Haven’t exercised for a while? Personal trainer Sarah Campus reveals how to start moving again
Words: Sarah Campus | Images: Shutterstock
If your exercise routine has taken a back seat somewhere between summer and autumn, know that you are not alone. Family commitments, work schedules, late nights, weekends away, holidays, play dates and a more relaxed pace of life can all mean that routine and structured training can move down your priority list. Sometimes, it’s even achieving a big goal that can knock your exercise routine off course – once the challenge is complete, it can be surprisingly hard to find the motivation to keep going. While there’s nothing wrong with taking a step back, many women return to exercise feeling like they’ve somehow failed or must make up for lost time. However, they don’t need to.
As a personal trainer, women’s wellness expert, run coach, marathon runner and hybrid athlete, I see the same pattern year on year. Women try to get straight back into the workouts that they were doing months ago. They feel they need to train harder, sweat more and even punish themselves for the weeks they’ve missed. Yet within two weeks, they’re exhausted, sore, overwhelmed and often back where they started.
The truth is, getting back into exercise isn’t about proving how fit you used to be. It’s about meeting your body where it’s at and rebuilding momentum. Your goal isn’t to have the perfect first week, it’s to create a routine that you can maintain, be consistent with and one that you’ll still be following in a month’s time. For this to happen, it will require you to lower expectation, take the pressure off, focus on the small healthy habits that you can be consistent with (all before adding intensity) and remembering that every small step counts.
Don’t make up for lost time
One of the biggest mistakes women make after a break is believing they need to ‘earn back’ their fitness. They book six gym sessions, squeeze in extra runs, cut calories and throw themselves into intense workouts their body simply isn’t ready for. Your body doesn’t need punishment, it needs progression. Fitness isn’t something you lose overnight, and it certainly isn’t rebuilt overnight, either. Instead of trying to fast-forward the process, accept where you are today. Your current starting point isn’t a setback. It’s simply your new baseline. Meet yourself there. You will find you enjoy it more and see results quicker without the overwhelm, and without the injury.
Focus on showing up, not smashing it
When motivation is low, lowering the pressure often leads to better results. Instead of aiming for your best workout ever, aim to simply turn up, walk into the gym and complete 20 minutes or do one set if that’s all you have in you. Success isn’t measured by how hard your first session feels, it’s measured by whether you come back tomorrow. Showing up repeatedly builds confidence. Confidence builds motivation. Not the other way around. Think of progress over perfection. Something is better than nothing.
Build consistency before intensity
This is one of the biggest mindsets shifts I encourage every client to make. You don’t need to train harder. You need to train more consistently. For the first few weeks, forget about personal bests, heavy weights or complicated programmes. Instead, ask yourself: Can I exercise three times this week? Can I go for a walk every day? Can I finish each session feeling like I could have done a little more? Consistency creates fitness. Intensity simply builds on it. Trying to skip straight to maximum effort usually leads to burnout, soreness and missed sessions.
Celebrate the small wins
We’re often so focused on the end goal that we overlook the progress happening along the way. Finished your first workout? That’s a win. Went for a walk instead of sitting on the sofa? That’s also a win. Packed your gym bag the night before? Another win. These small actions reinforce your identity as someone who prioritises their health. Progress isn’t only measured by weight lifted or inches lost. It’s measured by the habits you repeat. Every positive choice strengthens those habits.
Make it easy to succeed
Motivation is unreliable. Systems are far more dependable. The easier you make exercise, the more likely you are to stick with it. This could look like: scheduling your workouts into your diary, laying out your gym clothes the night before, choosing a gym close to work or just do it from home, following shorter sessions instead of hour-long workouts (little and often is better than long and sporadic), exercising with a friend for accountability. Reduce as many barriers as possible. You shouldn’t have to rely on willpower every single day.
Choose an exercise you enjoy
If the thought of returning to your previous routine fills you with dread, ask yourself why. Sometimes we convince ourselves we should enjoy certain types of exercise because they burn the most calories or seem the most effective. However, the best workout is the one you’ll keep doing. It could be strength training, running, swimming, Pilates, hiking, cycling or dance classes. Enjoyment isn’t a luxury – it plays a huge role in long-term consistency. When movement becomes something you look forward to rather than something you endure, staying active becomes much easier.
Remember why you started
It’s easy to make exercise all about appearance. Lasting motivation usually comes from something much deeper. It could be that you want more energy, to feel stronger, to keep up with your children, to improve your mental health, to train for an event, to feel confident walking into a room, or just reconnect for your personal reason. On the days motivation fades, and it will, purpose is what keeps you moving. It’s discipline that drives you, not motivation. Write it down. Keep it somewhere visible. Let it guide your decisions.
Think beyond this month
There’s often pressure to have a fresh start after a break, but fitness isn’t about having one perfect month, it’s about building habits that carry you through every season of the year. The women who achieve lasting results aren’t the ones who have endless motivation. They are the ones who accept that life changes, routines evolve and motivation comes and goes, but they keep returning to the basics. They don’t quit after a missed week. They simply begin again and again. If you find that your routine has slipped, don’t waste energy feeling guilty. Use that energy to take one positive step today. Start now and go for a walk, book a class, lift some weights, stretch for 10 minutes, do something that reminds you you’re back. Forget trying to be the fittest version of yourself overnight. Focus on becoming the most consistent version instead. Even showing up stronger for yourself beats starting over every single time.
The small wins you collect today will become the strong, confident habits that carry you through the months ahead.
Sarah Campus is a highly qualified women’s PT and nutrition coach. She is a mum-of-three and founder of LDN MUMS FITNESS. Sarah regularly features on TV and in the media, offering tips and advice to keep the whole family healthy and active. Visit sarahcampus.com and instagram.com/sarahcampus, or listen to new podcast Showing Up Stronger (available to stream on Apple, YouTube and Spotify).
