The gyms are back open!
If you, like so many other people, haven’t been able to maintain the level of strength and fitness over lock-down then you are probably looking forward to getting back to it!
However, we need to make sure we are smart about this. If you go straight back to hitting the weights as heavy as you used to, or working as hard as you used to…you could be opening yourself up to the risk of injury.
Even if you have managed to workout at home, it is most likely that you haven’t been able to work quite as hard or with as heavy weights as you had in the gym.
Lighten your load
Take the weight or resistance you were previously using and halve it. This may feel too light and that’s okay, you can always add on to it, but this will prevent you from trying to lift to heavy and hurt yourself. You will then probably find you can increase the resistance quickly, perhaps every session- just make sure your body is ready for it. Remember how long it took you to develop that strength in the first place.
Don’t overdo it too soon
Start by going 3 times a week giving yourself a good 48 hours of recovery time in-between visits. This will give your body time to adapt to the new stress you are putting on it. You will also find when you first return to the gym you will find yourself more achey than you used to be the day after. Delayed Onset Muscle (DOMS) will gradually get better as your muscles become used to the workload once again.
Don’t skimp on the warm-up
So many people don’t really try too hard with their warm and that is a mistake at any time. Making sure your heart rate and core temperature is raised, your muscles are lengthened and activated and ready for your session is imperative to ensure your body is fully prepared for whatever you are going to do and you can perform at your best.
Remember to fuel the activity
If you haven’t been as active during the lock-down you may not have eaten as much (or a healthily) so make sure you are eating enough for the work you are doing. Enough carbohydrates for energy and enough protein for muscle repair. This also goes for hydration, the more activity you are doing the more you are loosing water through breathing and sweating which means the more water you need to drink that lost fluid.
Try not to be too hard on yourself
It might take a little bit of time to get back to the levels of strength and fitness you have been previously, give it time and try not to get frustrated, if you have done it before you can do it again.
