After a long lay off from training, one of the hardest things to do is to get back in to it. Since there will be a few of you going through this after the festive season, I thought it would be a good topic to touch upon.
The biggest mistake most people make on their first visit back to the gym, is to try and push their bodies to the same extent they did when they were in regular exercise. Some of you may actually enjoy the aftermath of your first session back but to the vast majority of us it’s a complete turn off.
I’ll guess at some point that most of you have woken up the next morning after your first session back feeling as if you’ve been run over by a bus. The idea of training again seems impossible and you think of every excuse imaginable that will prevent you from returning to the gym.
What you have to remember is even though you haven’t trained for some time, you will still have all the skills that you had before you stopped. The only difference is that your body is not used to being put through this type of workout anymore.
The human body is designed to repair itself so all the conditioning that you had done in the past will have gone. You will still be punching and kicking just as hard as before, which is why your shins may be sore after or why your arms ache each time you punch the pads.
A physiotherapist who trained at the gym once told me that our bodies can only take a 5% increase in exercise before injuries start setting in. I’m not sure if the percentages are completely accurate but I think it’s a good rule of thumb to go by.
Your body is built for what it does so if you’ve lounged around and done nothing for a while then that is what it’s used to doing. You have to train your body and let it know that it can do all these things again. Don’t worry, it is an amazing machine and can adapt very quickly, it just has do be done correctly.
My advice for your first week back would be to attend a couple of sessions, preferably a day or two apart. Even if everyone else is going 110mph you should just go a nice, steady pace, you shouldn’t be getting to a point of feeling sick on your first session back. If you need to take five then take five, you’ll know yourselves whether you are being lazy or you actually need a breather.
Each week add another day on to your training schedule, or if other commitments prevent you doing this, just simply up the tempo when you do train.
You will still ache after the sessions but not to the point where you are in agony to walk. It will be just enough to know that you’ve started the journey to getting back in to shape.
A healthy body does indeed equal a healthy mind and it won’t be long before you will back on parr with your old self or even surpass the level you were once at.
Wicked article that I’m guilty of going 110 mph and over doing it for defo.
I haven’t trained for some time but got a letter of kstar staying they are starting thaiboxing lessons for over 35’s which I will be attending great idea can’t wait to get back to the perry Barr gym
I agree totally with your comments and my beef is soo many soo called personal trainers with this that and the other qualifications at normal gyms take the mick.
Ok bro in law starts at gym massively overweight like 5 stone overweight with a belly like fat bastard out of austin powers.
He gets cajoled into personal training.
His trainer has him nearly vomiting within 10 minutes on treadmill fast pace steep incline then onto kettlebells then stoopid heavy weights.
he loved the workout i said what happens when you suffer a heart attack as he has no knowledge of your physical condition health wise and he is out of order to assume everyone should be as fit as he is all 10 stone of toned running machine.
Yeh take it easy i started recently prior to xams then got that bug.
I started off 5 mins on bike 90 rpms sit ups leg raises then 10 x 3 mins on bag.
After 20 days i was upto 10 mins bike @ 130-140rpms + 2 mins @ 80rpms cool down 80 x various sit ups and leg raises chin ups x 5 x wide and narrow all the aforementioned x twice and 10 x 3 mins fast workout on bag.
Major differance starting to ending 20 days later and im 52 in march and have smoked for 35 years.
Bad habit but someone has to do it.
Lol
Howard
Great aricle as I’ve just come back into the gym after 4 weeks off, I thought I was going to pass out when sparing lol but felt better by the lst session in the week. Thanks Damien for a very informative aricle .
Sorry my mistake didnt want to sound like i was Yodsanklai training should have said 10 x 2 mins on bag 5 x were combined techniques and 5 x basic kicking kneeing elbows and boxing.
L
ol
Howard
Good advice!
very well put.