Progressing Back into Activity

By Molly Magunga, MS ATC, CPT, CES

Hello everyone! This week’s “Fitness Tip of the Week” is about getting back into activity. There may be many reasons you haven’t been working out a lot lately. Did winter weather condition make running too risky? Did an injury sideline you for a while? Did you just have a baby and recently got a doctor’s clearance to start working out? The reason for your inability to workout does matter on how quickly you can progress back and what you can do to start. If you were unable to workout because of something health related, it’s best to have a profession (your doctor, physical therapist, athletic trainer) determine your best way to progress back into activity. For those who were taking a break from fitness for all the other reasons, this post is a great place for you to get started again.

Tips for Getting Back

It really doesn’t take a very long break to start losing the gains you worked hard to build. In fact, you can start to lose cardio-based fitness in just a matter of days. Muscle mass loss happens a little slower. Research studies have found that you can start to lose muscle mass from not exercising anywhere from 10 day to 3 weeks. The reason for large timeframe is related to age and how you trained prior to taking time off. The good news is these losses are not lost forever. Here are some tips on how to progress back into working out to regain those lost gains and do it safely:

• Start Slow
  • Because of how quickly you lose muscle and cardio fitness, you can’t just jump right back in to where you left off. You need to take it slow. If you use to run 6 miles as an average workout, start with a timed interval run where you alternate walking and running for 10 minutes to see how your body feels. If you were incorporating in weights for a high-intensity circuit, reduce the intensity and start with body weight exercises. Start easy and progress from there. Rushing into workouts that are too intense will leave you feeling sore for much longer and could lead to injury, potentially leading to more time off again.
• Listen to your body
  • It can be frustrating starting over. Try not to be discouraged with the process. There will be good days and hard days. Listen to what your body needs and accept the process. Trying to rush the process and push the body too hard will only do harm. If your body needs a rest day, give it rest from a workout and stretch instead. If your tank is empty after 10 minutes, accept the 10 minutes it gave you and refuel and rest.
• Warm Ups and Cool Downs
  • Proper warm ups and cool downs are always important. They become especially important when progressing back into activity. Working on proper mobility and flexibility can really help reduce the risk of injury and decrease the feeling of muscle soreness. They aren’t “extra” exercises to do if you have time. They are the start and finish to your workouts so when planning your time and workout for the day always make room for them. Your body will thank you.

I have two other posts that really go hand-in-hand with this topic. They are about how to set a fitness goal and how to get into a routine. Both these topics are very important in order to progress back into exercise. In order to make a progression plan, you need a goal to work towards and the fitness goal post will help you with that. Getting started is just one part, consistency is also something you will need to build back. The routine post will give you tips on how to do that.

https://mollysfittip.health.blog/2021/01/21/tips-on-setting-a-fitness-goal/

https://mollysfittip.health.blog/2020/06/19/starting-a-routine/

If you have any questions on this topic, please feel free to contact me at mmagunga@healthworksfitness.com or comment below!