Sometimes the feeling of being busy and tired, or maybe a simple lack of time, makes us give up training.
Then the question arises: “But how to return to sports and training, to join the usual rhythm of life, how to start after a long break?”. It's no secret that people often give up on sports and diet: there is nothing wrong with that, we are all human and want to relax. Moreover, it can be useful and gives us time to relax both morally and physically from the routine and everyday worries.
However, the mirror insistently suggests that it’s time to know the honor, but the legs don’t go into the hall ... Well, the Wide Bone will not leave you in trouble and will help you return to the “true path”!
We will tell you when and if you need to pause in training, how long you can do it and how to return to duty after a long rest!
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 do it all the time? To begin with, let's look at what still happens to your body without the usual physical activity (except that it seeks to acquire a cozy belly).
It is absolutely logical that after stopping training, your body will not fall apart in front of 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 morally. At least it becomes uninteresting to train, apathy and stubborn unwillingness to go to the gym attacks.
In addition, training in the gym is a load not only on the muscles, but also on the joints and tendons - they recover longer than the muscles. Therefore, injuries and "fatigue" of the musculoskeletal system are steadily increasing from month to month, year to year.
You can, of course, drink chondroprotectors, but as we already know,.
Understand one thing: everyone takes a break, even professional athletes. This is absolutely normal and there is nothing to be ashamed of!
In the first two weeks without exercise, strength and muscle mass do not change.. Depending on the degree of training, endurance can decrease by 4–25%, but when training is resumed, lost performance is quickly restored.
After a break of a few weeks, the respiratory and cardiovascular systems will lose a few points, but the strength will remain the same.
If the break is one year, but before that you were in decent physical shape, cardio will be given 15% harder, 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 play sports at all.
What should be?
What breaks should be between workouts in the gym? Especially in strength? What is the best interval to do between classes:
- In the context of the week: 1-2 days (maximum between sessions 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, because after two weeks, the concentration of growth hormone and testosterone in the body increases. And if you were engaged in high quality and conscientiously, without skipping the whole year, then you will need a lot of time for strength and endurance to decrease.
And your body will not notice a weekly stop in sports, the experiences will begin sooner from a psychological point of view. Therefore, it is very important to understand that you are not shirking or being lazy - you are taking care of your health!
Of course, after a month or more of rest, the results can drop significantly: it all depends on your lifestyle. It is one thing if you have been frantically overeating, drinking, and at the same time leading a “vegetable” lifestyle for a month, and quite another if you walked a lot, ate healthy, high-quality food, or went hiking.
However, this does not mean that all is completely lost! Look at it easier, since you succeeded once, then the second time you will definitely succeed.
How many breaks to take between sports: We recommend that you have a rest for 1-2 weeks once every half a year.
How to start exercising after?
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. You need to approach this, week by week, so that the restoration of physical performance is successful.
If it’s really hard for you, then start classes with absurdly small volumes - ones that you can’t justify skipping at all (running 500 meters, exercising every morning or walking 15 minutes before work).
Every day or every two days, add, but very little - 1 exercise or 200 meters of running, for example. If on some day you want more - do it, but after that you still return to the original plan, and do not start from such a successful day.
And then you finally made it to the hall. By how much should the load be reduced? It all depends on how long the break is. Break 1 week - 60% of the maximum, break 2 weeks - 50% of the maximum, more than 2 weeks - 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 looks more like a beginner's program (see the article, where there is a scheduled first training program in the gym).
The motto is: perform a sufficient number of exercises according to the scheme for at least the first 2 weeks. The number of approaches is 3, and the most optimal number of repetitions in one approach is 6-12.
No crazy multi reps or max weights! We work calmly, and not like a steam engine that is about to explode.
If it’s hard for you to visit the gym three times a week after a break, then it’s enough for you and two workouts especially the first 2 weeks.
Learn to restrain yourself! Don't chase weights/exercises etc. Of course, after a break, you simply won’t be able to follow the previous training plan, and you don’t need to!
