What to Do When Returning to the Gym After a Long Break
If you haven’t done an exercise in a while and want to get back in shape, you may be tempted to pick up where you left off. But you can end up injuring yourself or getting so sick that you vow to never go to the gym again. Here’s how to be smart about your triumphant return.
We’ve already written about how a planned break from the gym can really help your progress, but the sudden onset of motivational depression , trauma, or just life in general is a different matter entirely. Any of these things can distract you for weeks (or maybe even months), but when you finally get back to your daily workout, you may be unsure of your starting point (restart?) Or maybe even a little nervous.
Hey, this is completely normal and it will take a while for things to get better again. You will have to lower your expectations because there will undoubtedly be a little “rust”. If you don’t have such high demands on yourself, you may be less inclined to get frustrated and just give up. So get ready to be patient!
In the first few weeks thereafter, Lyle MacDonald of BodyRecomposition suggests:
… it never hurts to start slower and build momentum gradually, unless you’re under a weird time pressure to get back into shape quickly.
This gives the body time to re-adapt to exercise; connective tissues must be restored, working capacity [ability to do work] must be restored, etc.
In addition, he offers some wise tips for coming back after a “break” in your workout (whether your break is due to injury or non-traumatic reasons):
- Train like a beginner, but rest assured that your progress will be much faster.
- Keep the intensity low (e.g. 50-60% of your estimated capacity). You can gradually move upward until you feel severe pain. Don’t sit down so quickly.
- Don’t do too much, especially in the first week. Choose multiple exercises (ideally complex movements such as squats, deadlifts, bench presses) and do one set of each exercise in your first workout.
- When returning from an injury, Lyle recommends doing only one set of one exercise that (painlessly) engages the repair muscle. For example, if your shoulder hurts, you, for example, only perform one set of the bench press. Next time, try a single set shoulder press and see how you feel. This way, you will learn which exercise (and how much) may or may not aggravate the injury.
Skip to Lyle’s post below for more details on his recommendations, and remember: even getting fit is a marathon, not a sprint!