Last Updated on December 19, 2020
At times you may face some challenges in life that will interfere with your exercise routine. Some of these challenges may include sickness, family emergencies, and excess workload. In such circumstances, you may feel somewhat frustrated. But fortunately, you can get up off your knees after the incident and get back to your ordinary weight lifting routine. Since you’ve been off the track for a while you’ll need some form of motivation to regain your fitness schedule. Consider the following tips on how to start lifting weights after a break and embark on this journey.
10 Tips On How To Start Lifting Weights After A Break
1. Set SMART goals
You can accomplish a lot if you know what you want from the start. Although you can set objectives for your training, setting SMART goals to make it’s even better. You can count on your trainer/coach for this process. Your SMART goals should follow these criteria:
- Specific: it’s not only enough to set goals, but you need to be specific. For example, you may say I will be lifting weights for 30 minutes for the first week and increase to 1 hour after in the second week.
- Measurable: After setting your specific goals, it’s essential to identify ways of measuring progress. For example, if you want to shed some weight, you can take your weight measurements weekly to track your progress.
- Attainable: When setting your goals, it’s essential to be 90-100% sure you can attain them. There is no need to aim to work out for 1 hour per day when you know you can’t get this time.
- Relevant: Your goals should be in line with your abilities, needs, and interests.
- Time-based: You should set timelines for your goals. For example, you can say in the next two weeks you will lose 5kgs.
2. Work with a trainer/instructor
If you are having difficulties getting back on track, it’s vital to engage the services of a trainer/ instructor. The trainer will also serve as your accountability partner. The trainer will also motivate and help you to make baby steps back to your former exercise routine.
If you can afford to hire a coach, you can opt for an affordable method, such as a workout app. Alternatively, you can join a group training. This is a cheaper alternative compared to personal training. For example, you can join hands with your friends or colleagues to hire a fitness coach.
The trainer will help you in setting realistic and achievable training goals. If you had suffered an injury, they will help you to avoid further injuries as you resume your weighing lifting exercises. They will help to select the exercise and the machines you should use as you gradually come back to your training regime.
3. Mind your diet
To some individuals, when they are off track in their training routine, this means they can eat what they want, even junk foods. When you are ready to resume your weightlifting routine, it’s important to embark on a healthy diet. You must ensure your body gets the right foods and in the required amounts.
Weightlifting and bodybuilding is a type of activity that requires a proper diet plan. Since you’ll expect to increase muscle mass, it’s essential to have adequate amounts of proteins, carbohydrates, vitamins, and minerals in your diet. Additionally, you must also monitor your water intake since you’ll be losing a considerable amount of water during the exercises.
If you have challenges working out your diet plan, it’s vital to work with a sports nutritionist. They will help you to determine your daily calorie intake and embrace healthy eating habits. The nutritionist will also determine if you need any bodybuilding supplements to boost your dietary intake of the various nutrients.
High Protein Food to be Eaten after a Post-Workout
Are you a gym lover? Do you want to maintain your body with goods of exercise and healthy foods combined with high protein? This article for you then. High protein is your common need after the training and you need to know what can be eaten after.… Continue reading
4. Start small
Resuming weightlifting after a while requires planning and strategy. You can’t expect to resume a comprehensive weight lifting scheduled immediately. You must first start with simple exercises that will inform your body of what is coming ahead. For example, in your first week, it will be too much to start on big weights; alternatively, you can start with simple exercises such as a light jog.
Your progress should be gradual to avoid injuries and exposing your body, most importantly, your muscles to shock. Avoid the temptation to lift heavy weights in your initial days as the people around you. Crunches, side flies, and dumbbells are other simple exercises you can adopt to bring your body back to the training mood.
Once you’re through with this light exercise, you can then progress to more robust exercises such as leg press, chest press, and dumbbell press. These exercises will help to prepare your ligaments, muscles, and tendons for heavier lifting. Additionally, they will minimize the risk of injuries.
How to protect your joints in weightlifting?
Is weightlifting causing joints problems? Intense exercises can result in joint pain if not properly executed. This is also true for moderate forms of exercise. When you’re not careful about your workouts, you can sustain injuries that may lead to surgeries and, eventually, arthritis. To ensure your joints stay … Continue reading
5. Avoid unrealistic expectations
When you’re resuming exercise after a break, you should not expect your body to be at the same level as you were before taking the break. The fact that you’ve been away from the weights for a while means you’ve lost a considerable amount of your abilities. This means you’ll start at a slower pace than what you were used to. You must understand that this is a regular occurrence, and in a short period, you’ll have the stamina and ability to launch weight lifting on a large scale.
