Fitness: 7 Steps To Get You Back Into The Swing Of Things

By Joburg Post

So, you had a well deserved break and had to come back to reality – schools reopen, office is calling, traffic and is a nightmare. Your body?Well a bit more of you came back with the few extra kilos and you can feel a loss of fitness and strength.

Where do you start at this point?

1. Nutrition – The toughest of everything after a relaxing time with family, where home baked treats and cold beers filled most of the day, is to start cutting out the unnecessary calories. The best way is to ‘reward’ yourself with good stuff and not ‘taking away’ the temptations.  An easy philosophy is to cut the gluten and simple sugars.  Replace the sodas with a freshly squeezed lemon-half in a glass of pure mineral water, and you are on your way back!


2. 
     Exercise program – A sure way to pick up your first injury of the year is to expect the body to start off where you finished last year.  Maybe you did cycle with the family, or took part in a hike or two, but the intensity of your weight training- or cardio program, needs progressive building.   
   


3. Goal setting   -  To set your GPS, you need a destination.  Where do you want to go?  What do you want to achieve? When do you want it?  And write these things down in a diary and date the different goals.  We have heard many times to have small, medium and long term goals.  If you still don’t know, book an appointment with yourself and have that meeting where you make the future decisions.  Try not to be hindered or steered onto a different track by your subconscious programming.


4. Periodization -  This can make the difference between achieving or not achieving those goals.  Periodization prevents over- or under training and possible injury.  It assists with the learned behavior of exercise – making it a part of your daily routine.


5. Base building - Every building needs a foundation, which can hold it up and secure the structures that are built around it.  It is the same with the human body – without the core netting or foundation, the future of the structure seems very bleak.  On the cardio side try to start with an endurance level for a period (depending on entry level) – working within the aerobic level of 70% - 80% of MHR (maximum heart rate) before you visit lactate and above.  Build the strong core as a muscle base and also establish some endurance in the muscles before you start stacking the weights.


6. Expert advice – It might be on the priority list to consult with an exercise specialist or a well qualified trainer to assist you in your starting blocks.  Most of us have some weaknesses and strengths on one or both sides of the body.  The human body will always try and do what it is told to, but it might not be without compensation, which is a sure way to injury.  One or more part could be overused which then leads to a sequence of injuries up the chain.  


7. Buddy System – Yes, you have your beautiful heart rate monitor/watch on the wrist (to record and file), but it sometimes needs the human factor to add more motivation on those early mornings where the bed is just not letting go of you.  The watch is definitely a must (it gets set according to your training goals as to where the heart should be and where it shouldn’t) Irrespective of which piece of cardio equipment you might find yourself on – lights, bells, whistles – you still have to make sure that your heart muscle is looked after!  

Before you sign that extensive long gym contract, set your goals and put your mind in the right place.  It all starts at the control chamber – the brain – how badly do you want to get fit again, how badly do you want to be healthy.  See yourself as a business project where failure can lead to serious repercussions.  You owe it to yourself and to those close and around you to function optimally and be the best you can be.

Good luck and enjoy every step on your journey!

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