Reading about exercise when you dont do it is like looking up at a speeding train on an overpass.
You know how to run, but your old easy run pace now feels like a sprint.
Getting back into thingsrequires an attitude shift.
Be nice to yourself, and be honest about where you are now.
Youll have to go a slower pace or use lighter weights than you used to.
Stay in the moment, and just focus onbeing a little better todaythan you were yesterday.
If youre brand new to exercise
Its never too late to start.
Youll have things to learn,habits to buildand skills to develop.
Accept that youre on a journey, and things wont be easy right at first.
You also wont see results instantly.
Take the best advice you’re free to find, but dont be terrified of making a mistake.
Nobody is perfect at the start.
you’ve got the option to outlast whatever problems you encounter.
Pick one thing, just one.An easy one.
When this happens, it means the workout is just not the right one for your level.
I like to think about progress in two-week blocks.
Pick something small that you’re free to add to your life for two weeks.
After the two weeks are up, you’re free to add something else.
Or maybe youll make a change to your diet.
Or maybe youll swap out the workout youve been doing for a more difficult one.
Whatever you choose, makeonesmall change and give it another two weeks.
Find a guide
Theres a reasonCouch to 5Kis so popular: because it gives you a wholeplan.
The two-week structure I suggest above is a planof sorts.
You get to decide what youre doing at each stage.
If you like the sound of that, great!
But if you have particular goals, youll want to find a plan that meets them.
Explore
You may not find an exercise routine you trulyloveright away.
There are two ways to approach this.
One is to see exercise as something thats worthwhile even if its boring.
Some people can really get into the zen of doing the same thing every day.
It doesnt excite them, but it grounds them.
The opposite approach is to keep trying different things until you find something that captures your heart.
Try couch to 5k and see if you love running.
Maybe its time to dust off your old bike and see if cycling is for you.
Grab a pair of dumbbells and try lifting.
You get the idea.
Its normal to get sore.
Cut yourself some slack.)
Lets talk aboutsoreness, though.
If you constantly switch up your routine, you may get sore with each change.
But the truth is that soreness just happens, and it will happen less as you get stronger.
My best advice is simply to accept that soreness happens sometimes, and that it will pass.
Sometimes beginners will ask me, an avid exerciser,are you justsoreall the time?
And the answer is: I dont know?
I often feel a tiny bit of soreness here or there, but its not painful.
With rare exceptionslike right after a competition or a particularly rough week in the gymI barely notice it.
And once youre used to your new workout routine, you wont either.
