We get it – you’ve been in hiding.
You’ve been in hiding from your gym friends who used to hold you accountable for hitting the weights twice a week and going to Zumba with them every Saturday morning; hiding from your skinny jeans that no longer (comfortably) zip up, and lastly, hiding from your empowered self – that part of you that felt unstoppable when you were hitting the gym routine full force.
Get that part back of you, and come out of hiding!
If you’ve stopped working out after making major headway in your health, fitness and overall physique, you are by no means, alone. Whether you reached a weight loss plateau and got fed up and gave up, or you just got overwhelmed with your work load and put your weekly workouts and weigh in’s on the back burner, you can get it back (and that includes those killer abs you were working on!)
Here’s how to rev your metabolism while bumping up your confidence.
Just Show Up
Woody Allen had it right when he said that “half of life is just showing up,” and when it comes to putting your pedal to the medal with your fitness, it may be safe to say that showing up is 95 percent of earning that tight, toned body you want.
If it’s been more than a few weeks, and you’re starting to become fuzzy as you remember what the interior of the cardio room looks like in your gym (that’s code for it’s been way too long that you’ve been away!) just show up.
Don’t think about the details, such as how many reps or painful minutes of sprinting you’ll do while you’re there. In other words, don’t project how hard it will be, because that’s just your clever way of talking your way out of a workout altogether.
Just focus on getting into your most flattering workout gear, and head to the gym without a thought at all. Just show up, fearless and ready to reconnect with your unstoppable self, and soon that showing up attitude will lead to a deep commitment for health, wellness and looking good naked!
Become in Love With the Exercises You Love (and Forget the Rest, for Now)
There’s a saying that goes like this: “do you best, and forget the rest.” While it is important to challenge yourself through weight lifting and endurance testing cardio, you don’t want to scare yourself silly out of a hard core workout right off the bat – especially when you already feel gun shy about being there in the first place.
If it’s been a while since you’ve been to the gym (and it’s been so long that you don’t recognize any of the desk staff) the rest assured – you’ve got this. Just stick to your favorite shoulder press, medicine ball routine or skip the weight room altogether, and head right to a rejuvenating yoga class.
When you’ve gotten back into your weekly routine again and boosted up your confidence, that’s the perfect time to begin upping the intensity and challenging your body.
Get it Over With (First Thing in the Morning)
Don’t fall into the pit – that is, the pit of weight loss despair, the pit of self-loathing, and the pit of hopelessness. If you do, you’ll never jump rope to burn calories, squat like it’s nobody’s business and run your heart out again.
Absolutely it’s true – everything is connected. Your stress level is connected to your productivity; your love life is connected to your self-worth, and your health is connected to how much self-love and respect you put into it.
So, put yourself first each and every morning. Start with a great breakfast and make a commitment to your health as it becomes the number one priority in your life. Get your workout over with so that you don’t cleverly come up with half a dozen reasons NOT to work out after your evening meeting with the CEO is over and done with.
Still having trouble waking up an hour early just to burn some calories and rev up your metabolism?
Then swallow this sweet tasting fact – Studies show that people who work out earlier in the day eat less, burn more calories throughout, and have a stronger attention to detail during the course of their work day.
That incline walk, or elliptical session doesn’t sound so rough anymore, does it?
