After literally being laid up for several weeks I was anxious to get back to my exercise routine. The cause of keeping me away from my routine was eye surgery as a result of a torn retina. What you can take away from my ordeal is to remember to come back gradually after an extended layoff of any sort (i.e. vacation, injury etc.). The longer the layoff the more time needed to get back to pre-injury status. Patience is the key here - as I keep telling my self during my first week back. In regard to any type of weight-lifting, remember:
Start with about 50-60% of the weight you were previously lifting before the time off (for Day 1) and increase the intensity by about 10% per workout over the next 2-3 weeks. After the first week, I expect to start to feel like I'm making some strides. After being away for almost a month, I am giving myself about 3-4 weeks to get back to where I was.
Remember, we can start to detrain in as little as 2-3 weeks if we stop exercising and we can lose about 5-10% of our aerobic capacity after only 3 weeks of not exercising. For additional information on this topic read a recent Koko blog post. Be smart upon your return and tell yourself this exercise thing is for the rest of your life...no need to rush back 100% in the first few workouts!
No comments:
Post a Comment