Do you ever find yourself in an exercise slump?  You have great intentions to workout but, whoops, a day, then a week goes by and you have either stopped exercising or you’ve cut down too much.

Sometimes we all feel like missing a session at the gym but if we give ourselves a break from working out too often then we’re in danger of getting out of the habit of regular exercise.  I always say that some exercise is better then no exercise – and that’s still true – but a regular fitness routine will help you develop and reap all the positives of an active, healthy lifestyle!

If you’ve stopped exercising for any reason then these four motivation tips should help you get back to your workout routine.  

My simple tips to get you back to exercising regularly in no time

• Don’t think you’ll instantly be as fit as you were just before you stopped. Fitness levels decline if you don’t continue using your muscles and building or maintaining your strength and stamina.  So, be patient with yourself and always exercise at a level that is suitable for your current fitness levels.
• Try to aim for twenty or thirty minutes of exercise a day when you first start out and work out at a comfortable intensity.  As you progress, either increase your intensity or add ten more minutes each day.
• Use your body weight for strength exercises and really focus on technique. Each week add 2-4lbs of resistance until you reach an intensity that feels like 7-8 out of 10 (with 10 being the maximum possible for you).
• Use interval training to your advantage.  Including rest times in your workouts lets you begin at a gentle pace.  Start out with more rest than work then slowly start to flip your equation to 50% work / 50% rest and beyond.

People’s exercise levels can decline for all types of reasons from injury to a period of overworking and reduced life/work balance to, maybe, a simple dislike an element of your fitness routine leading to making excuses not to keep it up.

Climb back out of your exercise slump!

If you do feel like you’ve fallen off the exercise wagon then there is no time like the present to climb back on but remember to go at your body’s own pace.  This will help prevent injury and it will stop you accidentally teaching your body to associate exercise with pain.  (Believe me, I hear all the time from people who go from no exercise to a few days of intense exercise only to immediately slump back to no exercise because they didn’t like the aching muscles!  Please don’t let yourself fall into this category of over-zealous exerciser.)

I’m certain that the more fit you are, the more positive you will be but remember to take it slow if you’re recovering from an exercise slump.  If you take a sensible and fun approach then you’ll be a lot less likely to neglect your fitness routine again in the future.

Don’t let an exercise slump be the end of your training

Written by Samantha Clayton, AFAA, ISSA. Samantha is Director of Fitness Education at Herbalife.