On the 23rd of March, a bold decision was made the shut down the economy and general movement of people to control a virus that was wreaking havoc through every country in the world. Over night, everything stopped and a new way of life began.
Since gyms up and down the country shut down, most of us have lost significant gains in cardiovascular fitness, strength and muscle mass. Our health status will be less favorable than what it was at the end of March due to limited movement, drastically reduced exercise time and intensity as well as fear induced stress.
It looks like we are nearing the light at the end of the tunnel and chatter about training styles and formation are all over social media. With 12 weeks of limited to zero training, it’s important that we take the right steps to ensure that we:
1. Limit injuries
2. Maximise muscle and strength gains
3. Continue to progress in the future
Recovery phases:
July
Phase 1 - This is the most important part of this process, it will also be the most difficult. Familiar exercises will feel daunting and even light weights will feel heavier than normal. Therefore exercise selection should be basic. The focus is to stimulate major muscle groups without causing too much stress to your tendons and ligaments. If you squatted 140kg as your 1 Rep Max (1RM) before lockdown, this phase isn't the right time to try the same weight. It's simply too dangerous.
It's important to focus on good form, blood flow and muscle stimulation and less on simply lifting the heaviest amount of weight to regain muscles fast. Muscle memory is a real thing and most people can regain 3 months of lost muscle in 4-6 weeks if they train adequately, eat enough protein, total calories and get enough rest.
For someone who has been averaging 3-4 low to moderate intensity training sessions during lockdown using bands and light weights, 1-2 exercises with 3 sets of 10-15 reps per body part is enough. Most people will benefit from a whole body or upper and lower body split multiple times per week. Avoid very heavy weights and supersets at this point.
For example, DAY 1 - Chest, back and biceps. DAY 2 - Legs, shoulders and triceps. Then repeat cycle on DAY 3 and DAY 4.
Anything more than that can cause unnecessary pain and injuries. It’s important to remember that during months of less than optimal training, your muscles, tendons and ligaments will shrink as they are not being exercised at the same rate they are used to.
DOMs (Delayed onset muscle soreness) will be problematic during the first 7 - 14 days. You will ache longer and much more. This is another reason why easing into back into training is important.
Take away: Limited exercise selection, Lighter weights to begin with, moderate to high reps.
August
Phase 2 - By now, your strength and fitness is up, you've regained some muscle and motivation is through the roof. This next phase is all about increasing the volume of work you expose yourself to. For the advanced group, this is a great time to return to the usual 4-5 day split. For the inexperienced and intermediate group, an upper/lower body split may have to continue for another 4 weeks but with more exercises, an increase in weight and more sets. Some advanced lifters might find that they recover most of their strength in the first 4 weeks and decide to progress further, possibly even aiming for muscle failure with heavier weights.
Take away: Increase number of exercises, training days and weight. For the advanced, return to 4-5 day splits, reach muscle failure with heavy weights.
September
Phase 3 - This is the final stage of your recovery process, the easiest part of all three phases. By now, you've gained a fair bit of muscle back without sustaining any injuries. Your tendons and ligaments feel strong and mobility has greatly improved. Progressive overload and 4-5 daily splits can now be implemented as normal with a much reduced risk of injury.
Take way: Increase work load again, return to usual training split with a single major muscle group on training days. Continue to increase weight, reps and other variables.
The key take away here is to be reasonable and patient once you get back to the gym. It's important that you don't allow the frustration of lost gains and your ego to be your driving force. Even in the best of times, this is not the best way to tackle weight training. Good luck as you get back to a stronger, healthier lifestyle.
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