Just increase the load by 10-20% every month. If after a workout you feel excessive fatigue - slow down the pace and intensity of training. For yourself, you must understand that you should not rush after the break, it will not give anything at all.
Pay close attention to how you feel at work and at home. For some, the recovery process can be a trifling matter, while for others it can be a lot of stress in the bad sense of the word.
To know exactly how to recover,.
Everyone has bad days when they get up on the wrong foot, the weather is bad, the mood is disgusting and the whole workout goes “wrong”! And you know what? And to hell with her! It doesn’t matter, take an extra day off, sleep well or have an easy, most comfortable workout for you. Don't force yourself!
Choose Your Exercises Carefully. After a break of 3 months, you don’t need to immediately rush to squat or pull. Start with easier exercises.
After the first 2-3 weeks of full body training (circular), you can return to, following all the same rules as described above.
So let's recap - training program for recovery after a break:
- 2-3 weeks full body workout, low weights, 3 sets, 6-12 reps =>
- switch to split workouts, add basic exercises with minimal weights =>
- by 4-6 weeks after the break, we return to the old training program or) =>
- rejoice and live happily 🙂
The recovery period depends on the length of your break.. For example, if you had a break of 3 months, the duration of your recovery may be about 1-1.5 months.
Motivation
Yes, alas, sometimes laziness captures us so much that we simply cannot find inspiration in ourselves to return to our former life. Start, drop, and go around. Anything that makes you move.
- Walk the dog. If you don't have your own, go for a walk with your neighbor's. The neighbors will thank you.
- Host a dance marathon instead of sitting in front of the TV.
- Go to the park and take a walk to your favorite music or audiobook.
- Walk everywhere. And even if the weather is bad: a warmer jacket and a wider smile, drive away the melancholy 😉
- Play with children basketball.
- Instead of driving to the store, walk or take bike.
- Get off the bus one stop early and walk to work.
Just think - there are plenty of opportunities to be more active! Find the ones that make you happy and don't make you give up.
Secret of success
For many people, it is very difficult to continue something after a single failure. A mistake demoralizes them and brings a lot of negativity. If this is happening to you, try to change your attitude towards the problem so as not to lose motivation.
Just because you didn't go to the gym on Monday doesn't mean the whole week is wasted. It just means you have to go there on Tuesday. Or even just walk the dog longer than usual.
The ability to play sports is not only the ability to squat correctly and a bunch of protein on the shelf. This is knowing how to set yourself up for classes and stick to this attitude.
Start thinking of yourself as a sports person. And there, you look, and close to the bar.
Useful video
A cool video on the topic of a long break in training and how to return to classes after it:
Article last updated: 08/30/2014
Quite often we are faced with such a global problem as the start of training after a long break. I think everyone has had such a situation when it’s simply not realistic to allocate even 40-45 minutes of time for training. There are a lot of reasons for this: the county, got sick, problems, family, injuries, etc. In the summer time, most people simply give up training and go to the seas. Of course, in the summer, if you don’t know, you can simply harm yourself. Sometimes this break is forced, because, as everyone knows, you should take a short break, giving your body a little rest. So, how to start exercising after a long break?! In such situations, sometimes even an experienced athlete makes a lot of mistakes, trying to regain his former shape. After a long break, your body, muscles are no longer in the shape they were before, so you should not immediately load yourself to failure. You should gradually increase the load, starting with a small one. General rules to follow for everyone:
1. After a long break, you are full of energy, but you should not immediately expose yourself to heavy loads. You need to approach this gradually, week by week.
2. In the first weeks of training, you should build your training program so that it looks more like a beginner's program. Do more exercises while reducing the number of sets to
3. This scheme will give you a positive result, as you will be able to work out the maximum number of muscle groups and tone them. In one workout, 3 muscle groups should be trained. 3. Do not immediately hang heavy weights. Choose the right working weight and the right number of repetitions. The most optimal amount will be 6-12 in one approach.
