Back to Reality

Ok, so you've taken a break and now you're out of your routine and it feels like you're starting again from scratch. If you want to dive straight back into your old training programme, but somehow it's just harder that it was before your time off, we've got the method for you.

Step 1: Clear out.

If part of your time off training has included a break from the nutritious, conscious food choices you normally make, you might be feeling a little sluggish and bloated. The worst thing about returning to a lower sugar, higher protein diet is that your body will fight you. You'll crave sugar, and it'll take a couple of days of discomfort to reset your body back to what it was used to before. The best way to help yourself with this is to clear out your system - that is, your body and your house.

Clean house by going through your cupboards and get rid of any leftover sweets, biscuits, crisps, chocolate, and anything else you might dig in the cupboard for at midnight when you're having a sugar craving. Even if these are the kind of things you usually have in the house no problem, just for the next 2-3 days, get them out while you go through the detox process. For some people this might even include things like bread and pasta, cereal, and any ingredients you could use for baking. Get rid of any delivery or food apps from your phone, and unsubscribe to any mailing lists from anywhere you may have ordered food from in the past. The goal is to make getting your hands on something greasy or sugary hard enough that you have time to stop yourself before you follow through.

For the next few days, increase your water consumption up to 3 litres per day, and go for a 10-20 minute walk at some point during the day. The wetter, windier, and colder, the better. This is more about mentally clearing out the cobwebs and flushing the system as than it is physically 'fixing' anything. Like how you go for a nice long motorway drive after jump starting a car, you have to top up your motivational battery and remind your body that you are in fact, a high performance machine.

Step 2: Lock in.

Have a look at your timetable for the next month and decide when you're going to train. Book in to your classes where you can, or make a note in your diary for when you're gong to go if you're planning non class based workouts. If you feel like you can't commit to a particular class or session weeks away because you don't know what your timetable will be, give yourself some A/B options. Your A choice class might be Monday at 7pm, but if you can't make that one, you'd go at 9.30am instead as a B choice. That way you maintain a degree of flexibility without losing the structure of having a plan

Step 3: Get ready.

It's always a great idea to get your bag ready the night before, but we're talking about getting ready to get your bag ready for the whole week. Some things can live in your gym bag - your myzone, your trainers, your inhaler, your grips, tapes, wraps, sleeves, and your skipping rope. Double check they're in your bag, and leave them in there. But the other things you need to go the the gym - clean gym kit, socks, a towel, snacks, etc - don't leave them to the last minute. Gather them up now and keep them grouped and stacked in a bag or basket in your cupboard. If you normally take a snack with you, put them in with your clothes.

If you don't have enough gym kit to do three workouts a week without washing them in between, we'd gently suggest you make your life easier and get some. We're talking three pairs of socks, three t-shirts, three trousers or leggings, and three sports bras (if you wear them). Then all you have to do is get dressed on the day, and run one 'sports wash' per week, and you know you'll be ready for all your upcoming sessions.

The thing to remember is that your body has a really short term memory. It can be surprisingly difficult to return to normality after even just a couple weeks away from your routine, but the good news is that it only takes a week or so to get back into your pre-break rhythm. All you have to do is push through the short term discomfort until your body remembers how much better it feels when you're back on programme.