Consider the following story:
I woke up, grabbed breakfast out of the cabinet. The drive to work takes about twenty minutes. While in traffic I enjoy the time to plan the rest of the day. After work, I plan on heading to the local sports bar. John, my favorite server, always keeps the table loaded. The boys and I dine on wings, drinks, and laughs. This is our routine 3 or 4 times every week.
About three or four months later...
I woke up, considered grabbing a pastry out of the cabinet but decided to grab a biscuit from the fast food place around the corner. I had a little extra time this morning. Going through my routine was slightly different though. As I got dressed, I noticed my pants didn't button right away. It wasn't really noticeable until I had to button my shirt and tuck it in. Over the last 2 weeks, I've thought about trying to go for a jog. I thought to myself, "Why didn't I just do it?" The twenty minute drive to work was now focused on how I used to be athletic. Now, I'm beating myself up over my current condition. I worked out through college and played a few sports when I was younger. What really made the difference, is my dad was just told he had the signs of adult onset diabetes. The radio was off and my thoughts were all over the place. I'm on the same path.
This was probably the day I decided to change, but I don't know what's next...
Getting started can be hard enough. What can often be just as hard, if not harder, is starting again. What's going through your head as you consider starting again?
1) What will people think?
Yes...People will think.
There is absolutely nothing we can do about that. Remember, when you're deciding on being productive, nothing actually changes when people around think bad or good. Change only happens when you take action. If someone thinks poorly of you because you decided you need to "Reclaim your health," start to reconsider your association with them. You deserve encouragement! Other options include finding a non-populated time when you have the gym to yourself. That may work if your schedule fits, but you might just have to do work in the face of your fear. We call that being courageous! YOU GOT THIS!
2) I used to be able to do this?
Beating yourself up over your past is "like sitting in a rocking chair...a lot of back and forth with no progress." Understanding your past and using it to set goals can be very productive.
3) My schedule is to hectic.
Schedules are a hassle to work with. Imagine what you could do if the day was 36 hrs long. That sounds awesome, but it's not 36 hrs long. If that is the thought process, then the thought process would probably be the same if the day was that long. Take what you have. This means you'll have to make some decisions on time, replacing one activity with another. Be aware it may include changing your sleep, social, or domestic duty patterns. But take everything into consideration. In the beginning you may only need to make one change. As time progresses, reassess your new schedule.
4) What do I actually do?
At the bare minimum, something is better than nothing. Options range from strength training to cardio.
Here is a simple start, just so spark some ideas.
Start out with 30 minutes 2 days/week.
Day 1: 25 min. Walk
Day 2: 8 Min. Body weight circuit + 20 min. walk
As Many Rounds as you can complete in 8 Minutes.
1) Sit-ups 10
2) Squats 10
3) Push-ups 5
4) Superman 10
5) Lunges 5R/5L
In part 2, we'll go into depth about starting from day 1 and how to progress.
At first thought, starting again can seem tough. You won't just start where you left off. Allow yourself some time make progress. Be forgiving of yourself. Make a decision. Create a plan.