You must also remember the longer you’ve been away from exercise, the more time you need to regain your former routine. For example, a weightlifter that has been away from training for 2-3 weeks can’t compare to one who was away for 2-3 months. Fortunately, you won’t be starting your practice on the zero marks. Your muscles will tap into what we call muscle memory.
6. Schedule the activities in your diary
One of the ways of getting back to weight lifting after a break is to schedule the plans in your diary. When the training program is part of your daily activities, you find no excuses for failing to turn up for the exercises. You should record the time and the duration of the exercise in your diary.
Additionally, you‘ll be emotionally ready for the program. As you plan for your training, it’s vital to schedule the workouts at a time when you have the least distractions. For example, you can have your workouts early in the morning after waking up or soon after work.
If you’re too busy in the morning, schedule your workouts in the evening, and vice versa. On the same note, if you’re going to have a busy day, you can limit your workouts to 15-30 minutes. This will ensure you have adequate time for your activities.
7. Get some new workout gear
Although some individuals may be intrinsically motivated to resume workouts, among of use require some form of motivation. One way of ensuring you are highly motivated for your bodybuilding activities is to acquire a new set of workout gear. Shop for comfortable shoes and outfits for your training.
Alternatively, you can acquire a workout-tracking app that will provide incentives such as hard cash, discounts, or prizes. These incentives will make you more motivated, especially when you’ve hit your daily, weekly, or monthly goals. You can also purchase a new fitness tracking app to track your weight and vital signs, such as your heart rate and breathing rates. This information will be valuable in gauging your progress.
Technically speaking, you need to reward yourself periodically to increase motivation to achieve your fitness goals. For example, you can grab a stylish pair of workout pants or running shoes to look sporty.
8. Consider this recovery period as it’s your job
In the initial period of your recovery, you must do all you can to ensure you are comfortable with the workouts. Make sure you’re training in a distraction-free environment.
Additionally, you must ensure you get enough sleep and rest each day. Adequate sleep is vital to ensure your body has enough time to rebuild your muscles. You must also check your feeding habits and adopts frequent, nutritious meals to ensure you have the energy required for the bodybuilding workouts. Consider picking whole foods, fruits, and vegetables in your meals.
You should also be ready for a few inconveniences such as pain and muscle ache in your first days after resuming your weight lifting workouts. Any time, you identify a problematic area in your training invest more time in this aspect to make sure it’s appropriately polished.
9. Work on general strength fitness qualities first
Your initial goals after resuming your weightlifting workouts should be to work on your general strength and fitness. Even if you‘re a seasoned weight lifter, you must accept the fact that the break has and an impact on your strength and fitness. You need to embark on general work capacity or accessory exercises to limit injuries as you resume your ordinary bodybuilding regime.
As you resume your training, it’s more important to be smart and safe and focus on your fitness and general strength qualities. The more intense weights should come in when your body is ready for heavy lifting. It’s vital to remember your tissues require to be reconditioned for the oncoming workload.
If you follow this route, you will reduce stress on your tissues, build your muscles, condition your connective tissues, and increase your aerobic capacity. If you dedicated enough time to fitness and general strength, you will have increased your fitness level to be in line with your demands for specialized strength training.
10. Prepare your gym bag
If you have scheduled your exercises in the morning, you need to prepare your bag at night to avid struggling to wake up and pack the bag in the morning.
Additionally, make sure your alarm is on the far end of your room to ensure you have to wake up to put it off. When you packed your bag in at night, you will get quality sleep, an aspect that is vital for your recovery. Parking your gym bag at night is a show of your commitment to your training goals.
If you decide to be going for your weightlifting workouts in the evening, you must ensure you have your gym bag ready in your car in the morning. You don’t have to pass by your house after work to pick your training gear.
Bottom line
Resuming your weightlifting workouts after a break can be tasking, but it becomes easier if you know what to do. This article has brought up some vital tips that can help you resume your bodybuilding workouts with fewer challenges. Set achievable goals for your recovery, prepare your body, work with a trainer/instructor, and make sure you eat healthy to meet the demands of the training.
Comments are closed.