Finding motivation to get back into fitness

It’s been a month since our gyms and exercise spaces have reopened, and we couldn’t be happier to be back in the studio with lots of our members!

But whether you smashed out online workouts throughout lockdown or took the opportunity to rest and recover, switching back to studio-based classes can be a bit of an adjustment.

If it has been a while since you’ve done a pull-up, lifted heavy weights or had someone coaching you through a tough cardio class, it can feel as though your fitness levels have gone back to square one – although of course, that’s not the case!

Studies have proven that muscles maintain memory of their former strength, meaning that you’ll find it much easier to work back up to your heaviest weights than when you first started exercising – as long as you don’t go too hard, too soon, and injure yourself on the way there.

Take things slow and steady, starting with lighter weights than you’re used to, and then building back up over the course of a few weeks.

Rather than pushing yourself to your max through each exercise, pick two or three that you’d like to work on, and note down your progress and how your body feels after each session – this will not only help you to keep your body happy, but also to see your progress and where you’ve made improvements.

Although we may not have been lifting as heavy during lockdown, online classes gave us the chance to work on our key movement patterns, so we may even now be ready to progress beyond where we were before as we regain muscle strength.

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Of course, as we make progress, we may start to feel that familiar muscle soreness – especially if in our excitement to get back to the gym we’ve signed up for lots of classes in quick succession.

Delayed Onset Muscles Soreness (or DOMS) often happens when we make a change in our exercise routine or start to use muscles again after a rest, and it can definitely make us ready to cancel our next class in favour of a sofa session.

That being said, gentle movement is really beneficial for reducing the intensity of DOMS and promoting recovery– try taking things easier in your next class, going for a walk or trying out some yoga.

Stretching after your more intense sessions is really important as well for preventing the soreness, as well as drinking plenty of water and getting enough sleep.

If you’d like to get back into your gym but are finding it hard to get back into a steady routine, find out if they offer any additional programmes or activities that run over a series of weeks to keep you on-track.

We run our 45-day Challenge several times throughout the year, which is ideal – setting goals, checking in with our coaches and being part of a community with other challengers makes it that little bit easier to stay motivated and start to see progress in your fitness levels again.

And if you’re not quite ready to commit to a longer challenge, talk to your coach or instructor – we work with lots of our members to create personal goals that can provide focus and a huge sense of achievement even in just a few weeks.

Jess Brown is head coach at F45 Bristol Central. Find out more about F45’s in-studio and online classes at www.f45training.co.uk/bristolcentral or follow them on Instagram, @f45_bristolcentral

Main photo: JMP

Read more: Creating an exercise schedule that suits your new normal