Help me, Nerd Fitness, you're my only hope...

[CuriousCat]

G'day. I'm Cat, longtime lurker, back from an unfortunate hiatus. This time I'd like to get over the awkwardness and get to know the community - I think I need the support.

Last year I was in a good place. I was seeing progress in my strength goals, and for the first time in my life, I was happy with my shape and size. All of that kept me on track with eating clean and working out regularly.

Since then my heart started playing silly buggers and everything has gone to shit. 4 months since I've been allowed to workout, and wow, what a lot of damage 4 months can do. Only a few kilos, but all muscle, all tone, fitness, gone - and running for the train leaves me gasping. All my healthy habits out the window - even my dog's gotten fat.

On Thursday the doctors are going to burn off the extra connection in my heart that's caused all this, and hopefully next week I'll get the okay to start exercising again. But the thought of starting again... I'm frustrated and uninspired.

So tell me, fellow nerds, when you've had to respawn after a fitness hiatus for whatever reason, how did you get yourself back on track? Is it easier the second time? Does progress happen any faster?

[Evicious]

Hello, Cat! We're glad to see you back and ready to get back to it [fitness]. Myself, I'm recovering from a recent spate of injuries that left me hobbled in one way or another for the past 3+ months. It really can be difficult to begin again when it feels like you're starting back at Level 0. I continue to struggle with the thought and ask myself daily, "What's the point?" Well, the point is: 

1. It's in my best interest to be as healthy as I can.

2. It's only going to be more difficult to make that transition back the longer I wait.

3. Doing what I can now is more beneficial and productive than waiting to do "what I used to be able to do".

 

So I've invested in myself in some new ways (bought a Fitbit that I've been wanting for a while now), and re-invested in all my old ways that I can (logging workouts on Fitocracy, using MyFitnessPal to track my daily calories, and rewarding myself when I reach even the smallest of goals).

 

I don't have any specific advise for you, but the community is always here to encourage and offer up ideas. So long story short: Welcome Home, Cat!

[lancerdancer01]

I definitely experienced this myself a few years back. I was in a bad relationship and just stopped working out all together. Once I got out of that toxic environment I went back to the gym and kind of started from the beginning. I would alter my workout depending on how I was feeling (increasing intensity, weights, etc). Since you are not able to work out currently this would be a perfect time to get your nutrition on point so once you get back to the gym you will be fueling your body with the right stuff and that will help you get through your workouts better. 

 

Just think of this as that part of the movie where the hero gets knocked down, now you just got to pick yourself back up and go kick some ass!

[thunderseed]

Awe, don't be uninspired, remember your body has just gone through the wringer, be easy on yourself and give yourself some more credit. You may have had to take time off, but it was for a really important reason. You aren't lazy. I'm not sure what's wrong with your heart exactly but it's definitely not something most people go through, so at least you can call yourself a survivor. 

 

I rather enjoy losing my fitness levels purposefully, because I enjoy training to gain results, do you know why? Because the only point to being fit is getting there. Once you are fit and no longer have anything to work towards, it's boring. 

The fun is getting there, not actually being there.

 

It's always funner when you are a bit out of shape, because you feel the burn, you feel your body working hard, and at least to me that is what makes me feel good during a workout. I love the adrenaline rush, I love when my lungs feel like they are about to burst, I love pushing my body to the limit and I love constantly mastering new things because THAT is what is fun about being fit! The end goal might seem all glittery and all, but it's boring. 

 

When I am as fit as can be, there is no more limit. Once my body has mastered endurance and body weight training it literally can go on and on and I will never notice any new progress, because I've hit what we used to call in muay thai, a fitness plateau. 

 

This is why I regularily stopped going to Muay Thai for a few months just to lose my fitness levels, and then I would start all over again, because it was fun. I love the training period, that's the whole reason I train. 

 

That's also why I regularily switch things up. I love starting new things, because to me, it's fun to make accomplishments, not just get to the end destination. After awhile of being strictly an endurance althete, I decided to take up heavy weight lifting and gain a lot of muscle mass instead. For about 2 years heavy weight lifting has been enough to keep me satisfied, because I can always add on more weights to get more results, but now I'm changing my direction once again, because like usual, I get bored once I master something.

 

Besides muscle memory is amazing, if you've worked out before, your body is going to pick it up super fast. You'll be fit again before you know it.