If you took a break from fitness over the holidays, good for you. Working out is great, but so is relaxing, eating cookies, and spending time with friends and family. You’ll come back to your workouts feeling refreshed and ready to crush the new year!
When it is time to hit the gym again, we have some advice: don’t go for your hardest workouts right away. “It’s better to ease in and ramp up” over time, said Lauren Saint-Louis, a Tier 3+ personal trainer at Equinox Bryant Park. Don’t pressure yourself to lift your max weight, run your fastest mile, or even work out every single day during that first week back. You’ll be more motivated and stay more consistent if you go for less intense, less frequent workouts and gradually work your way back up, Lauren said. “By committing to a little less at first, you’ll accomplish a lot more over time,” she told POPSUGAR.
It also helps to have a plan in place. That’s where we come in! We organized the following get-back-into-fitness workout plan in a strength-strength-cardio-rest format, which Lauren recommended. “This setup allows for just enough recovery, yet not too much where you miss the window of opportunity to challenge yourself and build momentum and progress,” she explained.
We recommended one workout for each day of the week, and sometimes two you can choose between, depending on whether you have access to gym equipment or dumbbells. Whatever workouts you go with, staying positive and patient with yourself is key. When you’re easing back into your workout schedule, Lauren said, “The only expectation to set for yourself is to show up each and every time.”
