Restarting after months (or years) away — how did you ease back into exercise?

I came back after a long break and found doing tiny, frequent sessions way more sustainable than fewer long ones. What worked for me: - Weeks 1–2: daily 10–15 minutes — 5–7 minutes of easy mobility/walking and 5–8 minutes of basic strength (bodyweight squats, inclined/bench push-ups, 20–30s plank). No pressure on reps; goal was just to move. I also did two 20–30 minute walks during the week. - Weeks 3–4: shifted to 3 slightly longer strength sessions (15–20 min) + 2 short active days (walk or mobility). Added one extra set or a few reps each session if it felt easy. - Weeks 5–8: two 30–40 minute sessions (one strength, one mixed cardio/conditioning) and 2–3 maintenance days of 10–15 minutes. Trade-offs I made: used lunch for walks instead of late-night screen time, swapped one weekly social evening for an early short session, and accepted weekends off if I had plans. What kept me consistent: laying workout clothes out, a tiny "if you only have 10 minutes, do that" rule, and a friend who checked in. What failed: trying to jump back to 5x/week full workouts — that killed motivation. Curious — do you prefer mornings or evenings? That changed everything for how I scheduled the tiny/

I treated the first two weeks as 'minimum viable strength': 20–25 minutes, 3x/week of bodyweight moves plus one light kettlebell exercise, RPE about 5–6, and 10–15 minutes of daily yoga to keep mobility. Weeks 3–4 I added a set or +2 reps per exercise and one extra movement so sessions moved to 30–35 minutes; weeks 5–8 became 3–4 sessions with one longer 40–45 minute session once a week and small load increases. Trade-offs I made: I gave up one evening of scrolling/socializing and shifted sessions to early morning or the gap between work and dinner, and during festivals I dropped to a 10-minute “maintenance” routine instead of skipping. What failed for me was trying to jump back to my old 5x/week volume (it just led to soreness and quitting); what kept me consistent was calendar-blocking sessions as non-negotiable and always having a tiny fallback workout so momentum stayed intact.