Training Day Gym Educational Article - Getting back into the gym after lockdown by Coach Chris
o in excitement and anticipation of Gyms reopening on the 22nd of June, I thought I would write up a short article on some things to take into consideration for those who perhaps haven’t trained at all over the past 10-12 weeks, or for those who just haven't trained with their usual training loads due to equipment restraints.
So if you fall in the camp of not training at all over the past 10-12 weeks, then you definitely don't want to be that person who comes back day one, smashes heaps of volume for 2 hours and the next day is in a wheelchair in the emergency room because every fibre in your body hurts to much to breath. I’d recommend you start with roughly 50% of your usual training volume. This means if you usually do 8 sets of a particular muscle group on a given day, try doing 3-4 sets in the first week of this muscle group to allow for the fact that your recovery capacity has no doubt decreased over the detraining that has occurred in the past few months. However you’ll get this back within a month or so, so don't stress. The next factor would be managing training intensity, you don't want to just return straight to the weight you were lifting before, as you likely aren’t as strong at this present moment and the risk of injury will be significantly higher. Start week one aiming for a training intensity that leaves around 3-4 reps in reserve (RIR). This means if you were doing a set of 10 on a bicep curl, at the completion of the 10th repetition you would be able to do 3-4 more if you had to go to failure. This can also be known as a Rate of Perceived Exertion (RPE) of around 5-6. Then each week lift slightly heavier than the last, gradually getting closer to your initial strength levels while allowing your neuromuscular system to adapt without snapping something in the process.
Lastly, since gyms will most likely be running on a casual basis for the first 4 weeks or so, it won't be practical for most to return straight to their usual splits. I would highly recommend a full body split 1-3 times per week, aiming for around 2-4 sets per major muscle group / movement pattern which will help manage training volume and prevent overtraining while allowing for an efficient way to hit every muscle with limited training sessions per week. This could look something like the following:
A1: Lower Body Push (Squat/Lunge/Leg Press etc.)
B1: Upper body pull (Pull up, row etc.)
C1: Lower body pull (Deadlift variations, glute bridge, hamstring curl etc.)
D1: Upper body push (Push up, DB Bench Press, Machine chest press etc.)
C1: Accessory 1 (Biceps, Triceps, Rear Delts, Lateral Delts, Calves, Core)
C2: Accessory 2 (“ “)
If you are in the second camp of people who have been training regularly but have not been able to lift near you maximum loads due to equipment constraints, then you probably don't need to be as condervative with your training volume, however given the limitations of Gym capacity in the initial re-opening, you may also benefit from using a full body split 1-3x per week in the initial stages of re-opening. From an intensity standpoint it will vary depending on how far from your usual weight you have been lifting, but starting around 60-80% of your usual weight depending on how long you’ve been away from heavy lifting is a good place to start. If you’re unsure, start more conservative. Then aim to add 2.5-5kg every week on your primary lifts until you get back to the weight you were lifting originally. You might choose to select a given rep range (e.g. 10 reps) and use this method until you reach a plateau for 2 weeks, then drop 2 reps and repeat, until you reach your peak strength prior to lockdown. This isn’t the only way to do it, but it is a very simple yet effective strategy anyone can implement and receive great results from.
Lastly if you’re someone who hasn’t done much fitness / training at all over this period, even starting with some body weight training could significantly reduce the time needed to ease into your training and make regaining your strength, muscle, recovery and overall fitness a quicker process, you still have 2 weeks until re-opening so use them as per your personal preference.
Regardless of what you do, before you know it, you’ll be back to your old strength & performance and aiming for new PB’s.
Christos Akritidis
Coach - Training Day Gym Clayton
Strength & Fitness Coach | Accredited Sports Nutritionist
Bachelor of Exercise & Sports Science