Getting Back Into It

There are times when we want to start up a new hobby, sport, or exercise routine, which we often haven’t done in a while (if ever). This is a great thing, but when the brain is better prepared than the body (or you just aren’t as young as you once were), it’s tough to just jump right in – both from an injury risk and endurance perspective. It’s important to set realistic goals, as well as make a plan for reaching those goals. Here are 3 quick ideas to help with making a plan:

1. Less is more: If you’re getting back into general exercise, starting with something short the first few times is the way to go. Adding duration will go way further than killing yourself for an hour, being sore for days, and then not going back to the gym for a month. Moving around for 20 to 30 minutes can yield very positive benefits and keep you in the right direction of success.  Something like this simple workout can be a great place to start, without leaving you too sore to do it again in a couple days. 
2. Start simple, then add complexity/intensity: This strategy could be used broadly, but it’s perfect for almost any specific goal. For instance, an older (by age, not function!) client of mine recently knew someone that fell down some stairs. So, he had the idea to add “fall prevention” training to our workouts. Obviously I didn’t have him start by jumping off stairs, but we started easy and built up to where now we are doing single leg landings from an elevated box! Check out this post to see how we progressed to single leg landings from an elevated box.
3. Progress in increments: If you’re a runner and usually go for 4 miles when you got out on a run, it doesn’t make sense to jump up to 10 the next time, right? Instead, you would steadily increase your mileage until you could run all 10 miles. The same approach should be taken when going from 0 to 4 miles, or whatever other exercise protocol you’ve dived into. The body needs time to adapt and get used to this new added movement, as well as to recover properly to be ready for the road ahead. Sometimes all it takes is a little expertise along the way, like this guide for getting those miles going again. And even if running isn’t your thing, the same principles apply. Don’t get caught tackling more than your body can handle in the beginning.

Needless to say, getting back into the swing of things doesn’t need to be complicated. Start simple, look to progress intelligently, and the rest will fall into place. If you still need or want insight on where to get started, simply reach out to us any time!

 
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