Getting back into the gym

Dr. Angela Seabright
Kyle Hall

| 2 min read

Personal Best
Making time to work out can become difficult because of added responsibilities. Working long hours or an inconsistent schedule can cause a lack of will to exercise. Children are another reason why people stop their fitness regimen. A family needs any and all available attention. With all these great demands, of your time, it’s difficult to maintain a certain level of gym activity necessary to stay motivated to stay fit.
Many people, who once worked out, want to get back into a healthier lifestyle but they have no idea how to get started. Here are four tips that will help get things moving along.
  1. Join a gym
This is the hardest part about getting back into the gym. You must first find a gym that will accommodate your schedule. Sometimes this could be difficult and used as an excuse for why you haven’t started working out again. Luckily, there are plenty of inexpensive gyms to join that are 24 hours. Just getting into the gym should motivate you to start exercising again.
2. Start attending regularly
Developing a routine and being consistent with your exercises is really important. Without some form of structure, your progress will be minimal. A good range of 3 – 5 days a week should allow for greater results, depending on the intensity of the workouts and the individual.
3. Swallow your pride
Many of us who are returning to the gym are still looking to pick right back up from where we left off. We like to think, “oh yeah, muscle memory” but we are sadly mistaken. Although there is a certain amount of muscle memory, you cannot rely on it if you’ve been away for while. So it’s best to start from scratch. It’s better to start at a lower level and build up than to start higher and risk harming yourself.
4. Have patience
Nothing worth having comes easy. Most people will never reach their fitness goals because they aren’t seeing instant results. Giving yourself a reasonable amount of time to see progress is key. Just stick with it. You’ll get there.

A Healthier Michigan is sponsored by Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan, a nonprofit, independent licensee of the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association.
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