Post-Pandemic Programme
Getting back into the gym
For most of us having gyms close due to COVID-19 has been hard. Unless you are very fortunate and have a home gym then you have probably started doing some running and/or home-workouts. These should have helped but nothing can replace training in a gym. Gyms host a range of equipment that allows you to target muscle groups with measurable (and easily adjustable) loads which can just not be done with home-workouts. Furthermore, for some, training at a gym helps them focus and provides an escape from everyday stresses. Fear not, the gyms will be opening soon. However before you start dragging out the last training programme you were using you should be aware that after just 2-6 weeks of detraining (your muscles not receiving their regular training) the following occurs:
Muscle atrophy (your muscles will start to shrink and breakdown).
A decrease in neural drive (you will have less activation of your muscles by your nerves).
Joint stabilisers weaken.
The combined result of this will lead to a loss in strength, a negative change in body composition and a very much higher risk of injury from exercise. If it is significant after 2-6 weeks then imagine how much your body has changed over 12+ weeks!
The advice
To help you regain your strength and muscle mass safely I would recommend following these 7 tips:
Warm up well. Your joints will need time to mobilise as they may not have been worked in this range for some time. Furthermore it gives you time to practice your form.
Focus on form. You will be rusty and forgotten how some of the movements feel. Good form will help increase training efficiency and reduce injury risk.
You will have loss strength, accept it! Start with low loads (~60% intensity) and moderate reps (4 sets of 10 reps). This volume will also give you time to practice your form again.
Focus on compound movements (Squat, Deadlift, Bench Press, Chin Ups, Barbell Row, Over-Head Press). It won’t take much to max out your training stimulus and cause soreness therefore do not waste your precious time on isolation exercises.
Train the major muscle groups twice a week. If you want to exercise more then do aerobic work because it will increase the efficiency of your recovery and your ability to perform more work at a later date.
Emphasis your recovery. The biggest hurdle you are likely to face is soreness which will prevent you from training frequently. A good recovery plan (see Sleep your way to a better body for ways to improve your recovery through sleep) is key for keeping an effective training frequency.
Be patience. Muscle memory means your rate of progression will be higher now then it was before lockdown. Rushing the process will not get you to your goals any quicker but it will probably get you injured.
Be smart
Following these tips will mean you will create enough stimulus to burn calories (helping to reduce body fat), increase strength and activate muscle hypertrophy (muscle growth) whilst not seriously increasing your risk of injury. Doing more work than this at the beginning is unlikely to provide any extra benefit because your body has a threshold on how much it can change (more work does NOT mean more gains!). Furthermore any extra work above your stimulus threshold will just cause extra fatigue, increase the risk of injury and be a waste of time. I would recommend doing a training programme based on the above 7 tips for at least 2 weeks before trying a more intense and/or complex programme. However listen to your body and if you need to do it for longer then you can, consistency without injury is key.