The opportunity to return to the gym has a lot of people excited. Getting back to our workout classes and seeing familiar faces feels good after these past months of lockdowns.
However, returning to working out after a long break needs to be done carefully and cautiously to avoid overdoing it and possibly ending up with an injury. We all know what it feels like to start a new exercise program a bit too enthusiastically and then end up sore and stiff in the following days.
When returning to your programs or trying something new, first make sure you are using the equipment properly. This may take a bit of coaching with the trainers at your gym. Good technique is key to both getting the results you want and keeping your body injury free. Make sure you know how to set up the equipment and can safely perform the exercises.
Starting too quickly by using too much weight, going too fast and pushing too hard are common ways to overdo it in the beginning. If you are restarting a weightlifting class or program and have not been lifting over the past months then take you weight selection down to about 1/3 of what you were doing prior to the lockdown. This may feel ridiculously easy, but what you are doing is getting your muscles used to the movements again. The first part of any strength gain is from the brain getting more efficient at doing the exercise. Those motor programs that tell you muscles what to do are going to be a bit slower and “rusty” from disuse.
Once you have the movement patterns down then slowly start to add more weight. In general, do at least 3-4 sessions of light weights before adding more weight. From there, give your muscles at least 2 weeks to catch up before progressing.
Cardio training also needs to start slowly. Try mixing periods of easier effort with more intensity to build up your endurance gradually. Use you target heart rate zones to make sure you are not over doing it. Depending on how active you’ve been, starting with as little as 15 minutes of training will still give you results. Aim to work up to at least 30 minutes of training in 3-4 times a week.
Don’t forget stretching. This is best done after your workout when your muscles are warm and will help you to maintain the normal range of motion and flexibility in your joints and muscles.
If you need any further advice or help, please let me know and we can set up a time to go over your program.
