Staying safe while going back to the gym after the COVID-19 lockdowns should be a priority. Gyms and fitness centers are slowly opening doors for their customers. There is no doubt that there has been a drop in activity levels since March of this rather slow year. If you have been staying active with home workouts, then hats off to you. Even if you were, there’s a chance that you have lost some fitness because it is hard to work out at home with the same intensity unless you have good guidance. You can get customized workout recommendations for your home workouts with FITCOACH – your smart fitness coach that offers dynamic workout suggestions.
5 tips for restarting your gym routine after lockdown
- Increase the gap between gym days
Unless you own a home gym or a lot of equipment, you must be out of practice. Keeping that in mind you should give yourself 48 hours (2 days) before you hit the gym again. This is a suggestion but it will do you good to start with 3 days a week for starters. Giving your tissues some time is important for then to be able to adapt to the higher load of exercises you perform in the gym.
- Drop the weights
That is to say, your focus should be on form rather than the load. If you were involved in some type of activity during the lockdown, you can increase the weights at 15% per week, which should take you about a month to get back to the weights you were lifting before March. This is if you start with half the weight. If you have not been working out since the first lockdown, you should proceed even more gradually.
- Focus on warm-up for muscle activation and mobility
Include a comprehensive warm-up before any gym session. You may consider warming up at home so that you can complete a good workout at the gym. Make sure that the exercises in your warm-up routine focus on mobilizing and activating main muscle groups and joints. A comprehensive warm-up is important for sessions when your activity levels have been slow for some time.
- Be careful with plyometrics
High-impact activities such as jumping, hopping, skipping, etc. should be done with great caution. These activities put a lot of stress on your bones and tendons. It can take you up to 3 days to recover from these exercises. Limiting these exercises to twice a week if you have stayed active throughout the lockdown is a wise choice. Gradually increase the time sup jump, hop, skip, etc. If you have been inactive throughout the lockdown, you might want to start with low-impact exercises that do not involve jumping and stuff.
- Sleep well and eat healthy
These are the two most important things to make sure your workouts are effective. Sleep is very important for recovery, especially when you exercise a lot. Therefore, focus on getting at least 7 to 9 hours of shut-eye each night.
When it comes to weight loss and muscle gain, you must moderate your calorie intake. Eat nutrient-dense foods to help the body recover well. It is also important to lose weight you might have gained over the last few months.
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