A Beginner Again
April 3, 2012 by Erin
It's going to be awhile before lunges feel natural again! Credit: lululemon athletica
After a workout hiatus, it’s always a little hard to get back into the swing of things. At least for me, even if I’m more than ready to get moving again. Taking that first step is sometimes the hardest. Progress takes time, so those first few workouts seem a bit anti-climactic. Where are my results, darnit!
But you have to start somewhere, right? So today, my husband took my daughter out to run errands, leaving me with the little guy. I thought about popping in a workout DVD and trying to fit in my First Workout In Forever. The baby was sleeping, so surely I’d have a moment to work out, right?
So wrong. The moment the kiddo senses the absence of a warm body, he freaketh out. Putting him down for more than two minutes was out of the question. So I did what I had to do. I strapped him to me and proceeded to do a few workout moves I could do with a sleeping newborn strapped to me: lunges, squats and leg lifts. The squats were fine. Challenging, and I definitely felt the burn after my three sets of 20. The leg lifts? Seemed abnormally challenging. Like my legs weighed about twice as much as usual. And the lunges? Let’s talk about the lunges. Or let’s not because I’d rather forget how foreign they felt to my legs. How my legs felt like lead. How it took everything I had to push back up to standing. I wish I could blame my added resistance-baby, but he’s only like 8 or 9 pounds and that shouldn’t make lunges that difficult!
So, weirdly, I’m trying to embrace my status as a “fitness newbie.” A beginner, for now. It’s weird because in my head I can still do all those crazy hard workouts my old trainer put me through, and I can still do crow pose. But in reality, lunges are freaking hard for me, and my lungs burn five minutes into a brisk walk. I’ll get back to my fit status, I’m sure, but for now I’m going to have to remind my brain to take it slow while my body catches up.
Have you ever had to “start over” with your fitness journey? —Erin
I am in the same place – my baby is three months old and I was running 5ks before I was pregnant. I am getting back into fitness by walking a few miles every day on the weekends … while pushing the stroller!
I had to start over this January after having foot surgery in 2010 and not being able to do much for almost 4 months. It sucks at first, but it will surprise you how quickly it comes back!
Hi Erin,
You may be a ‘fitness newbie’ but with one major advantage… you already have a ton of knowledge about what you’re doing!
Imagine going back to yourself when you very first started working out and imparting everything you know now. This is basically a chance to start over and do things the awesome way from day one
I know exactly what you mean Erin, but you’ll be back in awesome shape before you know it!! It’s amazing how our bodies seem to remember how to be fit and once you start working towards that, those lunges will be a piece of cake. I’m impressed that you could ever do the crow pose. AMAZING! I’m still working towards that one.
Definitely in the same place right now….I had a back injury and then was sick for a while and now I’m in the process of moving and although I have time to go to the gym I am emotionally and mentally exhausted and can’t get enough motivation to go. When I think back to how I have run two half marathons and now can barely work up the energy to go to the gym it makes me pretty sad. I think that after we actually move I’ll be able to settle down and get back into a workout routine, but right now it’s driving me crazy!
I totally feel you on how hard it is to get back into it. Especially since I always think I can hit the same fitness goals as I did when I quit (was in good shape). So frustrating.
As for babies, there is a hilarious guide for Dads on how to use your baby as a resistance weight to workout with.
I have it ahead of me since I’ve been home sick all week with strep. I’ve lost a few pounds and I know very well it’s the muscle I was gaining in my quads from all those squats… darn!
Hey there — I have been in start over mode so many times in the last few years I’ve lost count. Many health issues, most recent a combination of ruptured/prolapsed discs and chronic sinus infection. Before that, years of CFS. I got past the CFS, got to a good level of fitness, then it all went to hell in a handbasket. I’m putting it back together again now.
And just this moment, on the elliptical crawling my way to my 30 min total, I had this thought. The single most important thing (I think) when you’re rebuilding fitness after losing it, is to keep your focus internal. It is absolutely crucial to stop thinking in terms of what you used to do, what you should be able to do. None of that is useful at the moment, and will only drag you down. You *must* silence the former athlete inside you, and instead focus on what you can do, right now. You’ll regain your former level of fitness in time. But if you overtrain early on, if you craft a workout routine based on what you used to do/should be able to do, you’ll end up sick and injured. I have the gold medal in this! Do less than you want to, less than you think you can, and listen to your body. Let it set the pace. If you don’t stress and push, you’ll find your body on its own will up the intensity, as it starts to regain fitness.
The good news is that fit people who’ve lost some fitness bounce back faster than folk who’ve never been fit before.
Good luck!
Thanks for the great blog, Erin. I certainly know how you feel when trying to get back into an exercise program after being sidelined for awhile. I once hurt my knee by diving into a difficult exercise routine, and it took it MONTHS to heal. So take it easy. You’ll get back into fighting shape soon enough!