Are you worried about getting back to the gym? Most gym goers will at some point experience a period away from the gym. The reasons for that are many; illness, injury, life events or just getting out of the habit.

If you decide to make a return, then you will have inevitably lost some condition and won’t be at the same level as you were previously. This necessitates a period of easing yourself back into things.

This means initially reducing the amount of weight you were previously lifting. This patient and progressive return will reduce the risk of injury and level of delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS).

Your risk of injury will also be dependent on your previous history of injury. If you have a particular history of injury it is probably wise to be a little extra cautious with exercises involving those particular muscle groups.

On returning to Gym64 – pay attention to your rep speed and range of motion. Muscles and tendons are placed under greater stress the higher the rep speed and more extreme the range of motion. That greater stress increases the risk of muscle damage and strains. This means initially reducing the rep speed and range of motion.

Despite the above advice you will no doubt still experience some DOMS, until your muscles readapt to training again, but it will at least be reduced.

If you haven’t been training for a while because of low motivation then setting yourself some realistic, achievable goals might help boost your motivation again.

There is some good news though. Although you will have lost some condition and strength, it won’t take as long to get back to where you were when you stopped training as it did to get to that previous point. There is even some evidence to suggest that you can see increases in your strength following a protracted break after a sensible period of progressive training.

So what are you waiting for? The best time to return is now.

Not a member of Gym64 – join now, there are three branches to choose from Dunfermline Gym, Kirkcaldy Gym and Glenrothes Gym.