How to Get Back into a Workout Routine (After a Hiatus)

How do you get back into your workout routine after taking some time off? Or maybe you’ve been in a funk lately like me (read all about it here) and want to get your shit together again. Whatever your reason for not being in your normal fitness routine, the steps to getting back on the saddle are the same. Let me tell you… it will not be easy at first. But we all know how awesome exercise is for our bodies, mental health, and energy levels. So of course, it’ll be worth it!

How to Get Back Into Your Workout Routine

Like I said before, this isn’t an easy feat. And it’s going to take a lot of motivation, belief in yourself, and picking yourself back up when you’re down. You have to find ways to be inspired and motivated, even when you don’t necessarily feel like it.

Now I’m in no way saying you need to be working out every day. We all have off days, so don’t feel bad if you need to take a day to relax at times. Self care is the priority – that’s why we’re working out in the first place! To keep our bodies healthy and feel good in our skin.

5 Steps to (Slowly but Steadily) Getting Back into a Workout Routine

I wanted to break this down into 5 easy steps to start getting back into a workout routine. The most important thing is getting the ball rolling. Once you put on your workout clothes, lace up your shoes, and get moving – it gets easier from there!

The hardest part is getting started in the first place. If you’re already comfy in bed, with a glass of wine, watching Netflix… You know there’s no way you’re going to want to get up and do a workout. So plan out a time in your day that you’re setting aside to workout. And then just make sure you commit!

Even if all you end up doing is going on a walk or doing some push ups. As long as you’re doing a workout when you commit to it, that’s what keeps the momentum going.

1. Just Get Started!

Like I said before, starting a workout routine is the hardest part. Especially if you haven’t worked out at all for a few weeks, (months, or years). But once you get into it, fitness will become something you crave.

You’ll start to feel the rush of endorphins, the happiness, and confidence that come along with it. After a while, you’ll look forward to your daily workout instead of dreading it. Which leads me to my next point…

2. Find a Workout Routine that You LOVE

If you’re committing yourself to a fitness plan that you don’t even enjoy doing, it’s probably not going to last. Face it, no one wants to wake up and do something every day that they don’t enjoy. I know I don’t.

But I’ve found the things I love doing, that (most of the time) make it so easy to commit to staying fit. For example, I love Zumba, long walks, occasional HIIT and strength workouts, and anything outdoors. Since I know I love these types of workouts, it’s easy to get motivated when I know I’ll be doing one of them.

Find something you love, that you feel excited about doing! If it’s yoga, sign up for a weekly yoga class. If you love at-home workouts, start doing those every other day. Maybe you’re passionate about tennis, then play that on the weekends! It doesn’t matter what it is, it just matters that you enjoy doing it.

Since we’re all stuck at home right now, resistance band workouts have been a lifesaver. These lower-body resistance bands are perfect for at-home workouts, or for once you get back to the gym!

I love resistance band workouts because they help build your strength in areas that you can’t always reach with typical weights. They’re also easy to add into almost any workout routine and can be customized to the level you’re at.

3. Get Into a Routine That Motivates You

For starters, lay out your workout clothes and shoes ahead of time. This seems like a little thing, but it makes all the difference! Like I said above, the hardest part of working out is getting started. So if you lay out your things ahead of time, this gives you one less step when you’re ready to workout. You can just throw on your clothes, grab your stuff, and not even have to think about it!

There’s a lot of debate about whether morning workouts are better for you than afternoon/evening workouts. And honestly, it just doesn’t matter at all. As long as you’re working out, you’re getting the benefits. So do whatever feels best to you and works with your schedule. I’ve never been a morning person, so the idea of getting up an hour earlier to squeeze in a workout seems hellish to me. But working out in the afternoon, once I’m off work, feels great! Do what works for you and don’t worry about what other people are saying is “best”.

4. Know This: It’s Going to Suck at First

I just started trying to get back into my workout routine after being incredibly lazy the past month. With quarantine and the gyms being closed, I haven’t felt motivated at all. (I talk about it in more detail in this post). While I don’t feel bad at all about taking it easy the past month, it hasn’t felt great on my mental health & energy. I’ve been starting to feel really sluggish, unmotivated about anything, and honestly feeling down often.

