So, you have decided to return to training after a long break. Now, in order not to break down and quit this idea, you need a plan that will help you adapt physically and psychologically!
Walter Thompson, an exercise physiologist at the University of Georgia, studied what happens to the body during a break and what to expect when you decide to start exercising again. The good news is that you can get back to your previous level anyway and become stronger, faster and more resilient. The main thing is to do it correctly to avoid injury.
Stopping training or using loads that are not capable of maintaining the achieved level leads to deadaptation - a process inverse to adaptation.
Deadaptation is the body’s remarkable ability to use released resources in other body systems. That is, resources are taken from where they are no longer used, to where the building material is most needed.
Do I need to take breaks between classes?
Is it necessary and possible to take a break from training in the gym or is it better to exercise constantly? First, let's look at what happens to your body without the usual physical activity (except for the fact that it strives to acquire a cozy belly).
It is absolutely logical that after you stop training, your body will not fall apart before your eyes, and you will not turn into Jabba the Hutt. In fact, a break is even needed! A person gets tired of any activity, especially mentally. At a minimum, it becomes uninteresting to train, apathy and a persistent reluctance to go to the gym sets in.
In addition, training in the gym is a load not only on the muscles, but also on the joints and tendons - they take longer to recover than muscles. Therefore, injuries and “fatigue” of the musculoskeletal system are steadily increasing from month to month, from year to year.
You can, of course, take chondroprotectors, but as you and I already know, this will not bring much effect .
Understand one thing: everyone takes a break, even professional athletes. This is absolutely normal and there is nothing shameful about it!
- In the first two weeks without exercise, strength and muscle mass do not change . Depending on the degree of training, endurance may decrease by 4–25%, but when training is resumed, the lost performance is quickly restored.
- With a break of several weeks , the respiratory and cardiovascular systems will lose several points, but the strength will remain the same.
- If the break is a year , but before that you were in decent physical shape, cardio will be 15% more difficult, and strength characteristics will drop by at least 50%.
- If the break is more than a year, you will have to start from scratch. But you will make progress faster than people who did not exercise at all.
Which ones should they be?
What breaks should there be between workouts in the gym? Especially in the security forces? What is the best interval between classes?
- In the context of a week : 1-2 days (maximum between classes without loss of progress 3 days).
- In the context of the year: for 1-2 weeks of relaxation and doing nothing.
In general, a short break can be beneficial, since after two weeks the concentration of growth hormone and testosterone in the body increases. And if you worked out efficiently and conscientiously, without skipping work all year, then it will take you a lot of time for your strength and endurance to decrease.
And your body won’t really notice a week-long stop in sports; the worries will begin more likely from a psychological point of view. Therefore, it is very important to understand that you are not slacking or being lazy - you are taking care of your health!
Of course, after a month or more of rest, the results may drop significantly: it all depends on your lifestyle. It’s one thing if you’ve been frantically overeating, drinking, and leading a “vegetable” lifestyle for a month, and it’s completely different if you’ve been walking a lot, eating healthy, high-quality food, or going on a hike.
However, this does not mean that all is completely lost! Look at it more simply, since you were able to do it once, you will definitely succeed the second time.
How many breaks to take between sports: we recommend taking a break for 1-2 weeks every six months.
Recovery speed
If your break was only a few weeks (holidays or vacation), just a couple of light workouts will be enough to recover and you will be back in shape.
But what if you haven’t worked out for a year or more? If you've been going to the gym, Thompson recommends starting with half or a third of the weight you were lifting a year ago, and after a few weeks, try your standard pounds. Recovery usually takes 1–2 months.
As for sports that require endurance (running, cycling, triathlon, etc.), the intensity will also have to be reduced. In this case, Thompson advises starting with long walks, then moving on to interval running with walking breaks or jogging at a very low pace. The distance in this case does not matter.
If after two months you have not returned to your previous shape, then you need to reconsider your training program, or even better, find a good trainer who will draw it up for you, based on your physical condition and capabilities.
How to start playing sports after?
A ready-made program for recovery in the gym after a long rest
This program is suitable for both girls and men.
Where to start after a long break:
- Starting after a long rest is a difficult thing. It seems to you that you are full of energy, but you should not immediately expose yourself to heavy loads. We need to approach this gradually, week after week, so that the restoration of physical performance is successful.
If it’s very difficult for you, then start training with absurdly small volumes - those that you can’t justify skipping at all (running 500 meters, doing exercises every morning, or walking 15 minutes before work).
Every day or every two days, add, but very little by little - 1 exercise or 200 meters of running, for example. If on some day you want more, do it, but after that, still return to the original plan, and do not start from such a successful day.
- And so you finally made it to the hall. How much should the load be reduced? It all depends on the duration of the break. A break of 1 week is 60% of the maximum, a break of 2 weeks is 50% of the maximum, more than 2 weeks is 30 of the maximum. If the break is more than 2 months, then roughly speaking, we start all over again - we take the minimum weights.
- In the first weeks of training, you should build your training program so that it is more similar to a beginner's program (see article “First time in the gym: how to start training?”, where there is a written first training program in the gym).
The motto is: perform a sufficient number of exercises according to the fullbadi for at least the first 2 weeks. The number of approaches is 3, and the most optimal number of repetitions per approach is 6-12.
No crazy high reps or max weights! We work calmly, and not like a steam engine that is about to explode.
- two workouts will be enough for you , especially the first 2 weeks.
- Learn to restrain yourself! Don't chase weights/number of exercises, etc. Of course, after a break you simply won’t be able to carry out your previous training plan, and you don’t need to!
Just increase the load by 10-20% every month . If after training you feel excessively tired, slow down the pace and intensity of your training. You must understand for yourself that there is no need to rush after a break, it will give absolutely nothing.
Pay close attention to how you feel during training and at home. For some, the recovery process can be a breeze, but for others it can be a lot of stress in the bad sense of the word.
To know exactly how to recover, read the article .
We all have bad days when we get off on the wrong foot, the weather is bad outside, our mood is lousy and the whole workout goes “wrong”! And guess what? And to hell with her! It doesn’t matter, rest an extra day, sleep normally, or do an easy, most comfortable workout for you. Don't force yourself !
- Choose your exercises carefully . After a break of 3 months, there is no need to immediately rush to squat or pull. Start with easier exercises.
- After the first 2-3 weeks of fullbadi (circular) training, you can return to split training , following all the same rules as described above.
So, let’s summarize - a training program for recovery after a break :
- 2-3 weeks of full body training, light weights, 3 sets, 6-12 reps =>
- switch to split training, add basic exercises with minimal weights =>
- by 4-6 weeks after the break we return to the old training program or create a new one ) =>
- rejoice and live happily
