It’s really difficult getting back on track when you’ve had a big break in your training. I know first-hand what it’s like to be in peak physical condition and then to slowly lose it due to “life happening”. There’s an analogy of a bad marriage being like a lukewarm bath – it takes you a while to notice that it’s no longer that hot, but it’s easier to keep lying in it than taking the perceived effort to get out.
Losing your fitness is the same, you miss a few exercise sessions at first, then a lot. Eventually months go by and you take a hard look at yourself and realise that you are no longer as strong and energetic as you used to be. Then fear niggles at you – fear of how much work it’s going to take to get back to your previous fitness levels. That fear paralyses you from doing anything and so your health continues to decline.
Here’s the good news, and I speak from experience – it’s not that difficult to get your fitness levels back up. The most difficult part is blocking out fear’s voice. There’s a good reason that Nike has their slogan “Just Do It”. That’s what it takes to win your health back – you’ve just got to do it! Block out that demotivating voice that tells you you’re too old, it’s too cold/hot, it’s too late etc. etc., and start taking baby steps. Forget about the past and how fast you used to be able to run and how big your biceps used to be. Those memories can be demotivating.
There’s a quote that says that even the longest journey starts by taking the first step. I’m telling you this because just over two years ago I was charging up mountains, doing headstands and backbends, feeling like I could take on the world. At the middle of this year I took a look at where I was at and realised I had let my health slide. I decided to change that by doing exactly what I’m telling you to do now – by blocking out the fear, the past and just doing it!
One of the many beautiful things about the body is that it has a memory. Once you start training again, it remembers the condition it used to be in and starts its journey back there. This journey takes a lot quicker that it did the first time because of the body’s memory.
So today my challenge to you today is to take that first step… even if it’s just a small one. You will get back there. I have.
