10 Signs It's Time To Get Back In The Gym

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Did your rest day turn into a rest week or month?

Sometimes life happens and the plan that you had to hit the gym five days a week gets crushed. It happens to everyone. What matters is that you find your way back, even if it's been a while.

Here are 10 warning signs that you may have been away from the gym a little too long.

1. Your gym buddy wouldn't recognize you, but you're on a first name basis with the delivery guy​

If you're pals with the guy who delivers your takeout food, but the guy who you used to work out with is struggling to remember what you look like, then it’s time to ask yourself if your priorities are in check.

Many people quit going to the gym because they fail to establish a goal or their goal is too vague to obtain. When you don’t have a reason for going to the gym, it's easy to make excuses and skip. Re-establish what your reasons are for going to the gym and stay accountable to them.

If you never established a goal or your goal is too vague, take some time to create a measureable and attainable goal, write it down, and post it some place you will see every day.

2. You shake hands with the strength of a 12 year old​

They say that you can tell a lot about a person from the way they shake hands. Grip strength has a strong correlation to total upper body strength. If you were to shake the hand of a future in-law or future boss, what would their impression be of you? If the answer is anything other than strong and confident, you should consider getting back into the gym.



To build respectable levels of strength, you don’t have to turn the gym into a part-time job! Whenever you are looking to build a solid base of strength, stick to the exercises that will give you the biggest returns on your time investment. These are the compound lifts like deadlifting, squatting, pressing, and all versions of pulling.

3. The thought of taking the stairs instead of an escalator gives you anxiety​

Do you get winded from walking up a flight of stairs or does your heart break a little when you can’t find a parking spot close to the store? It’s a clear sign that you have been skipping the gym a little more than you should. When simple activities of daily living start to cause you to break a sweat, it’s time to increase your visits to the gym.

If you are breaking a sweat from going up a flight of stairs, then be sure that your training sessions have some kind of conditioning work factored in. You would be surprised at how big of an impact just 10 minutes of focused work on a treadmill can impact your ability to perform activities of daily living, as well as positively impact your heart-health.

4. You remember everything that has happened on Game of Thrones, but not your last workout​

It’s easy to fall into the habit of stringing together three hours of your favorite show thanks to all those nifty services like Netflix, Hulu, and every other source of uninterrupted TV. However, if drifting off into the world of Game of Thrones or House of Cards is getting in the way of gym time, it’s time to open up the blinds and let some sunlight in while you lace up your shoes before heading over to the gym.

Make some time for the gym! Starting out, opt for getting to the gym three times a week. Pick any three days during the week and set aside the time to train in advance. Just like you know that your favorite TV show is on Wednesday at 8pm, you know that your training sessions are taking place Monday, Wednesday, and Friday at 5:30 right after work. Once you see the results of your workouts, you will start to look forward to your training sessions as much as your favorite TV show.

5. The last time your butt was sore was because you sat on it too long​

If your butt hurts because you have been sitting too long, stand up!

Better still, walk to the closet, put on some athletic wear, and go to the gym! Your butt (and the rest of your body) will thank you. You can help prevent future back pain and host of other problems associated with spending too much time sitting down in as little as two hours of training a week! Focus on exercises that strengthen the hips and back to get the most benefits of training with the least amount of time in the gym.

6. You have "dad bod"...but you're not a dad​

Having children has a way of shifting your priorities around to where sometimes you aren’t able to make it to the gym like you used to. However, if you have a “Dad Bod” but are not a dad, that is called being lazy. Dads have children to take care of, what’s your reason for letting yourself go?

Not having enough time is the number one excuse that people make up to justify skipping the gym. There are plenty of fathers who still make it to the gym daily and haven’t become this image of the “Dad Bod.” It all comes down to your priorities and how you spend the time that you have.

There are 24 hours in a day. If you sleep 8 hours and work 8 hours, then you have 8 hours left during work days. This means that you have a total of 40 hours during the work week to find two to three hours a week (37 or 38 left) to workout. You have time to fend off the “Dad Bod,” especially if you are not a dad!

7. Moving your own bodyweight is a maximal effort task​

Can you perform 25 perfect, continuous push-ups? How about one full range of motion pull-up? How about hold a plank for over a minute? If you can accomplish these tasks that's great - you are ahead of half of the population!

How difficult were they? If any of these were all out, maximal effort tasks, then you know what you need to work on. If you can’t perform any of the tasks from above, then not being competent at moving your own bodyweight is a clear sign that it's time to start working out again.

The ability to move your own bodyweight efficiently should be a priority for any able bodied person. Be sure to include bodyweight movements in your training either as part of a program that combines weights and cardio or exclusively as a great workout that only requires a pull-up bar and some floor space.

8. The only squat that you have performed in a week is in the bathroom​

If it has been over a week since you have performed a full range of motion squat, which means the crease of your hip has gone below your knees, then you have been gone from the gym for too long.

If you have been to the gym in the last week and you still haven’t performed a squat… you need to re-examine your priorities. Your legs are going to carry you for the rest of your life. Neglecting to train them will only bring heartache for you later. If you don’t know how to squat, perform the wall squat a couple of times a week until you are comfortable squatting correctly. As long as you are squatting deep enough, it is almost impossible to perform a wall squat incorrectly.

9. Your lucky article of clothing isn't so lucky these days​

Are your clothes shrinking or are you expanding? If your lucky jersey that you wore last season while watching your favorite team play isn’t fitting anymore, you need to ask yourself why. Hopefully it’s because you have been dedicated to hitting the gym and your chest and arms have gained a couple of inches. If it isn’t and people are rubbing your belly for luck instead of your jersey, then it’s a sure sign that you need to get back into the gym.

Fat gain is a result of eating too much and moving too little. In order to get your clothes fitting again, you need to do the exact opposite: move more and eat fewer calories by changing your food choices, your portion sizes, or both. Hit the gym and reign in your nutrition to restore the luck in your lucky jersey.

10. You're a donor, not a member​

If the last time that you saw the name of your gym was on your credit card statement, then you have just become a donor to your gym, not a member. Most commercial gyms stay open because of “donors” or members who sign up to use the gym but never actually come to work out.

Don’t be a donor! Put that membership to good use and get your money’s worth!