Every now and then, we pick up an injury. Then, as our rehabilitation nears completion, we slowly pick up the pace as we get into training. But what happens when you didn’t get injured but instead decided to take a time-out from training? How do you return to training after a pause? As any competitive athlete will tell you, “taking it easy” just isn’t part of their vocabulary. They don’t know how to take it easy. All they know is how to go hard. It’s part of their DNA. They were brought up that way. But look, we’re only human. Sometimes, we just have to slow down. If for whatever reason you took a break recently and want to know how to get back on the horse, Beast Gear is here to show you exactly what you need to do. It Won’t Be That Hard Remember how long it took you to reach your previous level? It probably took a long time. Maybe it took a HELL of a long time. But that’s because you started out from 0. This time around, it won’t be so hard. The most important thing right now is that you get your mindset right. Instead of thinking “damn, I worked so hard to get to where I was that I’ve now gotta start all over again.” It’s not true. Because you’ve already attained that specific benchmark, attaining it a second time will be a lot easier. I like to use a gambling analogy here. When a gambler works real hard using a strategy to win X amount of money over a period of time before doing something stupid, they’ll be able to get back to where they were much quicker because of the lessons learned. It’s the same with athletes. Go Easy On Yourself and Start Slow Yes, you’ll be able to get back to where you were much quicker than last time, but that doesn’t mean you have to race out of the traps. In fact, it’s a lot more beneficial if you start off slow. At this point, frequency and consistency are the two main things. Don’t fret over how intense your first few workouts are. Just look at them as the building blocks that are getting you going again. Use them as your foundation, stay consistent and build over the long run. Each day is another day where you get stronger, which is what it’s all about at this point. Have Fun! You know what can slow you down at this point? Not having fun. The best way to get back into shape is to do what is fun. In fact, one of the best ways to return after a break is to do plenty of aerobic exercises. This means running, swimming and cycling, all of which can be swapped around depending on the day and your mood. And if you’re worried that you’re having too much fun and not working enough on your weaknesses? Again, my advice is that you relax. There’ll be enough time to work on those later. For now, grab some buddies and go swimming together. Have some fun.
