) workouts can be an awesome goal to work toward, but they’re not something to start with right away. According to Savage, the high-effort, low-rest programming is very demanding on your body. Instead focus first on performing exercises at a slower, controlled pace with longer rest periods (say, 60 to 90 seconds to start). Over time you can gradually build up from low and moderate intensity workouts to higher-intensity styles of training—if that’s what you enjoy.
4. Schedule rest just as you do your workouts.
If you’re eager to rebuild your fitness routine as quickly as possible, you may be tempted to work out a lot to get there. But exercising too much without proper rest can actually put you on the fast track to burnout, overuse injuries, and decreased performance (as SELF previously reported).
So when you’re beginning a fitness routine again, remind yourself that “rest and recovery is just as important as the work you do in the gym,” Savage says. His advice is to plan for at least one rest day in between workout days in the beginning—you don’t want to train the same muscle group on consecutive days. These breaks are especially important when you’re strength training, Pierson adds, since that creates microscopic tears in your muscles. In order to get stronger, you need to allow your muscles enough downtime to repair those tears.
Rest days can look a bunch of different ways: They could center on extremely chill activities (like watching Netflix in bed), or on more active recovery (like stretching, foam rolling, yoga, walking, or easy biking). In fact, if you’re feeling sore after your workouts—also known as delayed-onset muscle soreness (DOMS)—incorporating that kind of gentle movement can actually help, boosting blood flow to reduce the pain.
5. Think about sleep.
As you ramp up your fitness routine, make sure you’re taking care of your body in other ways too.
“It’s a balanced approach,” Pierson says. “It’s not just physical fitness.” In addition to nutrition, hydration, recovery, and stress management, sleep is another big factor worth prioritizing.
Don’t forget that “working out is work,” physical therapist Karena Wu, DPT, MS, CSCS, tells SELF. It takes a lot of time and energy, so you may feel more fatigued initially when you start exercising again, since your body is trying to adapt to the increased stress of it. “If I’m so exhausted that I’m walking around like a zombie, I might opt for some more sleep on a particular day,” she adds. In other words, don’t be surprised if you feel like you need an earlier bedtime than usual. More sleep will ultimately help your body adapt to the new training you’re putting it through.
6. Prepare your body for what it’s about to do.
Make sure that every routine includes a dedicated warm-up and cool-down. “A lot of times, we’re so excited about getting back into our journey that we just want to hop straight into the workout,” Savage says. But as SELF previously reported, neglecting a proper warm-up can increase your risk of injury, as well as just make your workout less effective. A cool-down helps your breathing ease and your heart rate return to baseline, so you don’t want to skip that step either.
A good warm-up will include dynamic stretching and movements designed to take your body through its full range of motion, while a quality cool-down will center on static stretches that can help alleviate feelings of tightness, says Savage. Here’s a five-move warm-up that will prep you for any workout, as well as three soothing cool-down ideas to try.
7. Open your mind to what fitness can look like.
PSA: “Fitness is supposed to be fun,” Pierson says. “If you’re working out and you’re doing something you hate, you’re not gonna continue to do it.” So just because you’ve heard that running offers awesome health benefits or that everyone and their mom seems to be into hot yoga, doesn’t mean your fitness routine needs to follow suit.
The truth is, there are lots of different types of exercise out there, including things you may not necessarily think of as a workout—like line dancing, roller skating, or playing freeze tag with your kids, Savage says. “As long as you're getting your body in motion, you’re positively influencing not only your physical health, but your mental health as well,” he explains. So instead of building a workout routine around what you think you should be doing, seek out forms of movement you actually enjoy. This will help bolster your workout motivation and ultimately up your chances of actually sticking to a new routine.
8. Respect what your body is telling you.
Remember to “listen to your body,” says Pierson. If something is hurting or if your muscles are simply telling you they need to rest, heed that warning instead of pushing through the fatigue. The old-school fitness mantra of “no pain, no gain” is “a good way to injure yourself,” she adds. With that mentality, you could end up tweaking something and causing even more pain. “So if your body is telling you, ‘Hey, I can't work this muscle today’—then don’t,” she says. “Work something else if you really want to work out—or do a lower intensity.” Or take the day off completely. Again, it all comes down to really tapping into your body and respecting what it’s communicating—so you can feel physically and mentally ready to stick with it for the long haul.
Additional reporting by Alexa Tucker
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