For many of us, holidays such as Christmas or Thanksgiving are a time for relaxation and indulgence in food, drinks, etc. Therefore, getting back into your routine can be challenging, especially in the fitness realm. Adhering to your fitness goals often thrives when embedded in your routine. Failure to which you are bound to lose motivation.
Instead of beating yourself up, which will only make the task harder, how about you start slow? This article contains several tips to help you get back on track with your fitness goals.
Get a Workout Partner
Convincing yourself to work out is harder than the workout itself. For that reason, consider getting a workout partner. This way, you have someone to keep you accountable and motivate you to exert yourself every other day.
Studies show having an accountability partner helps you be more productive. Also, working out with your friend is sometimes more enjoyable and will help you squeeze in a bonding session you would otherwise not make time for.
Ease Into It
After some time off working out, it’s expected to have a lesser form than before. Therefore, don’t be discouraged when you can’t lift as heavy or complete as many reps as you could before the break. Also, if you push yourself too hard, you risk injuries and constant demotivation.
Instead, ease into the new routine and allow your body to adjust. Try low-effort workouts, such as jogging, yoga, and morning runs, before returning to heavy lifting, lunges, and the like. But don’t take too long to ease into the workouts, considering it is advisable to push yourself in fitness to reach your goals.
Change Your Diet
During the holidays, we often eat everything we desire without thinking whether we are doing right by our health and dietary requirements. Therefore, before you get back to working out, you must ensure you are eating clean.
Your diet has a severe impact on your performance in the gym. For the best results, you need to eat foods that will supply you with all the energy to push through a worthy workout. Also, you can’t outwork a bad diet.
Set Some Goals
Studies show that setting goals programs your brain to prepare itself to achieve the said goals. Therefore, consider drafting a list of short-term fitness goals as you work on your routine. This way, you will be more motivated.
For maximum results, try focusing on short-term goals that eventually build up to long-term goals. This is because if you set big goals as a start, you are bound to be demotivated on your journey there whenever you feel like you don’t see results. If you find setting short-term goals hard for you, then commission the help of a fitness trainer.
Schedule a Time to Workout
Not scheduling time to work out is a big mistake, mostly because you’re bound to make excuses over why you can’t work out that day. For example, work runs late, or your workout clothes are dirty. But when you schedule specific time slots to work out, your mind will be mentally prepared, which helps you ease into the workout without the mental battle.
Also, if you have a schedule, you won’t just be working out when you have time; you will be making time to work out, which is a great place to start if you want to create a proper workout routine.
Listen to Your Body’s Needs
Nobody can know what your body needs or wants more than you, even if you have the most trained personal trainer. For this reason, it’s imperative to always listen to what your body is saying when you return to a regular workout routine.
For example, if your muscles are too stiff, your workouts must include stretching and flexibility exercises. If you feel like you hurt some muscle during your workout, get medical help before returning to the gym. Doing those mentioned above will make you more inclined to get back into a routine and tackle your fitness goals.
Make It Fun
If you can’t master enough motivation to get back on your fitness journey, trying to make it fun might help. Instead of holing up in your house or gym to work out, how about you join a class aligned with your goals? It will be more enjoyable, and you will have a support system pushing you to crash that next goal.
If you are not a gym person, there are hundreds of other classes you can join that will be equally or even more enjoyable. The classes in question include training for a marathon, group bike riding, yoga, pilates, swimming lessons, and so forth. Remember, the goal is to get healthy, and you are allowed to have fun while at it.
Hydrate
The only way you will be in a good physical state to work out is if you are properly hydrated. Failure to which you will be too tired and dehydrated to do so. And by hydrating, you should drink water throughout the day and not just gulp a few glasses right before your workout because that will make you too bloated to properly workout.
Also, add electrolytes or pre-workout mixes to your water to give you that extra boost of energy you will need. Of course, consult your trainer before taking any supplements.
Conclusion
Holidays are a time of relaxation when many lose track of their daily routine and immerse themselves in the holiday spirit. The problem is that after the holidays, it becomes harder to get back into your previous routine as the muscle memory slowly fades. The motivation levels are on a down low. Hopefully, the tips in the above article will inspire you to get back on track.