After starting to get back on the workout train the past few days, I can definitely feel my energy levels getting back to normal! This is awesome, but actually doing the workouts has NOT been. During the workouts, I’ve felt exhausted. My body is not in good shape at the moment and I get tired so fast.

But while it feels incredibly tough at first, just know it will get better. After a few weeks of being back in your routine, it will feel progressively easier. The workouts won’t exhaust you after 5 minutes anymore and you’ll start to build your strength back up.

5. Stretch Often and Take Rest Days!

Don’t go from one extreme to the other. Going from not working out at all, to working out every day is a terrible idea for your body. You need time to recover, especially when your body has been off the grind for a while. Starting doing too much, too soon, will cause injury, sickness, and put you right back where you started.

So just take it slow! And make sure you’re stretching after every. single. workout. I know it’s not the most exciting thing and it’s easy to skip over, but it’s so incredibly important. If you want to prevent injury and tearing your body down, you need to give it time to recuperate.

Try out this plan for the first month: (w/o = workout)

Week	M	Tu	W	Th	F	Sa	Su
1	w/o	off	off	w/o	off	w/o	off
2	w/o	off	w/o	off	off	w/o	off
3	w/o	off	w/o	off	w/o	off	off
4	w/o	off	w/o	off	w/o	off	w/o

Pro tip:

To prevent injury and burnout, make sure you’re eating enough and getting adequate protein! I love supplementing with Orgain vegan protein (use code VITALITY for 30% off) or PEScience whey protein, to make sure I’m meeting my needs. Vegan protein sits better with my stomach. But I can’t completely give up my whey because it’s just so dang tasty (and effective)! The Cake Pop flavor and Peanut Butter Cup are my absolute faves!

Back before I focused on getting enough protein and calories, I’d get sick all the time. I never understood why I got sick so much because I thought I was living a healthy lifestyle. I ate healthy foods and worked out often. But the big thing I was missing was enough protein and calories in general.

Don’t try to restrict your calorie intake too low (or skimp on protein) to lose weight. You might lose weight and feel okay at first, but trust me, it won’t last. Especially if you live an active lifestyle and follow a workout routine, adequate nutrition and protein are incredibly important!

A couple healthy pre-workout snacks I love include:

1. A banana and peanut butter (on toast or on its own)
2. Medjool dates and almond butter – I know it sounds weird, but trust me on this one! Don’t knock it til you try it 😉
3. A bowl of cereal and almond milk with fruit on top
4. A pack of this chocolate hazelnut spread (on its own, or on toast, or a piece of fruit)
5. A cup of Greek yogurt with fruit (or non-dairy yogurt if that’s easier on your stomach pre-workout)
6. Prolific Pre-workout alongside any of the above! (This is a pre-workout supplement and contains caffeine. I love it, but I only take a half scoop because otherwise, it’s too much caffeine for me. Take it at your own tolerance). 🙂 Raspberry Lemonade and Sour Green Apple are my favorite flavors!

When it comes to getting enough calories, I practice intuitive eating. Which I think is truly the best strategy. But it takes work to get back to understanding your hunger/fullness cues. I’ll write a whole post on this later on, but this book is an amazing place to start learning about the lifestyle.

But on another note, back to fitness and stretching!

I get uber bored stretching and it’s hard to motivate myself to do it every time. The other day, I found a dynamic stretching video that made it a lot more fun! Doing dynamic stretches keeps your mind more active & keeps you from getting as bored. This is a great routine to do before or after your workout!

Yoga is also an amazing way to stretch and improve your flexibility. This yoga mat is lightweight, thick, and eco-friendly. It’s perfect to bring to a yoga or pilates class (when life resumes). Or to use at home, with a Youtube yoga video, or your normal stretching routine! I love Yoga with Adrienne’s videos for at-home yoga. She’s so calming and makes it easy to do a whole yoga stretch!

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