Full autumn has arrived. Without even realizing it, we are already in October. And yet it seemed like yesterday that I said "Enough, the heat is over. I can start training again." But it's not that easy.
Why is it difficult to get back into training after a long break?
Of course there are disciplined people who don't take long breaks of 3/4 months in their training - if you are one of them, maybe you won't find yourself in this blog much. I speak to people who, like me, do sports because they have to , because they want to look at themselves in the mirror and say "Not bad!". We are people who don't feel sorry for ourselves and don't envy others because we know that the only ones responsible for our lives are ourselves. So no excuses .
At the same time, we are not people who played a sport in school or as children or who have some passion that involves movement. Maybe, like me, you are those who stood in front of the library door for 5 minutes before opening. Or that rather than playing soccer maybe you preferred to go to the cinema.
So, in short, sport is not part of our routine . "Routine", this is the key word. For people like me, the number one ally in staying constant in doing pilates (this is my drug, but it also applies to those who run, practice yoga, dance and slim, go to the gym to train with machines or free body), I was saying the number one ally in remaining consistent in doing sports is inertia .
Inertia is the force that causes a body in motion to continue to remain in motion = I who do Pilates 3 times a week continue to do Pilates 3 times a week and, be careful!, I miss it if I skip a day.
So, to answer your question, it is difficult for people like us to get back into training after a long break because we have to reintroduce sports into our routine . How to do it?
My experience
This year I started slowly again - one evening, after 8 hours of sitting in front of a computer, I got up and did 20 minutes of pilates, even though I had originally intended to do 10 minutes. It went well and I really missed that post-workout feeling. Then, that week I managed to do it a second time, the second week I managed to do it 2 times again, but because, really, it had been a killer week🙀. The third week was the lucky one, I reached the goal of training 3 times a week.
Since the end of August, for a month and a half I knew I had to start again, but I lacked that willpower. Of course, looking at myself in the mirror I could feel motivated, but it wasn't enough - what's the point of baggy sweaters and high-waisted pants? 😉
The kick that set the inertia in motion again was a meeting with a motivational speaker, let's call him, who repeated things to me that I already know well because I've been following personal growth all my life. But this time, what made the difference was my state of mind of openness towards this invitation to take back control of my life and my destiny because since the beginning of the year it had been going haywire, but I didn't think I had the strength to take the reins and guide myself towards my destiny. Instead, during that meeting, something "clicked".
I started with something small, a list of 11 goals to achieve by the end of the month. I have 8 left, of which Pilates is the seventh item. I haven't removed it yet because I'm in the 4th week, I'm convinced that after 6 weeks it will have become routine for me again. All of this goes far beyond Pilates, but, to conclude, we need to find our "click". Whether it's a trial week in a gym - for those like me who train at home, whether it's a workout in a special place or with someone, only you know what can really make you respect the commitment you made. I follow Nicole on YouTube, a first possible step for those who want to try Pilates is this 20-minute workout .
Daniela B.
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