If you are newly sober, you are more than likely making a lot of changes in your life to live healthier. After detoxing, you start feeling better and begin making choices that will help your body recover, faster. Good nutrition, enough sleep, and regular exercise are all very important not only for your body, but also for your mind and your recovery.
Moderation Helps You Achieve Your Goals
It is important to practice moderation; addicts and alcoholics aren’t known for moderating anything very well, so try to remember that ‘if a little is good, a lot is better’ isn’t always (or usually) true. Below are a few ways to help you ease back into the gym without getting discouraged:
- Think Lifestyle – Moving your body should be a lifelong thing, not just something you do to look good in your wedding pictures or some other event. If you look at exercise as something you want to do for yourself as part of self-care, it won’t seem like a chore.
- Schedule It – Put it in your calendar and make working out part of your routine. Your schedule should decide whether you’re going to the gym, and not your level of motivation.
- Start Easy – Don’t overdo it. If you overdo it, you might not make it back. After a long period of inactivity, your body needs to ease into exercise. If you go full bore, you risk injuring yourself, which also puts your recovery at risk. Go with volume before intensity for the first several weeks.
- Change It Up – Lift weights, jog, try classes such as spinning, yoga, kickboxing, and pilates. Your body will adapt quickly, so keep it guessing what’s next. Plus, if you always do the same thing, boredom will set in.
- Eat Well – Refuel your muscles with protein, complex carbs, and water. Supplements such as glutamine and cherry juice may help reduce soreness and inflammation.
- Journal – If you already journal, try tracking your fitness progress. For days when you are less than motivated to sweat, look back and see how far you’ve come. Remember to be gentle on yourself, you’ve come a long way from addiction.
If you are struggling with addiction, call The Lakehouse Recovery Center. This is your opportunity to get well, and to live a long, healthy life in recovery. You are not alone. Give us a call, we are available 24/7, toll-free at (877) 762-3707. We do recover. Call today.