During vacation we all like to kick back, relax, and take it all in. Most people don’t have a workout routine or schedule while on vacation. This is completely normal because vacation is meant to be time for you to relax from your regular routine. The problem is found when you never get back into working out once you get home. Now that you’ve come home working out might seem like a giant chore. Maybe you’re scared to get back in the gym because you feel like you’re gained a pound or two. Maybe you’re worried that you have lost all your progress because you didn’t workout for a week or two. I am here to explain how to get back into a healthy routine of working out after vacation.
Don’t Freak Out
When you get back home from a vacation things can be overwhelming. Getting back into a workout routine probably isn’t number one on your list. You might have a million things to unpack, do laundry for, and get put away. You might be behind on work and feel a ton of pressure to get it done quickly. You might have traveled with kids and their schedules are all thrown off. Whatever your reason is to feel overwhelmed it is valid. Don’t feel like your emotions are invalid because you just went on a wonderful vacation so there should be no reason to feel overwhelmed. There’s a reason people say “I need a vacation after that vacation”. Life is challenging and vacations are a lovely way to take a break, but that doesn’t mean the rest of the world will stop for you. Fully accept what you’re feeling and take a breath before moving into action. Make a list of all the things you need to get done then start ticking them off one by one. Don’t look at everything at once because that’s how you get overwhelmed. Take things one task at a time and eventually when you feel ready, working out will be somewhere on that list. It’s difficult to get back into exercising because you might feel like there’s a million things to get done. My tip is that when you feel overwhelmed, stop what you’re doing and do a quick workout. It sounds ludicrous because why would you have time for a workout if you feel like there’s barely time to breathe. I went on vacation last week and I felt so overwhelmed when I got home. I felt consumed by all the little things that I had to get done, so I stopped what I was doing and I went for a mile run. I received so much clarity and sanity after that quick run that I was able to do all my tasks with a much more clear mind. When you workout you create positive chemicals in your brain that can help you feel good and result in a positive, clear mindset. You don’t have to stop and run like I did but consider a quick walk around the block to get some fresh air or even just doing 50 jumping jacks. It sounds pointless and silly to do this, but it exercise gets your blood pumping and brain moving. Don’t freak out about every little thing. Take a step back, look at it with a clear mind, and then take action.
Make Working Out Part of Your Regular Routine
Vacation is all about sleeping in, trying new activities, relaxing, and enjoying a carefree schedule. When you get home from vacation it usually feel like you just hit a brick wall. You have to get back into your normal routine because you’re no longer on that carefree schedule. One of the hardest routines to get back into is a workout routine. When you get home from vacation, you’re kind of forced into going to work or taking care of the kids because that’s life. You have to do certain things to keep your world running. Working out isn’t necessarily vital so it can be hard to put back into your schedule. The best thing you can do for yourself is to physically put it into your schedule. Wherever you keep track of your schedule, write down when you’re going to workout that week. Don’t just say in your head that you will workout tomorrow. That doesn’t make the goal feel as tangible so you are more likely not to do it. Write down what time that workout will be and where it will be. It’s easy to claim that you don’t have time to workout, but when you sit down and look at your calendar I can promise that there’s time somewhere. It can be a 20 minute walk when you have time during lunch. It can be riding a bike with your kids. It can be doing squats while you wait for food to cook. Working out doesn’t have to be an hour long activity if you don’t have that much time to spare. Fitness is not one size fits all, it can be whatever fits your lifestyle. Find time in your schedule and make sure to workout when that time of day comes along. You’ll have no excuses not to workout if you have that specific time set aside in your day for exercise.
Be Consistent
After arriving home from vacation it’s really difficult to get back into consistent healthy habits. You might not have the motivation to workout. You might not want to eat healthy foods because you feel like it’s too much work. One of the biggest reasons people give up on anything is because they are not consistent. If you want to move up into the manager position at work you must be reaching, if not surpassing, certain expectations consistently. If you only get half your work done one week, then the next week surpass all goals that were set, it does not show consistency. That role might be passed along because you aren’t being consistent. Consistency can apply to any goal you are trying to reach. When it comes to fitness it must be approached the same way. Once you set your weekly workout schedule, you must consistently show up. Even when you feel unmotivated, tired, or lazy you must show up for yourself. If you truly want to have a workout routine that you stick to, then you must be consistent in your actions. The moment you decide to skip a scheduled workout is when you get lenient with yourself and it becomes much harder to keep up that workout routine. Suddenly you’re skipping two workouts a week, then you skip a whole week, then it’s been a year and you still have not consistently done the workout routine that you set for yourself. Even in those moments where you feel unmotivated to workout, just show up for yourself. If that means laying out your yoga mat at home or driving to the gym to workout for just 10 minutes, then that is ok. If that is all your body can do that day, then at least you showed up for yourself and you were consistent with your routine. Just give yourself 10 minutes and if you can’t do anymore then stop and try again tomorrow.
Working out is already hard enough, but it can get much tougher when you take a long break for vacation. Falling back into your regular routine after vacation can be really challenging. Give yourself some time to get back into the rhythm of things, but try to schedule in a workout at least once a week. When you feel ready you can raise it from once a week to multiple times a week. If you stay consistent then you will see results. Take a moment to appreciate all the wonderful memories you made on vacation and ease back into working out when you feel ready.
