I recently came back from a fantastic two week trip to Italy. It was amazing. The food was great, the wine was even better, and I was able to check a ton of things off my bucket list. While that bucket list was long, vacation gym time was not among the items listed. And thats okay! We all need some time off and permission to enjoy ourselves!!

Don’t get me wrong. We got in a lot of activity! Despite all the pasta and bread and pizza and wine, we did move a lot. Any good Euro trip involves a ton of walking so one can be sure to see all of the sights. Some days, we averaged 30-40K steps a day! But I did take more than two full weeks off from lifting anything heavier than an Aperol Spritz.

So now what? I have been slowly easing myself back into the gym and have realized that not a lot of people may know how to properly do that! So take these tips the next time you find yourself struggling with a gym hiatus!

Don’t go too hard, too fast!

Whether you took time off for a trip or maybe for another reason, it might be hard to downplay your excitement in getting back to the gym. Especially if the gym is your happy place, it can be easy to go full throttle. DON’T DO IT. Your body is currently in a deconditioned state and isn’t used to the same training style or intensity as it was even a few weeks ago. Even if your workout feels moderately good while you’re doing it, you want to make sure you are able to get in a few more training days during that first week back. If you give it everything you have on Day 1, you may be too wrecked to even see Day 2! Remember that you can always ramp things up the following week. But the first week is more about getting back into a routine rather than throwing caution to the wind and risking being too sore to move for another 4 days – or worse, getting injured and setting yourself back! I’d rather have 3-5 consistent gym days at a light to moderate intensity than have 1 single day at my most intense. Less is more!

Give yourself some grace!

Did that 50lb dumbbell feel heavier than you remember? I bet it did. That’s okay, just remind yourself that you will get back to it eventually. But give yourself a grace period this week. There is nothing conducive about being hard on yourself for struggling with something you haven’t done for a period of time. 

Go a little bit lighter on your weights for now or cut your reps down to make your session more attainable for where you currently are. You have time to build back up! Or maybe you really weren’t even really feeling the gym at all! Go for a walk or do some yoga! That grace period allows you to mentally give yourself a break while you get back into the swing of things. But try to move regardless. Something is always better than nothing! 

Focus on feel.

This might have more to do with what you do outside the gym, but focus on just feeling good! This might be a focus on your recovery days in between training sessions or classes. It might mean to do something at the gym that makes you feel good like temporarily switching gears to a total body workout. Or it might mean you’re paying extra attention to your nutrition while you ease back into your workouts because good food is good fuel! Whatever it might be that makes you feel a little bit better each day, focus on that!

Hire a trainer!

Okay, so maybe the first week isn’t going as planned. You missed more days than you thought and you’re just not feeling motivated to get back into it. Having an appointment with a fitness professional could be the key to getting your routine on track. Did you know that we offer short term training packs? You don’t have to sign up for a long term training agreement and be locked in for longer than a few weeks. Maybe a 5 pack or a 10 pack of sessions is all you need to help you get your groove back! Send us an email and we can chat about options and custom packages! Sales@nextfitclubs.com

Maybe these tips aren’t relevant to you at this juncture, but I hope you do keep them in mind for the future. At some point in time, everyone will likely have to or need to take some time off. This might be planned or otherwise. But don’t let it stop you from coming back eventually! Get back on track by using these tips to ease in, slow and steady, until you’re back and better than before.