How to Avoid Overdoing It When Restarting Your Fitness Routine

COVID-19 brought many changes to people’s routines, especially those having to do with fitness. With gyms closed and people from home, there has been doing a lot less moving and a lot more sitting. Now that we are entering stage 3, many of you may be itching to get back to the gym and exercising regularly. After this prolonged break, it is important to ease yourself back into a workout routine rather than jump right back in where you left off.

To avoid injury, take the following into consideration:

Increase gradually

Did you used to work out 5 days/week? Start with 2 days/week and each week add an extra day. This is especially relevant with weight lifting, assuming most people have been doing body weight or banded workouts from home. Lift less weight than you are used to and slowly ramp things back up.

Include a warm up and a cool down

A good warm up prepares your body for activity and helps loosen up your muscles. A cool down including deep stretching is also very necessary. Don’t skip these!

Listen to your body

Recognize the difference between being sore and being in pain. Adjust your intensity accordingly. Also ,don’t be too hard on yourself if you aren’t training at the level you were pre-quarantine. This can lead to a loss in motivation and feeling discouraged.

Remember to rest

Resting between workouts is imperative for recovery! It is also the least scheduled and under-utilized way to enhance performance. Down time allows the muscles to repair, rebuild and strengthen, as well as adapt to your new routine. Sleep, hydration, nutrition, stretching, foam rolling, ice, etc. are all important aspects of recovery.


If you're not feeling ready to head back to the gym just yet, sign up for our virtual training and stay in the comfort of your own home.

Why Sleep is Important For Our Extended Stay at Home

There is a high chance, that during this quarantine, you’re spending more time in your bed than usual. Maybe sleeping in, answering e-mails, watching Netflix in bed with snacks, or video chatting with your friends. Chances are that you’re in bed reading this right now. Did you know that all this extra time horizontal could be hindering your sleep for when it’s actually time to go to bed? Here’s why.

1.     Exposing yourself to morning sunlight resets your circadian rhythm (your body’s internal clock) which is critical for healthy sleep patterns. When you stay in bed all morning, cortisol stays low. With the emphasis on staying home, we are stepping outside less and lacking sunlight. Time to open the blinds or even go for that morning walk to increase your cortisol!

2.     Your bed should be for sleeping only. When you bring work or food into bed, it is harder for your body to associate the bed with a place of rest.

3.     The blue light emitting from your screen during your late night Netflix binge or Instagram scrolling delays the release of sleep inducing melatonin and increases alertness. Blue light blocking glasses or apps that turn your screen to warm colours are options if you just can’t go the night without a screen.

Too many nights of compromised sleep results in low energy, mood instability, lowered immunity and cravings (which I think we are already dealing with enough during this time). In addition to the tips above, here a few extra things you can do to improve your sleep hygiene:

-       Avoid stimulants (caffeine, nicotine, wine) close to bedtime.

-       Sleep in a dark room (that sleep mask is not just for traveling!).

-       Lower the temperature in the room.

-       Put your devices on airplane mode.

-       Get exercise during the day.

-       Diffuse lavender essential oil.

-       Try a magnesium supplement.

Time to catch some ZZZs