3 Tips For Returning To Exercise After Time Off

By Zak Nothling; CrossFit East Tamaki & Renegade Performance Coach

At some stage or another, life (sickness, work, holidays) is going to get in the way and you won't be able to get to the gym or CrossFit; it's inevitable. For some of us this can be a very frustrating time, for we feel as though our progress is disappearing.

My (Zak) 2017 training year has been very stop-start. I got sick, then had a holiday and that was followed by a hectic period of work and before I knew it 5 weeks had passed and I could feel my progress slipping away and I had to start the scary task of returning to exercise.

I had all the excuses in the book, but knew the longer I waited to get back to the gym, the harder it would be to restart.

When it comes to your training journey, consistency will be the key to achieving your fitness goals. Here are my tips to help you return to exercise and make the experience as enjoyable as possible.

1. Don’t wait for “next” Monday

There will never be a perfect time to start training after time off, things are always going to pop up. I recommend noting your first few sessions back as “important meetings” in your schedule whilst you’re trying to get back into routine. Sometimes it's a good idea to make your first one or two sessions back a one on one session with your CrossFit coach. That financial commitment should be enough incentive not to cancel the session. The other pro of working one on one is that the session will be completely tailored to suit where you are currently at with your fitness.

2. Scale it back

After a break off the gym or CrossFit, you may surprise yourself with the weight you can still squat, or the amount of pull ups and wall balls you can still do (which is great). The problem is your body most likely is not conditioned to recover and that's when you will experience severe DOMS (Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness). A certain degree of muscle soreness can be satisfying for some, but it can also keep you out of the gym. If you can't sit on the toilet or lift your coffee cup to your mouth, the thought of returning to the gym will most likely be daunting.

The weight you lift and the movement you do are not the only ways in which you can scale a session. You can also reduce the amount of reps that you complete (volume).

Here is an example of how I scaled a session back:

I dropped the % of weight on the squats I was doing by 10% and reduced the amount of reps that I completed in the conditioning by 20%.

This meant that I was still able to workout for the goal time frame and achieve the adaptation that Callum was looking to gain when he programmed the workout. I did this for my first 2-3 sessions back and this gave my body time to adjust to returning to high intensity exercise.

     

I was still sore after this session, but not so sore that I couldn't train the next day. Mission accomplished.  

Prior to your session talk to your coach about how you can scale back the session to ensure you can get back into the routine of training.

3. Maximise Recovery

Recovery is always vital in order to get the most out of your training. But when we’re out of our training routine, we tend to forget about the vital things which help our performance. In order to combat this issue, I would recommend:

- You get lots of sleep (8hrs + if possible).

- Fuel your body with nutritious whole foods.

- Flush the legs out with a 15 min light bike ride or row.

- Hydrate adequately; drink plenty of water.

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Unfortunately there is no substitute for consistency. There is going to be a period (approx. 2 weeks), depending on how long you have had off, where your body will be re-adjusting. Half the battle is going to be in your mind, persevere and follow these tips to help make the transition back into training as smooth as possible.