5 ways to get moving again after a break

We all have times where our training drops off - whether that's due to holidays, celebrations, illness or a lack of motivation. It's not easy to be consistent with exercise routines and eating healthy food 100% of the time.

If this has happened to you, you're not alone in this. There are many times throughout the year - in the summer holidays, or after a busy festive season - that people struggle to find the time or motivation to get moving. We've all been there.

What matters is when we make a conscious decision to reset and get back on it, reminding ourselves of all the physical and mental benefits that moving and fueling our body can bring.

We spoke to two experts in sport and exercise psychology to share some tips on how to boost motivation after a break.

Reconnect with why you exercise

"Why is exercise important to you?" asks Martyn Standage, a professor, who leads the Centre for Motivation and Health Behaviour Change at Bath University.

This is a good question to ask yourself. Do you exercise to look after your health. Your mental wellbeing? Does it help to relieve stress? Does it give you time for yourself, or an opportunity to connect with friends or your community? Perhaps it's those immediate after-effects you get from exercise that motivates you to keep going.

"Revisit your main reasons for being motivated before," says Martyn.

Adjust your expectations

You may have had a few weeks away from exercise, or perhaps it's a few months or years.

You're never too late to get back into it, but you may find that the exercise or routine doesn't come as easily as it did to you before. Perhaps the weights you are lifting feel really challenging, or your body doesn't feel comfortable when you've headed out for a run.

"Recognize that it's normal to adjust your expectations," says Martyn. "It's normal to want to be quicker, or lift stronger, but adjust your thinking to accommodate the break you've taken."

The key is about building momentum again, he adds - achieving small goals, and building back up to your prior fitness progressively. Those small, micro decisions really do make a difference.

Remember to pay attention to how you feel during and after workouts. Don't push too hard too soon - allow your body time to adjust and avoid injury.

Focus on what you are doing, not what you're not doing

You've made a decision to move your body again - you're already winning. Try to focus on the win for every time you move your body, rather than comparing it to what you were doing before, says Laura Healy, a senior lecturer in sport and exercise psychology, who focuses on motivation, goal pursuit, and mental wellbeing in physical activity.

She suggests reflecting back on the break you've had with an open mind, too - have you really gone back to the beginning, or just taken a small step backwards? Sometimes an unplanned break or setback can feel bigger in our minds than it is in reality.

"Try to disengage from the goals you may have failed to achieve [due to your break]," suggests Laura. "Set new goals and scale them back. Remember, anything is better than nothing."

During this time, it's important to be kind to yourself, adds Martyn. It's natural to have feelings of frustration, but you should be proud of yourself for getting moving again. You should be proud of yourself for choosing to reset, refocus, and recommit. Accept that any feelings of frustration about your abilities are completely normal.

Take yourself back to basics

Sometimes it can feel hard to get back into a routine because it's not necessarily one you enjoyed - or perhaps parts of it you didn't enjoy. "Ask yourself: What exercise can I do that is actually enjoyable?" suggests Laura.

Exercise should be enjoyable, not a chore. It can be easy to stick to habits and routines, but it's also good to break away from these and question what parts of it you enjoyed doing and what parts you didn't. Motivation to move will come much more easily if you look forward to the exercise you're doing.

You might want to try a new exercise style entirely and start from scratch. Don't force yourself into continuing if you start to dread the thought of doing it.

Know that you'll get there

Often, says Laura, "once we get going again, it feels good again"

It doesn't matter how long your break was. It doesn't matter that you had a break in the first place. What matters is that you're back, you're moving again, and you're reaping the benefits that brings.

You can take on Joe's 2-Week Reset Challenge on The Body Coach app to help you get back into your training and feeling energised. Find out more.

This article was written by The Body Coach content team.