Getting Back Into Exercising

After getting a bout of sickness, whether it is a temporary cold, a life-long thyroid problem, ro whatever may have you, it can be a pain to get back into exercising. You have to start off slower, often having to go back to lighter weights, shorter distances, and smaller sets. It can be extremely frustrating.

I've had to deal with this a lot, and it doesn't really get any easier. Having read a lot of articles about "muscle memory" relating to exercise, I can't really vouch for any of them. After every occurence, I am back to square one. At least now I am aware of how to make it fun.

Turning on the television one day while a little sick, I decided I would jog on the spot for the ad-breaks (about one minute to one minute and a half), and the rest is history. I put on an episode of Community, Seinfeld, or Scrubs, and go for gold, so to speak.

Here is how I slowly got back into things:

Day 1 - Jogging on the spot during ad-breaks

Day 2 - (Repeat of above)

Day 3 - Jogging on the spot for three minutes, resting two minutes, and repeat (I use the built-in Stopwatch and Timer on my phone), a total time of forty minutes (including rests)

Day 4 - Jogging on the spot for three and a half minutes, resting two minutes, and repeat, for a total time of forty mintues (including rests)

Day 5 - Jogging on the spot for five minutes, resting two minutes, and repeat, a total time of forty minutes (including rests)

Day 6 - Jogging on the spot for five minutes, resting on minute, and repeat, a total time of forty minutes (including rests)

Day 7 - Jogging on the spot for ten minutes, resting five minutes, and repeat for a total of thirty minutes (including rests)

Day 8 - Jogging on the spot for fifteen minutes, resting five minutes, and repeat for a total of thirty minutes

Day 9 - Same as above, but for a total time of forty minutes

Day 10 - (Repeat of above)

Day 11 - Jogging on the spot for twenty mintues, resting two minutes, repeat, for a total of forty minutes

Day 12 - (Repeat of above)

Day 13 - (Repeat of above)

Day 14 - Jogging on the spot for forty minutes

Increasing things gradually is the key. You might have to take things slower if dealing with a chronic problem or influenza and not just the common cold. It is also okay to go back to a previous day or slow things down as required. Sometimes that is required in order to accomodate time constraints.

I like to do weights in addition to the above. If you're feeling good and strong, focus on your arms during the rests, like shoulder presses, or weighted boxing drills. 

To mix things up, sometimes I like to put conditions to the show I am watching, such as 1) When Pierce says something insensitive, do ten jumping jacks before returning back to the jogging. This is a much more fun and healthy way to binge on television!