- 6th September 2017
- By Matthew Fever
For some of you, you will soon be returning back to the gym after a long summer out. Getting started again can be difficult once you have lost momentum. Here are my top three tips to get you back to where you want to be!
- Establish a baseline
Those of you that have worked with me before will know that I believe it is essential to track progress and ‘use the numbers’ when training. This is absolutely necessary if you are to make any significant progress with what you are doing. Getting fitter is simply about improving your numbers. It becomes even more important when you have had an absence from the gym, such as a long summer break. How will you know if you are back to fitness?
My advice is to know your stats. This allows you to evaluate your workouts, progress them, set goals and understand when you are performing well or underperfroming.
So, begin looking at things such as;
- Time
- Distance
- Calories
- Average pace
- Load
- Sets
- Repetitions
- Rest periods
Get to know where you were, where you are right now and where you are trying to get to!
It can be easy to base the success of your session based on how it makes you feel afterwards, instead of using the numbers. This can be misleading as it is too subjective. It is important to be engaged in what you are doing and understand how it makes you feel, but having something measurable will yield better results.
For example, sometimes after a break it can feel harder to achieve exactly the same result. There may not be any difference at all in your performance, but the workout may feel much harder.
2: Redefine your routine
Routine is, in most cases, a key part to getting yourself fit. Some people are able to achieve good levels of fitness with random schedules, but from my experience, routine works best. This may explain why you see the same people at the gym every time you workout. Get your workouts in the diary, figure out, in advance, the best time for you to get to the gym and seize the moment. It may not happen otherwise. The beginning of the day works well for lots of people, as the day unfolds you may lose motivation and things just keep happening that could result in you losing your time in the gym.
3: Try something new
If the thought of starting back leaves you feeling a little flat, try a new challenge. There are so many ways that you can challenge your body and improve your fitness. Get yourself a new training programme, enter a race or competition, or try a new sport.
I did this a few years ago and never looked back. After earning my 4th degree blackbelt in Taekwondo, I decided to go back to the beginning, wear a white belt, and start working my way through the Judo grades. It’s a completely different art/sport, requires a completely different skill set and challenges different components of my fitness, but it’s been a new journey. I have made some new friends, set myself a new challenge and have a new motivation for training.
There has never been a better time to get involved, the world of fitness is at an all time high. There are endless possibilities for you to try!