As we are coming out of quarantine and getting back into the gym it can be really easy to get down on yourself. These last few months have been unprecedented in many way and as a result it has been the hardest period in our lifetime to keep up a health and fitness regiment. Coming back to the gym in worse shape than you left it can make it very easy to get down on yourself. I'm here to tell you that it is ok. Don't beat yourself up.
Over the last few months fear has run rampant through our society. I talked about this in my last blog post but one thing we know about fear is that it makes it really hard to focus on anything else. When you are afraid you can't devote much attention to your health and fitness, your job, or anything else at all really. Couple this with the gym being closed for the first time ever and you have a recipe for disaster. If you are anything like me you have been riding a roller coaster of emotions the last few months. One day you are motivated and excited to take advantage of your extra free time, while the next you are worried about anything and everything and can't get anything done. This up and down takes a huge toll on you, both physically and mentally. You can't get in a consistent routine, can't develop healthy habits, and can't make any progress. Put a few months of this together and you end up most likely in worse shape than you were before.
It's ok. Really. Most of us are in this same boat. What really helps in this situation is a little perspective. Two months is a blip on the radar over the span of a lifetime. Two months doesn't really matter at all in the grand scheme of things. It could also be a lot worse. There are way worse things going on right now than losing a little bit of fitness. Put on 5 pounds? Who cares! Your max lifts went down? So what! It really is not that big of a deal. A little perspective goes a long way if you will just stop and think about it.
So what should you do now? Well the gym is open. You can start putting together your healthy habits again. In 15 or 20 classes you will be right back to where you were. If you are still uncomfortable coming to the gym then you can still feed off of the energy coming from the gym. Watch the social posts. Follow the daily workouts. You can still participate and be apart of what is going on if you are doing the workouts at home. Whatever you decide to do and wherever you decide to workout just remember that you are only a few weeks away from getting back to where you were. The most important thing for you to do now is to develop good habits and to eliminate bad habits. If you can do that then it is only a matter of time before you are setting PRs, reaching your goals, and feeling like a world beater.
I want to close with this. If you are feeling down on yourself right now then try to stop. Everyone is in the same boat as you. We have all lost some fitness. We have all put on some pounds. We have all struggled to keep our routines. It's really not a big deal. But listen to me when I say this. Now is the time to start fixing it. Now is the time to start making health and fitness a priority again. Now is the time to start setting new goals. The time is now!