4. The first 2-3 weeks, do not exhaust yourself with training. You don't have to go all the way. This will help you avoid week-long krepatura. Muscle pain is not always a good sign that you've had a great workout. You are now in recovery and you will not set records, but only harm yourself.
5. Of course, you should include basic exercises in your workout.
6. Before each workout, you should perform a general warm-up. It should be done for about 10-15 minutes before the start of classes. This will help warm up your muscles and avoid injury.
7. Do not immediately include in your diet, especially pharmacology. Give your body 1-3 months to adapt.
The recovery period depends on the length of your break. For example, if you had a break of 3 months, the duration of your recovery may be about 1-1.5 months. After the recovery period, you can switch to the previous one, everyone has their own, who wants to try something new, please:.
I hope you found the article helpful. If so, please leave a comment and share the article on social networks. Thank you for your attention!
Physical activity is necessary for every person, and if you have not visited the fitness room for a long time, it is advisable to take the right steps towards restoring the body. Wanting to resume physical form, regain lost physical form and health, the question is probably of interest - how to return to the gym after a long break? Next, we will talk about the measures recommended by professionals to obtain excellent results.
Impact of the break on physical health
There are many reasons why regular workouts in the fitness room were interrupted: vacation, business trip, childbirth, illness, etc. One of the key factors is the duration of the break. The recommendations of experienced experts will help to return the body to a working state, to accustom yourself to physical activity again.
Training and physical activity improve the functioning of internal organs, increase physical endurance and the body's resistance to infections. Oxygen absorption deteriorates, which is also not recommended. At certain time intervals, the state of the body will be characterized by the following manifestations:
- The hiatus was several weeks.. The cardiovascular and respiratory systems work worse, while there is enough strength. Endurance scores are still high
- 1 year. Cardio loads are given 15% harder, and the strength parameters of your body will be reduced by half, and this is the minimum figure.
- Years have passed. You'll have to start from the very beginning. If you previously had good results and were in an appropriate physical condition, then recovery will be faster and more efficient.
The new program is selected depending on the reason why you had to give up the fitness room for a while. The duration of the break also plays a big role in the formation of a training program. Below we will consider the correct actions for each case.
Video: DOCTOR / BODYBUILDER - how to train after rest.
2-3 weeks
Such gaps often occur due to illness. Do not assume that a period of several weeks without training did not cost the body anything, and you can immediately begin intense exercise. It is important to understand that most diseases, including bronchitis, colds or poisoning, entail intoxication of the body. Other consequences include fluid loss, disruption of water-salt metabolism. Muscles receive less oxygen and nutrients. As a result, the usual loads, jogging are more difficult.
What to do?
After an illness, the body is weakened, and it takes a couple of weeks to restore the immune system. During the recovery period, it is worth leaning on fruits, freshly squeezed juices, preparing and drinking homemade fruit drinks. Mineral water helps to normalize the water-salt balance. Start training only when you are fully recovered. Forget high-intensity exercise for the next two weeks. Also, you should not go to the sauna for the first time. Be attentive to your health, watch the body's reaction to physical activity!
2-6 months
Perhaps you have changed your place of residence, having moved to another city or district of the city, or you have been injured and have been recovering for a long time. These reasons are most common with such a gap without fitness. You probably think that you can run a few kilometers and do aerobics. In fact, already in the first weeks without training, muscle endurance decreases, strength is lost, while the performance remains high. After an injury, it is worth resorting to recovery exercises.
Exit
If the reason for the forced break was an injury, it is advisable to come up with a rehabilitation program. It would be better if a professional trainer or doctor is involved in the selection of a training program. If you have moved away from fitness for a while not because of an injury, start calmly training according to your usual program. The key word is calm. You should not work according to the schedule, adhering to the former intensity: run the same distances, but at a reduced speed. Exercises will need to be done with half the weight used previously.
