This topic is one that I’m currently experiencing. There are a million and one reasons why we get thrown off our routine when it comes to working out and eating healthy. Here are some common ones:
- Get sick
- Take a vacation
- Simply need a break
For me, my family got hit with COVID and we’ve been down for 3 weeks. I had severe flu-like symptoms and quite frankly, even though I’ve since tested negative, I am still working to feel back to normal. Before I got sick, I had established a pretty consistent routine. I was working out at least 4 days a week and, often times, getting in a couple of walks with my husband and son on the weekends. I also was eating pretty well. I have recently started working with a dietician and she has really helped me work on developing a healthy balance of good, nutrient-rich foods and foods I love.
When I got sick, I felt like someone ripped the rug right out from underneath me. All the progress I had made over the past 2 months were completely erased as if they never happened. I had no appetite so my goal became to make sure I ate period. It didn’t matter what I ate, I needed the calories. As I started to get better, my appetite came back but I still kept my focus on just eating calories. On top of that, I was bed-ridden for most of the 2 weeks so I had extremely limited mobility. When I got better, my husband tested positive and I went from being quarantined in my bedroom to taking over as the sole caretaker for our son. Did I mention I also was working this whole time? I have worked from home since before COVID so I decided it was better to work to take my mind off of how crappy I felt. At that point, I was so tired by the end of the day (remember I was still recovering) that I would either order out or cook some buttered noodles.
Now that we’re all healthy again, I’ve been working to get back into my routine. This is so much easier said than done! First of all, your body is still in recovery mode so it’s essential to make sure you are taking slow steps. If you try to go from 0 to 100, you’re going to crash. In my opinion, I find that you can break down your recover into 3 easy steps. We’ll just call them level 1, level 2 and level 3.
Level 1
Level 1 is like the beginner phase. While the actual amount of effort is the lowest at this level, I find it to be one of the hardest, especially if you’ve been sick. Why is that? Because if you’re anything like me, you don’t want to act like a “beginner” and you don’t want to “take things easy”. You want to pick up right where you left off. If you were sick, you may physically be unable to workout at the degree you were. But even if you weren’t sick, you’ve taken time off from the level you were working at. You think it’s that simple to jump back and perform at that same level? HA! That’s funny. Nope, sorry. It’s not going to happen. And guess what? You are going to feel it. It may be 5 minutes in, it may be 45 minutes in, but you’ll have that realization regardless. The best rule of thumb when you are at this level 1 is to LISTEN TO YOUR BODY. Some of the best ways to get your body back into a routine and start to introduce physical activity again is to go on a walk, take a casual bike ride, or do a low level stationary bike routine. These 3 workouts are my go-to. I also like doing these on an active recovery day. Yoga is another great exercise but you need to make sure it’s a light yoga class. Some yoga classes are harder than running a marathon! I went through level 1 last week and I did 2 stationary bike workouts for 20 minutes each and 3 walks for 25 minutes each. I felt better and better each day.
Level 2
Ok so you’ve made it through level 1. You’re able to go on a walk without feeling like you just ran 100 sprints and your body is itching to get to that next level. So what happens at level 2? Level 2 is similar to the moderate level. You’re not back to your best but you’re ready to start actual workouts again. For me personally, I like to run so I knew that was going to be my first workout. You still don’t want to overdo it, though, so you need to make sure that for at least the first workout you give yourself a little cushion. Here’s a good example. One of my normal runs that I do is an interval run with a 2 minute walk, 2 minute jog, and a total of 5 sets. For my first run, I decided to do a 3 minute walk, 2 minute jog, and still 5 sets. Depending on how that first workout goes will really dictate how to adjust. You either feel great and are ready to do the same intensity or slowly increase it, or it was a bit too much and you need to lighten up a bit. Either way, you should take about a week at each level to give yourself plenty of time to really let your body adjust.
Level 3
You’ve made it. You’ve taken the time to go through level 1 and level 2 and you are ready to get back to challenging yourself. Whether that is doing jump squats in place of stationary squats or high knees instead of knee raises, you’re ready! Unlike level 1 and 2, level 3 doesn’t take a week. At level 3, you’re essentially back to where you were. I’m personally very excited to get back to this level because I am extremely competitive and crushing goals sounds so good!!
I think the most important thing to remember in whichever level you are at is to LISTEN TO YOUR BODY. Take the time to stretch before and after your workout, if you find yourself struggling it’s time to adjust, don’t try to do too much too soon, and give yourself a rest day! I hope you find this helpful. We all end up taking time off for one reason or another. It’s healthy and it’s important. But it’s also important to take the necessary steps to get back to the level you were previously at. I am not a nutritionist, a doctor, or a personal trainer, but I have gone through these levels multiple times and these are what work for me. What works for you? I’d love to hear about it in the comments section 🙂
Jessie Schu 