Summer can easily knock your normal routine off track.

Holidays, travel, visitors, late nights and simply wanting a break can mean exercise becomes less consistent for a few weeks — or disappears altogether.

Then September arrives and suddenly there’s an urge to make up for lost time.

Five workouts this week. Cut out everything you enjoy eating. Start running again. Lift the weights you were using before the summer.

The problem?

Trying to do too much too soon is one of the easiest ways to make your return to exercise very short-lived.

If you’re getting back into exercise after a break, here’s a better approach.

1. Don’t Try to Pick Up Where You Left Off

If you haven’t trained consistently for several weeks, expect things to feel a little different when you return.

Weights may feel heavier. Your fitness might have dropped slightly. You may get tired sooner than you remember.

That’s normal.

Instead of testing what you can still do, give your body a couple of weeks to get used to regular training again.

Reduce the weights if necessary, concentrate on good technique and gradually build back up.

You haven’t gone back to square one. You’re simply rebuilding your routine.

2. Start With 2–3 Sessions Per Week

One of the biggest mistakes people make when motivation suddenly returns is trying to train every day.

It feels productive, but it’s rarely necessary.

For most people returning after a break, two or three good training sessions each week is a great starting point.

It’s enough to begin improving your strength and fitness while still giving your body time to recover.

More importantly, it’s a routine you have a much better chance of maintaining.

Three sessions every week for the next three months will achieve far more than six sessions this week followed by nothing for the next three.

3. Don’t Judge a Workout by How Sore You Are

A good workout doesn’t have to leave you struggling to walk downstairs the next morning.

Muscle soreness can happen when you return to training, particularly after a longer break, but soreness isn’t the goal.

Progress comes from gradually challenging your body over time.

That might mean lifting a slightly heavier weight, completing another repetition, improving your technique or simply training consistently week after week.

The goal isn’t to survive your workout. It’s to become stronger because of it.

4. Make Strength Training the Foundation

If your goal is to lose weight, become fitter, feel stronger and improve your overall health, strength training is an excellent place to start.

A good strength programme can help you:

• Build and maintain muscle
• Improve everyday strength
• Support healthy bones and joints
• Improve balance and movement
• Make everyday activities easier
• Maintain your independence as you get older

And you don’t need to be experienced with weights before you begin.

In fact, learning the basics properly when you start can make a huge difference to your confidence.

5. Stop Waiting Until You Feel Motivated

Motivation is great when it’s there.

Unfortunately, it doesn’t always turn up.

That’s why building a routine is more important.

Choose the days you’re going to train. Put them in your diary. Treat them like any other appointment.

Some days you’ll be excited to exercise.

Other days you won’t.

Both count.

Consistency doesn’t mean being perfect. It means continuing even when every week isn’t perfect.

6. Don’t Try to Fix Everything at Once

Getting back into exercise often comes with a sudden desire to change everything.

Training. Diet. Sleep. Alcohol. Steps. Water. Supplements.

Within a week, it can become exhausting.

Pick a few basics instead.

Train consistently. Eat reasonably well. Get enough protein. Drink plenty of water. Walk regularly. Try to get enough sleep.

Once those habits become normal again, you can build from there.

You don’t need the perfect routine.

You need a routine you can actually maintain.

7. Find an Environment Where You Feel Comfortable

This one is often overlooked.

If you don’t enjoy big gyms, feel self-conscious exercising around experienced gym-goers or simply don’t know what you’re supposed to be doing, forcing yourself into that environment isn’t necessarily going to help you become consistent.

Find somewhere you feel comfortable.

Good coaching, a supportive environment and knowing exactly what you’re doing when you arrive can remove a lot of the anxiety associated with getting back into exercise.

Getting Back Into Exercise in Abu Dhabi?

At Infinite Change Fitness in Al Zeina, our Strength Foundation programme is designed for people who want to become stronger and fitter without the intimidating big-gym environment.

Our sessions are small, coached groups where we help you with your technique, choose appropriate exercises and gradually progress your training as you become stronger.

You don’t need previous strength-training experience.

You don’t need to be fit before you join.

And you certainly don’t need to wait until you’ve “got yourself back into shape.”

Starting is how you get back into shape.

If you’ve been thinking about getting back into exercise after the summer, come and see what we do.

Message us on WhatsApp to find out more or book a trial Strength Foundation session.

Real People. Real Results. Infinite Possibilities.