Starting Back in the Gym

[CoachBeezy03]

Yesterday, I made my comeback after a 6 week layoff with serious tendonitis, and a strain in my left elbow and forearm. One of the few things I hate in life the most (besides moving!) is starting back in the gym after a long lay-off.

I have been down this road before, as have many of you, and there are several schools of thought when starting back after an injury. It is very humbling to see your lift weights drop, but a necessity nonetheless.

Do you switch routines when you are coming back or starting over? Do you lift lighter knowing you could do more but need to be cautious? Do you go balls out the first week back, or do you try and limit your soreness.

Let's hear some of your comeback stories and experiences!

[BigPablo300]

Generally I like to take it easy as I would not want to reinjure myself the first couple of weeks back at the gym. That would just suck and I would feel like a complete idiot.

I kind of like to think that the first couple of weeks are my have fun in there weeks. I don't really care what I lift or how much. I go by how I feel but it is usually a lot less than my normal routine. At this stage the most important thing is to just get in there and do something.

Remember that if you do this long enough you are bound to have to go through situations like this often. That muscle ain't going anywhere fast and it is not going to just come back that first week. Take your time and be smart so as to avoid a repeat that got you in that bind to begin with.

[mopar76]

Generally I like to take it easy as I would not want to reinjure myself the first couple of weeks back at the gym. That would just suck and I would feel like a complete idiot.

I kind of like to think that the first couple of weeks are my have fun in there weeks. I don't really care what I lift or how much. I go by how I feel but it is usually a lot less than my normal routine. At this stage the most important thing is to just get in there and do something.

Remember that if you do this long enough you are bound to have to go through situations like this often. That muscle ain't going anywhere fast and it is not going to just come back that first week. Take your time and be smart so as to avoid a repeat that got you in that bind to begin with.

i have to agree with pablo.take your time getting back into the swing of things.dont over do it but as each passing week goes by increase what you do.main thing is to be there and not injuring yourself again.

[jerrywear]

i should say i am very different from a lot of bodybuilders, every time i do come back to lifting i do hit it like i never took time off. it doesnt matter if i cant lift as much as before, it doesnt matter if i am weaker, that never affected me at all, i know that just time issue and i would be back to normal weight. the main thing for me is the mind set, knowing what will hurt you, knowing how to go around it to prevent that body part, tendon to work with minimal effect to hurt it again.

i would never come back to lifting if i dont know how to prevent myself from hurting. you really need to get back with knowing that you set yourself for success, not for destruction. yes your work out will be different, but you still going to grow, you will get bigger, your muscle memory will help you to get there, your joins, tendons will get stronger, just because you made a plan to to do that, to make yourself to succeed. there is no failure in my dictionary, there is no talking about I CANT DO IT. I will never set myself not to get 100% even i am injured. i just know how, what, when to do or not to do.

in all sports in all jobs, carrier you name it, if you have your mind just a bit off, you will have that feeling of doubt, the question of IF or MAYBE will come up. and you cant thing, or let yourself think about that. remember we are who we are, we are born humans, we are born with our own mind and later on with people surrounding us. and things go from there.

i just learned very hard way to succeed, to learn my body, to learn all angles in this sport. this is just the only way to do it.

i thought i will say a bit more about how i do in this sport

[bigblue]

Question
Even if i lay off for just a short period of time say 2-3 weeks its like my body wants to start completely over and the first couple of days after my first work out are killers. Even when I was in High school i was this way. After about a week i am on the dowm hill again but it is always the same. My body gets out of shape very fast. Is it nutrition or is this just normal?

[CoachBeezy03]

Good question blue, i am sure there are several factors: age, intensity of workout, diet, nutrition, rest. The older I get, the easier it is for me to maintain my strength over brief lay-offs. I know that doesn't sound accurate, but it has true in my case.

[jerrywear]

Question
Even if i lay off for just a short period of time say 2-3 weeks its like my body wants to start completely over and the first couple of days after my first work out are killers. Even when I was in High school i was this way. After about a week i am on the dowm hill again but it is always the same. My body gets out of shape very fast. Is it nutrition or is this just normal?

it could be few factor, not enough rest, maybe diet, maybe supplements and maybe your body just takes time to recover slower. 2 to 3 weeks its a good time to rest, and i dont know what you mean by start completely over, but if you feel a weaker and next few days you are sore, that just normal. and yes your workouts going to be different.

i wouldn't worry about that too much, it really sounds normal. but i just gave you few things that you address to your workouts and life stile as well.