Also listen to your body. You feel tired - take a break for a while and rest. Feeling completely out of shape? For two weeks, walk on a treadmill, gradually adding pace. Often, it takes from a year to a year and a half to restore the body.
Helpful Hint: If you're on a forced break, it's a good idea to keep a couple of cardio and one physical workout a week.
Over 1 year
Such a break is characteristic of the fair sex who have given birth to a child. You most likely needed 1 year to allocate time for training, resume physical activity. During pregnancy, many expectant mothers go in for water aerobics, gymnastics, and therefore the question is often: “Why can't I train like I used to?”.
How to proceed?
In fact, you will need to start working again, since prenatal loads are minimal and serve solely as a preparatory measure for childbirth. As a result, physical conditions are lost, you have to start from scratch. It is recommended to start with fitness testing. Perhaps during the course of pregnancy, failures occurred in your body, there were problems, and therefore it is advisable to consult a doctor. There is a possibility of the impossibility of past loads and the usual schedule of physical exercises.
Start training in aerobics and light loads, thanks to which you will be able to drive off extra pounds, improve heart function. Often, with long breaks, the cardio system suffers in the first place, because of which you are not able to perform even 20 squats without shortness of breath. In the first weeks, walking on the track is recommended - 2-3 sets of 20 minutes each. Next, increase the duration of walking to 30 minutes, add stretching exercises.
Go to the gym after a month after retesting. After returning to normal loads, take care of the help of a personal trainer: a specialist will draw up a training program and point out the correct technique. Even if you miss more than a year since your last workout, you will be able to get back in shape and load yourself with physical exercises after 2-3 months.
If you don't have time to go to the gym several times a week, work out at home. Indulge in strength training and stretching. You can set up a cardio system only in the gym. Walking with a baby stroller is considered healthy, but it remains a walk. Therefore, it is better to use a treadmill, with which you can keep a certain pace.
Some years
For whatever reason, you were forced to quit training. You think that returning to the pace and loads is a trifling matter, but this is not so. Of course, it is easier for you to start fitness training than for someone who has never played sports at all. In a few years, your body has weaned from physical activity. An exercise program designed for a young athletic student is not suitable for a person who leads a sedentary lifestyle, besides having osteochondrosis or chronic bronchitis.
Your actions
Forget past sporting achievements in sports. Muscle memory will definitely remember the previously mastered exercises, which is clearly seen in the example of rollerblading, cycling. If there has been a significant break in your training regimen in your life, start with the usual exercises. Take a fitness test, the results of which choose the appropriate level of load.
Fill the training process with more exercises, while the number of approaches will need to be reduced. In the case of strength exercises, 3 approaches will be enough for the muscles to adapt to the loads. By pumping more muscles, it will be possible to work out the entire muscular system faster. There should be one exercise per muscle group. Otherwise, there is a possibility of muscle overload, as a result of which the next workout will not be fruitful.
A small or large number of repetitions is undesirable. Also, professional athletes recommend leaving a margin for each approach. You should not exhaust yourself to the limit - it will not be possible to achieve records, and the muscles will most likely hurt a lot. Starting with your first workout, do the basic exercises, which include bench presses, squats, and deadlifts. After a long break, you will need to reconsider the technique of the exercise. Pay more attention to the warm-up that precedes the training process.
In any case, after a long break between workouts, it is highly undesirable to overload the body with physical exercises. Significant loads will only harm in an effort to restore physical condition. Make a training schedule with an experienced trainer and doctor.
After a long break. Now, in order not to break loose and not give up this venture, you need a plan that will help you adapt physically and mentally!
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 in any case, you can return to the previous level and become stronger, faster and more resilient. The main thing is to do it right to avoid injury.
Termination of training or the use of loads that are not capable of maintaining the achieved level leads to deadaptation - a process that is the opposite of adaptation.
