How do I get back in shape after a long break?

Don’t overdo it when you return to the gym. Doing too much too soon will overwhelm you, and you’ll burn out. Be honest with yourself and your fitness level; if you push yourself, you might injure yourself or worse. 

And if you’ve unable to train due to injury, check with your GP or physio before you rejoin the gym. Start with low-intensity exercises and prepare your body for extra activity.  

Find exercises you enjoy 

If you’re struggling with motivation, find a way to enjoy exercise, like joining a class.

PureGym insider Peter (@peterpuregym), says:

“Pick workouts that you know you enjoy in advance. If you turn up with a plan you’re familiar with, you’ll have a better workout. Book a class with an instructor that you know or ask if one of your friends can join you. Training as a group with an instructor is less intimidating than walking back into the gym feeling like you haven’t been there in ages. Even if you just start with a 30-minute class.”

Don’t be too hard on yourself

It’s easy to compare yourself to when you were training more regularly. If you’ve not been to the gym in months, it’s reasonable to see a decline in strength or endurance. 

It’s vital to stay positive – you will improve and get back to where you left off.

Try these beginner exercises to get back into gym mode. Or follow this routine:

• 20 minutes of strength training and toning – start your routine with strength training, isolating certain muscle groups. Use free-weights, machines or your bodyweight.
• 30 minutes of cardio – get your heart-rate up with some simple cardio exercises, whether you’re using a treadmill, bike, elliptical or cross-trainer.
• 10 minutes of stretching and warming down – stretch off and loosen your muscles because if you’ve missed the gym for a while, you’ll feel those aches and pains.

Prepare the night before 

Prepare your workout gear the night before. If you wake up and see your trainers, hoodie, snack and water bottle all ready to go, you’ll feel like you’re too invested to change your mind.

PureGym insider Jake (@jakepuregym), says:

“Rather than planning how many sessions a week you are going to do ‘this time’, aim to go once. Get everything ready the night before. If all you need to do is pick up a gym bag and walk out of the house, you’re more likely to go.”

10 minutes is good enough 

It might feel daunting starting the gym again, but stay positive and manage your expectations. You might not feel your usual self, but don’t let this stop you from working out.

By doing a little exercise, even if it’s a 10-minute walk, you’re improving yourself. If you don’t go and stop exercising, it’ll be easier to skip future workouts.

Getting back into the gym after a break isn’t impossible, but it will take hard work and dedication. PureGym personal trainers are available if you need extra support getting started. Good luck! 

Getting back into the gym after a long break is now something of a concern for many more of us. Trying to keep up some kind of consistency with your fitness routine has been no easy feat.

When motivation is running low, it’s easy for a rest day to turn into a rest week and before you know it you’ve lost any kind of routine and the thought of even a gentle sweat session seems like a daunting task.

To help you get back on track, here are some pointers on how to reintroduce exercise into your daily routine, after taking a long hiatus...

Set your expectations
Unfortunately, regardless of whether you are a runner, weightlifter, or cardio enthusiast, taking time off from exercise means that you’re bound to have taken a few steps back when it comes to progress. It’s important to remember that this doesn’t mean that you’ll never get back to the same level or surpass it, just that you may start at a lower weight or shorter running time than before your break. This is completely normal.

The good news is that you’ll also regain your strength, stamina and endurance quicker than it took for you to reach that level in the first place!

Patience is key
While it might be tempting to simply try and pick up where you left off, doing too much too soon is likely to result in injury, forcing you to take yet more time out. Your initial goal is just to get moving more, so try to remove any pressure on yourself to make quick gains, ease your body back into a routine and give it time to adjust to the change. Remind yourself that however slow progress is to show, you’re heading in the right direction.

Look out for these signs you’re making progress.

Prepare for some serious DOMS
After some time out from exercise, especially when it comes to strength training, delayed onset muscle soreness or ‘DOMS’ of some degree is largely unavoidable. Some level of soreness is a good sign, as it occurs as a result of your muscles working to repair themselves and thus signifies muscle building. However too much soreness is counterproductive, since you may find yourself skipping a few workouts due to the discomfort.

Here are a few ways to ease DOMS and decrease your recovery time:

• Warm up and cool down- the best preventative measure is to always set time to properly warm up and cool down before any kind of physical activity. You’ll thank yourself later!
• Stretch it out- when DOMS has set in, increasing the blood flow around the body with some light activity will help speed up the repair time.
• Drink up- staying hydrated helps to flush out waste products that are released when muscles break down, which are associated with increased soreness.
• Refuel- make sure your body is getting enough protein, a vital nutrient for muscle recovery (post-workout refuel meal ideas)
• Take a warm bath- warm water will help minimize tension and pain signals and increase circulation.

Set yourself a challenge
Having a goal to work towards could be just the thing you need to motivate yourself to get back at it. We’re launching two new challenges for March to give our members a new focus for the month and introduce a healthy dose of competition to your home training routine.

Our Make Your Move challenge is perfect for if you’re just getting back into fitness with 4 mywellness MOVES targets to aim for. You can stack up MOVES however you get your fitness kicks and aim for a manageable 10,000 MOVES or really push yourself with the 50,000 target.

Find out more here.

Enlist some help
When we’re finally able to welcome you back into club, our team of expert Personal Trainers will be on hand to help regain your confidence on the gym floor. Over the past few months we’ve provided them with additional training to equip them with the knowledge to provide extra support to our members whether you’re recovering from illness or injury or just need some extra guidance. With their help you’ll create a personal fitness plan based on your lifestyle, medical history and unique goals, that will get you back into the swing of things, no matter how long your fitness break may have been!

Get a friend on board
If finding the motivation to getting back moving is your biggest challenge, getting a friend on board your fitness journey could be just the thing you need.

The current lockdown rules allow you to meet outdoors with another person for exercise, so as the weather gets milder why not use this opportunity to take to the park with your buddy and get your sweat on together.
Having another person to hold you accountable means you’re more likely to stick to a routine and the social aspect of fitness with friends will give you a bigger boost to your mental wellbeing!

The benefits of a gym buddy.

Exercise and COVID
For many people who have contracted COVID 19, the symptoms of the virus forced them to take a break from their usual fitness routine, which they may have found difficult to return to. For advice on reintroducing exercise after contracting COVID, we spoke to exercise and nutrition scientist Dr. Colin Robertson. Look out for Dr. Col’s health and wellbeing advice series on the Village Gym app. Here’s a look at what to expect…

So no matter how long your break from exercise has been, there’s no time like the present to dust off your gym kit and start reintroducing healthy habits.

With loads of live and On Demand classes available to stream from home via our app, there’s no need to put things off until you’re back on the gym floor. If you gradually work on rebuilding your fitness from home, following these simple steps, when April comes around you’ll be raring to go.

We can’t wait to welcome you back! We really hope we've helped you to get back into the gym after a long break.

Not part of the Village Gym fitness community? Find your nearest club and check out our great joining offers!

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