Seven tips for your fitness routine from a Cuckfield fitness trainer

Restarting your fitness routine may be a little challenging, but, if you are consistent, sensible, and patient, you will be back to those PBs and beyond in no time. 1. Great Expectations Unless you are Wonder Woman or Superman, you may not be able to perform some exercises as well as you did previously. Don’t put too much pressure on yourself when first starting back, everyone is in the same boat, just enjoy being back! 2. Warm Up First It may be tempting to go straight into it, but make sure you spend around ten minutes warming up before a workout. Include some light cardio, dynamic stretching, and warm up sets before you hit the main body of your workout. Perform a cool-down afterwards. 3. Start Slowly You will need to take your time to build your strength back up gradually, as your body gets used to being back in training. Start at 50 per cent of what you could lift previously, for the first week or two. Increase this to 75 per cent in weeks 2-3, then, when your body is ready, push back to where you were before, after at least a month back in training. Did you know, resistance training increases the number of nuclei in muscle cells. Even if you have stopped exercising for a long time the nuclei cells remain, making it easier for you to rebuild the muscle you’ve lost! 4. Good Times Going back to fitness should be fun and exciting for you. Why not start with the exercises you have missed most? That way you will have something to really look forward to when you hit the floor. You can also use your workout time to properly listen to your favourite new album or podcast. What matters most is how good your workouts make you feel. 5. Reframe Your Goals Starting anew is also a great opportunity to reassess your fitness goals. Lost strength on your squats? Set a goal of reaching X weight by Y time. Make sure this is an achievable goal, that gives you a nice time frame to build towards. 6. Food Glorious Food Be sure to think about your nutrition before, and after your workouts. It is essential to fuel your body with the right food, to aid performance, recovery, and to help minimise soreness. Be sure you are also drinking enough water! Stay hydrated. 7. Stay Safe Respect social distancing if working out outside.