And, for me, along with the colder air inevitably comes an early season head cold — as in runny nose, headache, cough, etc. This time around I got an extra special surprise as a bonus: a sinus infection! (Awesome.)
Well, after a week and a half of that, and a trip to the local doc plus some antibiotics, I’m on the mend. But the damage to my workout routine has been done.
When you’re not feeling up to par, chances are one of the first casualties is gym time. I probably skipped 4 or more workouts over the past week and a half, and the ones I got in were less than stellar, to put it mildly. No intensity, definitely no progress, more like just going through the motions.
And that’s a problem. Without progress I’m headed backwards, and that’s the last thing I need after putting in so much effort. No doubt my goal of a 250 pound bench press is a bit further away at this point, and my squat and deadlift numbers will have been knocked down some as well.
The solution, of course, is to get back to work. Simple.
I’ll be back in the gym today looking to make up for lost time, but I won’t be aiming for new PR’s fresh off a week long hiatus. (Unless a pulled muscle is somehow on my to-do list.)
While I do want to inject some intensity into the work, the loads will most likely be in the 50-60 percent of max range, and done dynamically, meaning speed. And I’ll probably focus on some of the basic movements today: box squats, rack press, and maybe some dips.
This is assuming I don’t have to wait for any of the equipment at my gym — always a concern. (I don’t like waiting, and would rather just do a different exercise altogether.) But I’ll definitely get the right things done to make the first day back worth it.
Having been down this “exercise hiatus” road before, as I’m sure you have, I have some guidelines that make the transition back to the gym as easy as possible.
1. First, when you’re sidelined by sniffles or whatever, don’t try to force the workouts in. If you feel up to it, great, go for it, but it’s far better in my opinion to rest up. You’re body is already under stress trying to get well; you sure as hell don’t want to make the situation worse. Plus how good are those workouts going to be anyway?
2. Don’t make good nutrition a casualty as well. Avoiding crap food during downtime will allow you to recover faster, and make the transition back to the workouts easier.
3. Though it should go without saying, don’t aim for a new PR on the bench (or any other lift) the first few days back in action. You’re asking for an injury that way, so ease back into it. Keep your eye on long-term progress, rather than what’s happening day-to-day, or week-to-week.
Have any guidelines of your own? Share in the comments.
Post Workout Update:
Everything went as planned…and I feel great. Rocked some rack lockouts/presses, as advertised, then moved to front squats and lateral raises as one long drop set. Bottom line: felt great. Can’t wait for the tabata sprints tomorrow…
