Regaining physical form after the confinement break is, or is being, one of the main objectives of anyone passionate about physical exercise . But do you really know how to get back to training to regain the physical shape you once had without putting your body at risk and avoiding injury?
Adaptation process
With training, your body is subjected to great stress that causes damage to your muscles but, thanks to the adaptability of your body , it is able to recover and prepare to receive an increasing stimulus.
With the passing of the days and the sum of the workouts, your muscles develop. Your strength, flexibility and aerobic capacity are increased, which is why it is said that your physical form is improved.
When prolonged inactivity occurs, physical condition decreases . The ability to adapt that made us reach the level we had before the break, makes our body adapt again; but this time, it does it the other way around. Physical activity decreases, so your body does not need to maintain the current level and its capacities decrease. Our muscles lose tone and strength and cardiorespiratory capacity decreases when we do not receive the stimulus that made it improve.
Tips to regain fitness
As we already know, if we want to be healthy, it is vitally important to stay active and practice physical exercise. But this must be planned progressively. An excess of exercise after a long time of inactivity, can cause problems in your joints, muscles and organism.
We recommend that, if you have lost your physical form during this pandemic, you start with the following recommendations:
Increase training time progressively
Start with about 150 minutes of moderate physical activity a week or 75 minutes of vigorous physical activity a week . Ideally, you should combine days of moderate or intense activity, with others where the intensity is lower, leaving a sufficient margin of time between workouts for your body to recover.
Adapt the training volume and intensity to your current level
Try to progressively increase your training volume and intensity for greater benefits. About 300 minutes of moderate physical activity a week, or its equivalent, could be a very good option.
As for the loads in strength training, you should gradually increase them. Another option is to decrease the repetitions in the bedroom of the exercises, in this way we will be increasing the intensity without adding weight to the exercises.
Leave days of rest between workouts: a key factor to regain fitness
Include 2 days a week of strength training that allows you to strengthen your muscles, in such a way that the large muscle groups are exercised, but be sure to leave rest days between both. Training consecutive days is not the best option if you come from a long period of inactivity.
Ask for help from a physical activity professional and have him or her guide your return to exercise. In this way, you will avoid injuries due to excess volume and you will return much faster to enjoying the physical condition you had before having to stop training.
Patience and caution are your allies to regain the physical form you once had
Be patient: as they say, Rome wasn’t built in a day. Time and the exact dose of exercise are your allies so that you can see yourself the same as before this pandemic.
Stay wanting more in training. It is preferable not to over-fatigue your body, since recovery will be much more complex, so the risk of injury increases. Find the lowest effective dose to ensure your progress without compromising your health.
conclusion
When we are used to practicing physical exercise on a regular basis and we are forced to stop, the moment to return to training becomes a real problem .
Perhaps the first day of returning to training we will look good, we feel good sensations at the time of sports practice, but we must understand that this period of inactivity has caused our body to lose physical condition, so the return must be carried out in a progressive way .
We recommend that, first of all, you put yourself in the hands of a physical activity professional. You will need the training to be programmed progressively until you reach the intensity and volume you had just before you were forced to stop.
