The Comeback Plan

You were doing so well. You finally built a consistent exercise routine.

But then, life happened.

Maybe you traveled, got sick, or you just had too much to do, and exercise just quietly slipped into the back seat.

Or maybe you just fell out of the habit.

Recently, I found myself in this situation. I had a few things on my plate that took higher priority and so I stopped exercising.

Although I kept up with my daily steps, I hadn’t done my strength training in almost 3 weeks.

So when it was time to get back into it, it was harder than I expected.

I wondered whether I’d have to start back at square one. I struggled with the thought of having to rebuild that consistency I had all over again.

Maybe some of you can relate to this.

Getting back into exercise after taking a break—whether it’s been a few days, weeks, or even months—isn’t easy.

So today, I’m sharing with you some of the struggles I had with this and how I’m getting back on track.

Procrastination

Every time I’ve taken a break from exercising, my biggest struggle has always been procrastinating getting back into it.

Even when I know I’m ready, and I have the time, still I find myself saying “I’ll do it tomorrow”.

Then tomorrow becomes the next day. And the next. And before I know it, the break is way longer than I intended.

As I struggled with this vicious cycle recently, I realized something: the longer I avoided that first workout, the harder it felt.

I knew I had to do something to break the cycle.

So here’s how I overcame that initial resistance:

• I picked a day and time

• I made a super simple workout plan (20 minutes max)

• I made it non-negotiable. Whether or not I felt like doing it, I had to do it.

I told myself it didn’t have to be my best workout, and it wasn’t. But that wasn’t the goal.

The goal was to jump over that hurdle and give myself a win. Then once I did, it was easier to keep going.

So if you’ve been stuck in the “I’ll start tomorrow” cycle, here’s your nudge: Set up a plan, keep it simple, and just do it.

Lost Gains

Depending on how much time you’ve spent away from exercising, you’re going to lose some of the progress you had made.

Maybe you can’t lift as heavy.

Maybe you can’t run as fast.

Maybe even the habit of exercising consistently has faded.

And that’s okay.

Knowing to expect this saves you a lot of unnecessary frustration.

Instead of feeling discouraged, you’ll be mentally prepared—and more importantly, less likely to injure yourself trying to “make up” for lost time.

The golden rule of a comeback plan is to slowly ease back into it.

Don’t go in trying to pick up where you left off. That’s how you end up sore for a week or worse, injured.

Remember, you haven’t been exposing your body to that kind of exertion for a while. So the goal here is to safely and sustainably rebuild your strength and endurance back to what it used to be.

Here’s what easing in might look like:

• Starting with bodyweight exercises or using lighter weights

• Running 2.5 kilometers instead of 5 kilometers

• Having 30-minute instead of 45-minute sessions

• Cutting your sets from 3 to 2

• Exercising 2 times a week instead of 4 times

That’s exactly what I did.

For my first session back, I cut my weights and sets in half, and I told myself I only had to workout for 20 minutes.

So if you're tempted to beat yourself up about where you used to be, don’t.

Forget the numbers. Restart and rebuild. 

The gains will come back faster than you think.

Get moving

Falling off your exercise routine doesn’t mean that you’ve failed. What really matters is how you decide to get back on track.

And the good news is that your body remembers. And habits can be rebuilt.

So whether you’re stuck in procrastination mode, feeling discouraged by lost progress, or just struggling to find your rhythm again, stop overthinking it.

Just block out some time and get moving.

Your comeback starts with that simple step.

Thanks for reading! I hope you found something valuable :)

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