I haven’t been into the gym in almost two months. I seem to have an irrational fear of going back. I have gained back a little weight since i was going regularly and I keep thinking about how I was once a regular and how everyone who knew me (from my frequency) would only notice my lack of attendance and my weight gain and it’s kind of scary, yet I know it shouldn’t matter at all! Any tips on overcoming stupid psychological blocks? Have you ever had any problems with consistency yourself?
First of all, thank you for stopping by and dropping a great question on me.
You’re certainly right when you say that it shouldn’t matter at all! The first thing that you should do is stop being so down on yourself and simply ease your way back into a regular training routine. For whatever reason, life gets in the way and we find ourselves drawn away from the gym for more time than we’d like it. When I first started lifting, I had a big problem with consistency. I’d train for like a week and think I was the baddest man on the planet and take 3 weeks off and achieve absolutely nothing. Once it clicked in my big head that consistency was the key to my results, that problem took care of itself. It happens to the best of us, so don’t dwell on it and get back in there with a vengeance!
The second thing that will help you get back into the swing of things is simply changing your mindset. I’m not sure where I heard this quote at, but it definitely rings true in all cases – when you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change as well. Instead of feeling and worse and worse the more time you spend away from the gym, try and put a positive spin on it to get your mind right. You’ve been out for 2 months? Well then, you’re raring and ready to go, so there is absolutely no reason why you shouldn’t go in there and tear sh*t up! Of course after being gone so long you shouldn’t try and pick up where you left off as that may increase the likelihood of injury, but mentally and physically you are rested and are capable of great gains, so take advantage of them.
The easiest way to solve your problem is to stop thinking about getting in the gym and just get back in there, even if it’s just to do some cardio at first. By just being in that atmosphere again, it will remind you of your past success and will motivate you to get back on the horse and ride into the sunset of awesomeness. I remember when I took an extended break from the gym, to the tune of about a month, and upon my return I most definitely caught some lip from the regular crew, but I just laughed it off and got back to the business at hand. Some flak is expected, so just take it in stride and if anything use it to light the fire under your butt cheeks and light some heavy weight!
The time you lost is already gone, so to continuing to reflect on it and using it as an excuse to extend your gym break helps the situation 0.0%. Think 2 months into the future – the time will pass regardless of what you do with it, so wouldn’t you rather get back into the gym now and cut your losses instead of racking up 4 total months of inactivity?
Hope that helped!
– Rog
Leave a Reply