FITNESS - Getting Back Into the Routine

I have been sick - the most sick I have been in at least ten years. It has been awful. A fever, sinus, coughing, absolutely miserable where I could barely get out of bed.
Well over two weeks went by where I did not work out at all. Now I am feeling better, and trying to get back into the routine. What a struggle I am facing.
I realize I need to work out, I am not one of those 'naturally skinny people'.  Which I am beginning to think they really don't exist, at least not their entire lives. Along with needing to, I want to work out, I love how I feel after a good workout. When I don't work out, I can feel it. I ache more quickly, my muscles stiffen up more and I begin to feel blah.
Getting back into the routine started off strong on Friday. Then I got the news my friend was canceling and backing out on our dinner plans. Big bummer for me. The next day I had dinner plans with a different friend, and then she canceled. Even bigger bummer for me which left me sad and depressed. Good-bye new workout plans.
Come Monday I am feeling better, and going to the gym, 25 minutes on the treadmill use to be easy for me. My squats felt like it was taking forever just to get to 50 and I had to stop to rest to reach one minute on my planks.
What does a person do? Well, I have come to realize we need to be kinder to ourselves. I have not been pushing as hard as I want to for the past several months. Then I get sick and don't work out at all for over two weeks. Getting back into the routine is hard, and beating myself up over it wont' help at all. I believe this is something a lot of us face. We get off track and then struggle to get back on board. A lady at the front desk at the gym this morning told me she has not worked out for a month and she feels awful, her bones hurt, her muscles are stiff. She knows she needs to get back into it, and yet hesitates. Why?
Because getting back into what was part of our routine is not always easy. When we get started we are not where we were when we left off, so the self defeating thoughts come back and begin to attack us. This is where we need to rise up and be gentle, on us. I am only at 25 minutes on the treadmill, I was once at 45 minutes. I have moved up from 20 minutes from last week to 25 minutes this week. It is a slow start, yes, but it is a start to returning to my good healthy fitness habit. Maybe I am struggling to get to 60 seconds on my plank, but anytime I stop, I force myself to add on five more seconds. For instance, today at 42 seconds I couldn't hold it anymore. I dropped and hit pause on the timer. After a few seconds I popped back up and pushed myself to one minute and five seconds. Is it easy? Not at all, will it be worth it when I get back to where I was before, absolutely!
Just because we get off track, does not mean we have to remain off track. Start slowly, be forgiving, don't push hard, but ease into the fitness routine.
For my routine today - I did 25 minutes on the treadmill, almost half my weight routine, 65 squats, a minute and five second plank and those lift thingies on the funky contraption that helps with your abs (can you tell I do not know what this stationary machine is called?)  :-)
It is a far cry from where I was, however, at least I was at the gym and I did what I could today.