8 Reasons Your First Workout Might Suck.
This year I am obsessed with all the reasons we skip workouts. So much so that I’ve even been collecting information on the reasons you have skipped workouts, and that is why this blog post has come about.
We all make plans to work out and skip them, but when we struggle to get started that can compound. The more we don’t move the more it takes to get started… and the more we need our first workout to be good… and the more pressure we are likely to put on ourselves as a result.
If you’ve been putting off that first workout after a break, injury, or illness, here are some reasons it might not go as planned and what you can do to make it feel better…
The struggle to get off this sofa was real. #bestdoggos.
Reason 1: You’re not planning for your body as it is today.
You know what you ‘should’ be able to do… but that might be in a body with a solid movement habit. Chances are if you’ve been joining me in the sofa life your muscles aren’t quite as switched on as they were.
Your endurance or strength might not be quite the same, and you might need to touch up some skills and coordination.
To come in and ask your body to do what it used to do is never going to feel good if you’ve had a long time out or are just getting started.
How to fix it: Set the intention to be curious today. Build in time to ask questions and find out how your body is.
Your first workout back is a great time to get some data. Use this session to find out where you are now so you can track progress.
You can also provide options. Give yourself choices so you can honour the body you have today without feeling like you’ve not followed the plan - the plan was to have options!
Reason 2: You’ve got high expectations for the result or how it will feel.
Sometimes our body takes a little bit of time to get back into the movement flow. If you are coming into your first workout and hoping it will all feel amazing that is a lot to live up to.
If you find you feel weaker, stiffer, or just eugh when you come in with high hopes that can be pretty disappointing.
Or thinking you’ll bounce out of the gym full of energy, but instead find yourself sluggishly rolling home absolutely starving, that can land with a bit of a thump too.
How to fix it: Remember it’s OK to ramp up slowly. You can take today at 50% intensity and you’ve still got the first workout of many done!
You can create a win in the first session, just by allowing yourself time to get back into things. Ask your body smaller or simpler questions, reduce the time, or lower your expectations for how bendy you will be.
Create a plan that you are confident you can do. That will make it so much easier to come to your next workout! Start by building your win streak!
Reason 3: You think it needs to be hard to be worth it.
If you balked at 50% intensity above you might want to read this one twice.
For so many people I speak to, they want to “feel like they have worked”. That usually means sweating, training to failure, or crazy day-two-pain (DOMS, or delayed onset muscle soreness). If you’ve been out of the game a little while this can be pretty intimidating… but it’s not really necessary to feel progress!
How to fix it: Get comfy with taking it steady, track your progress using measures that aren’t linked to pain or discomfort!
Yeah, really. You are allowed to embrace feel good movement. Just because it feels good doesn’t make it less worthy than an all-out go-for-broke workout. There is absolutely space for lower intensity movement in your schedule.
If you find you are doing mental gymnastics to make it ‘worth it’, find another way to track your workouts so you can see you’ve moved today or this week.
Reason 4: Oh… you’re just diving right in there.
After a break, your body might take longer to get into the workout. That is OK!
Warming up well is a key part of mentally and physically transitioning into movement mode. It can be tempting to get right into your workout, especially if you find yourself excited about it, but giving your body time to warm up will help the rest of your workout feel even better!
How to fix it: Take time over your warm-up. Your body needs time to remember how to move, to loosen off, switch on, and prepare for your return to movement.
If you’re not sure what to include in your warm-up, here is a quick checklist…
Pulse Raiser - Jogging, skipping, dancing. Take 3-5 minutes to get your heart rate up, start gently and work your way up!
Mobilisations - Circle your joints head to toe. Turn your head side to side, then up and down. Roll your shoulders, circle your arms. Keep working all the way down to your ankles!
Dynamic Stretches - Move into and out of stretches for the muscles you’ll be working in your main session. Take gentle movements and enjoy the process.
Reason 5: You don’t know where to start… so you do everything.
High volume = being knackered when we’re out of condition.
If you’re rushing to get back into it, you can end up working against yourself and running out of steam. Prioritising a couple of movements or components of fitness might feel slower, but it’ll feel so much better!
How to fix it: Pick a foundational element of fitness or one skill that you like, and start there. The rest can come.
Write out a wish list, and work back to the most foundational elements. Start there and gradually add in other components as you get back into a rhythm!
Reason 6: But look at them! They had time off too.
Comparisonitis is real.
I was recently training with a friend who is returning from an injury, and I was coming back after 1 month off from pole. Both of us were working hard not to get into comparison mode, and instead focus on our strengths… and it wasn’t easy.
We all get stuck in comparison sometimes. It’s natural, especially when we aren’t happy with how we’ve been progressing recently.
How to fix it: Allow yourself to go inward and see how you feel. You can only see their external performance, they are probably finding it tough too!
By focusing on your inner world, you can look for the subtleties that show you are getting back into it! Only you know how you feel too, so that is a world free from comparison! 🥰
Reason 7: There is no plan B.
This is closely related to reason 1. If you have been used to training in one way (e.g. pole training) then not having access to that way of moving can be tough. It can make movement as a whole feel inaccessible.
How to fix it: Think of the fitness components that make up your sport, then see how you can recreate them.
We’ve all seen the stereotypical boxer warming up by skipping… not necessarily the activity most of us would associate with punching folk in the face. Where can you find your sports’ skipping equivalent?
Reason 8: Ignoring strength and conditioning principles.
Your body is pretty efficient. It saves energy by not indefinitely maintaining every ounce of fitness you gain. That is totally normal.
The law of reversibility is the fancy name for ‘use it or lose it’, but this law has an awesome flip side…
How to fix it: Remember adapting to your workouts is a process.
General Adaptation Syndrome is how your body responds to stimuli and gets fitter. Your overall fitness isn’t made by any one workout, but by the all of your stress and rest in and between workouts.
Embrace the process, and remember imperfect workouts are still workouts that feed into your overall gains! 🥰
The way we think about our first workout after a break can massively colour our return to movement. There’s good news here though, changing our mindset is both quick and effective!
Here are a few questions that can help you have a great return to movement:
What am I expecting from this workout?
Are these expectations helpful?
Am I respecting my body, mind, and the process of returning to fitness?
Do I need support for my first workout?
What am I most looking forward to about my first workout?
Let me know how your first workout goes!