Deadadaptation is a remarkable ability of the body to use the released resources in other body systems. That is, resources are taken from where they are no longer used, to where the building material is needed.
How did the break affect your fitness?
There are no formulas that would allow you to accurately calculate how much you have lost and how long it will take to recover, but there are studies on the basis of which you can at least get an idea of the big picture.
- If your break was several weeks, your respiratory and cardiovascular systems will lose a few points, while the strength qualities will remain unchanged.
- If the break was a year, but before that you were in good physical shape, cardio loads will be given to you 15% harder, power characteristics will drop by at least half.
- If your break was measured in years you will most likely have to start from scratch. But you will make progress faster than people who did not play sports at all.
The new training plan will depend on why you quit exercising and what happened to your body in the meantime.
If you had to stop because of an injury, you must be sure that you have fully recovered. Therefore, you must definitely visit a doctor. A physical therapist will be able to tell you about the general condition of your muscles, point out imbalances and identify weaknesses.
If the break was taken due to the appearance in the family or a busy work schedule (you gave all the time to a new project), you need to understand how you can find time for proper sleep and nutrition so that there are no psychological and physical problems in the future.
Recovery rate
If your break was only a few weeks (holidays or vacation), just a couple of light workouts will be enough for recovery, and you will be back in shape.
But what if you haven't exercised in a year or more? If you've been to the gym, Thompson advises starting with half or a third of the weight you took a year ago, and after a few weeks try your standard kilograms. Recovery usually takes 1-2 months.
As for sports that require endurance (cycling, triathlon, and so on), 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 running at a very low pace. The distance in this case does not matter.
If after two months you have not returned to your previous form, then you need to revise the training program, or even better, find a good coach who will make it for you, based on your physical condition and capabilities.
What to do if you have to take a break again
Things happen in life and we can't guarantee we'll never take that big break again. The main rule is not to give up physical activity completely. Let it be walks or light workouts for 10-15 minutes a day, but they must be in your schedule!
Fortunately, you can now find a huge number of short workouts, both strength and interval. And if you can arrange such mini-workouts for yourself, then it will be much easier for you to return to your previous physical form. Yes, and psychological adaptation will be easier than if you completely give up sports.
With training in the amount of 25-30% of the previous ones, you will be able to maintain your shape for two to three months.
On average, the adaptation time after reduced physical activity (you left and you did not have the opportunity to train fully) is 2 weeks.
I think with each of you, for some reason, was forced to do break in training. For example, during the holidays, as well as due to injuries or illness. But sooner or later you need to return to training. Almost every athlete after a break tends to get to their previous strength indicators too quickly, which ends overtraining or injury. The question is how to do it right?
What happens to the body after a break
Regardless of the reasons, if the break lasted more than two weeks, you need to know what happens to your body during this time. In the absence of a load, his work changes, and these changes must be taken into account when resuming training. As it is sad, force decreases with catastrophic speed.
The level of strength loss varies from person to person, but on average it is 40% after two weeks. Not only the maximum indicators in some movements are falling, the overall level of strength is decreasing. Therefore, you return to the gym much weaker than before, and you cannot train with the same intensity as before the break. Recovery is much slower and muscle pain lasts longer.
In many ways, your physical condition is very similar to when you first started training. The main difference is that you know what to do and how to do it. But even so, some people take much wider steps than when they first came to the hall. If your core lifts were pretty high before the break, you're very concerned about getting there faster. For example, someone who bench presses 160 kg for a whole year will be very upset to learn that after the break he can only handle 150. He simply cannot put up with this and rushes into training like crazy, doing too much. He will overtrain, but he will be adamant. Finally, shoulder pain will force him to stop pressing for another two weeks, and the result will drop to 130 kg.
Our body is a balanced, well-coordinated mechanism that constantly strives to save energy in order to maintain vital functions. Through training we develop muscle mass, which means that it is muscle tissue that becomes the most energy-consuming organ of our body. During a break in classes, the body tends to cut the amount energy consumed by the muscles. Gradually decreases endurance of our body, then muscle mass begins to decrease due to lack of energy, at the last stage, the level of power potential begins to decrease.
