Blog Post #8: 4 Considerations When Returning to Your Training
As I write this blog post, gyms have been closed for about two months, and when they re-open, many of us are going to be eager to get back to our training. Once we get back into the gym, the temptation will be to try to make up for lost time. Some of us may try to use the same program we left off with and perhaps even try to utilize the same weight. While that approach is tempting and understandable, human anatomy will require all of us to use an approach that is smarter than that.
As you prepare to restart your training, I encourage you to keep these four things at the forefront of your mind:
1. Respect the weight you use.
As I mentioned earlier, a lot of people will try to pick up where they left off by using the same weight. There are a couple of reasons why people might want to do this: perhaps to not lose progress or to see how far back they need to start. However, I would implore you to think “build from the bottom up, rather than the top down.”
Start with a deload. Accumulate some prep sets and really gauge what an appropriate weight is for where you are right now.
Though well intentioned, going heavy right out of the gate will increase your risk of injury or at the very least detract from the total quality sets you will be able to accomplish. Two months off means that your starting place may be significantly less than where you left off if you haven’t been keeping up with your training, and that’s okay, for now.
2. Respect the tempo you use.
As we have spoken about in earlier blogs, tempo is the rate at which one performs an exercise. It is also one of the quickest ways to improve strength, if used appropriately. Some exercises, like plyometrics, Olympic lifts, and jumps, need to be done explosively. But major compound lifts, like bench press, squats, and deadlifts, allow you to vary the tempo depending on what your goal is.
If you deload (as we recommend when restarting any program) and use a very slow eccentric tempo, these lifts should still prove a significant challenge.
For example, try squats or deadlifts with a three second eccentric count or chin ups with a five second eccentric count. More time spent stretching the muscle results in more tissue breakdown, which results in more tissue synthesis, which, in turn, means that you achieve your goal of getting stronger while using safer weights.
3. Have your regressions ready and on hand.
No one is saying that you need a whole new program when coming back from quarantine. I would recommend it, but that isn’t to say you have to. However, I would encourage you to think about utilizing some regressions (meaning simpler/easier exercises) depending on how active you were during these gym closures.
Remember: Simple exercises done extremely well are extremely effective.
Instead of running back to perform bench presses, try push ups. Instead of barbell backsquats, consider goblet squats. Revisit simple exercises like Kettlebell deadlifts, single leg deadlifts, or split squats.
4. Be patient.
The reality is that a lot of us lost two months of training, if not more, and that puts us in a different starting place than where we left off. It is more important to get back to training, stay consistent, and focus on executing at a high level than it is to pick up where we left off and sprint out of the gates when we get back.
Remember: Training is a long-term process with constant revision and progression.
Be patient, and with consistency, you’ll not just be back, but you’ll be even stronger and better than you were before this quarantine.
As always, stay safe, and …
Best wishes from the team at Franz Fitness