Life happens. We have kids, work stress, and obstacles that hold us up or back. We can’t be perfect all the time, and that includes always taking care of our health. It’s hard to stay motivated when life keeps throwing more issues that require your immediate attention. Having said that, there is good news. As much as we may feel behind, we can always get ourselves going again. You can reclaim your life, your health, and your wellness at any time and any age. So how can we get back into shape after letting ourselves go? 

What Can You See Yourself Doing?

The big question I tell all my clients to ask themselves whenever I incorporate a new habit is 

“Can I see myself doing this 6 months from now?”

If you can’t, then simplify the habit even more. You may have to simplify it so much it comes off as comical. Maybe you originally planned to go to the gym every day at the beginning of the year. Now after asking the above question you realized it’s too much. How about 3 times? 2 times? Even once? It may sound and feel ridiculous to only go to the gym once a week but it isn’t. Going once a week for the next 6 months is way better than going 5 times one week, and 2 times the next, and 0 the following.

Setting these more realistic goals helps us get bigger psychological wins which is the only way to produce consistency. Both situations can lead to that same net outcome, but the former will feel more of a win because you will have hit your goal every time.

Also start off easy. There is no need to max out on the first week or even the fourth week. Ease your way back to lifting weights so you can get your muscles familiar with working out again. No need to risk getting an injury out the gates. 

Follow a Resistance Training Program

Focusing on strength training will help improve your muscle mass, and increase your metabolism. Focus on the bigger compound movements that will hit multiple muscles in a given exercise. This will save time in the gym, and give you the biggest bang for your buck. Choose a weight that you can do for a given rep range (6-10, 10-15) that allows you to hit the upper end of that rep range leaving 1-2 reps left in the tank. So if you were doing bench press, choose a weight you can do 10 reps but have 2 reps left before you’d fail.

You can incorporate cardiovascular exercise too for overall heart health. 2-3 days of a steady state jog for 20-30 minutes should be good enough.

Create Behavior Based Outcomes

I find a big issue is people are too focused on the end goal, and lose sight of why they should be showing up in the first place. In order to get consistency, we need to put habits into practice that we can follow week after week. Instead of “I will be jacked” try to get more specific. “I will get a 135lb bench press for 3 reps.” This will allow you to focus on the process required to get to that goal versus some abstract outcome.