Trying to have the same motivation to working out as before the pandemic can be a hard,, the gyms are maybe not opened and you don’t have equipment at home, or you do but don’t find yourself getting off the couch to actually put in the effort to train. But you’re now hungry to start working out again and want to get back to where you were before! But don’t really know where to start!?
The first thing you need to do is to make a plan, write your plan down, post it somewhere or put it up on your fridge so you can see it everyday and get a reminder to workout!
Don’t be too hard on yourself, remember that you’re not gonna be as strong as you were, but that’s OK! Be patient, as long as you’re consistent and continue working out you will get back, thanks to muscle memory you’re gonna gain it back quickly!
Stick to a few exercises at first to ease yourself back into it, don’t try all the exercises at once! Return to working out gradually and safely if you want to avoid hurting yourself. The easiest way to get injured is to rush the process of returning to exercise. It Approximately take 2-3 weeks to lose muscle and 2 weeks to lose cardio fitness, and by doing a little can help you keep away from this detraining effects. When starting doing aerobic workouts again:
Begin training for 20-30 minutes of moderate intensity exercise 2-5 days per week, moderate means a quick walk, light jog or a flat bike ride. You should break a light sweat, and still be able to have a conversation, after 2 weeks you should increase the intensity that causes faster and deeper breaths and make it impossible for you to have a conversation.
When starting doing anaerobic workouts again:
With resistance training, start with body weight or light resistance exercises before executing the exercises with larger resistances. To build up your strength do 1-4 sets of 12-15 reps and eventually add more resistance and decrease the repetition(if desired). Perform resistance training 3-5 days per week, and as you get comfortable and stronger increase the load.