Many believe that a great loss of form can only befall those who have been irresponsible in training, eating improperly, and the like. But in fact, even a well-trained bodybuilder who responsibly approached the issue of nutrition can lose an average of 40-60% of those physical qualities that he could acquire through training during a year of break. Of course, in about 2-3 months, a bodybuilder can return to his previous form, but this will happen only at a young age. For a 40-year-old athlete, returning to his form will be a much more difficult, and sometimes unattainable task.
neuromuscular memory
Neuromuscular memory allows the body to restore the body's endurance. Gradually, the body begins to produce such an amount of ATP, which previously allowed him to train for a long time and achieve good results in sports. Along with this, the body, as it were, awakens from hibernation and begins to produce an increased amount of energy, all its processes are accelerated, even the number of capillaries increases in order to improve blood supply to muscle tissues.
Since now the muscle tissue receives plenty of energy and oxygen, recovery mechanisms gradually come into play. After some time, the previously existing muscle mass is restored completely.
conclusions
- Break times can be very helpful if you plan your return carefully. Otherwise, you can make life very difficult for yourself.
- When you return to the gym, your body is not ready for hard work to the extent that it was before the break. Slow progress allows him to change and adapt. You must restore your regimen and diet before your results start to increase.
- Thanks to the break, you have a reserve of energy when you return to the gym. However, it is unwise to immediately "dive" headlong into the training. Start with a beginner program or something similar. Be patient and reasonable, always remember to move forward slowly. If you stick to this approach, especially in the first - most important - week, you will begin to smoothly move towards the highest levels of fitness.
- Never be afraid to take a break from training. Think of your body as fireproof capital that you have temporarily frozen in your bank account. Of course, at first you will lose some percentage of your savings, but by returning the capital to circulation, you will restore it completely.
- If you have already had the opportunity to return to training - do not hesitate and come back. Of course, it is best to find a professional trainer who will help you competently return to work and quickly restore your previous shape.
Training program after the break
Course number 1. So you need to train the first 2 weeks. Workouts follow each other every other day.
| Exercises | Sets | repetitions |
| Tuesday | ||
| Bench press | 4 | 10 |
| Block pull behind the head | 4 | 10 |
| Seated Dumbbell Press | 4 | 10 |
| Standing barbell row to the chin | 3 | 10 |
| Close grip bench press | 3 | 10 |
| Sitting bicep curl | 3 | 10 |
| Thursday | ||
| Squats | 4 | 12 |
| Deadlift on straight legs | 4 | 12 |
| Hanging leg raise | 4 | 25 |
| Trunk raises on an incline bench | 4 | Max. |
| Hyperextensions | 4 | 15 |
Course number 2. This split system is designed for 3-4 weeks.
| Exercises | Sets | repetitions |
| Monday | ||
| Incline Bench Press | 4 | 8-12 |
| Breeding dumbbells lying | 4 | 8-10 |
| Standing barbell press | 4 | 10 |
| Breeding dumbbells to the side while standing | 3 | 10 |
| Shrugs | 3 | 10 |
| Extension of arms on the block | 4 | 10 |
| Push-ups (for triceps) | 3 | 10 |
| Wednesday | ||
| Pull-ups | 4 | 8-12 |
| Bent over row | 3 | 8-10 |
| Biceps curl with barbell | 4 | 8-10 |
| Seated bicep curls | 3 | 10 |
| Wrist curls (for forearms) | 3 | 12 |
| Torso lifts with rotation | 4 | Max. |
| Leg raises | 4 | Max. |
| Friday | ||
| Squats | 4 | 10-12 |
| Leg curls | 4 | 10 |
| Lunges | 3 | 15 |
| Rises on socks | 4 | 10 |
| Lifting on socks while sitting | 3 | 10-12 |