Did you train and stop?
We all know it, and it's definitely not pleasant.
There's nothing like being in the swing: the body is used to training, so that every workout goes down the throat a little smoother, less squeaky and maybe even dare we say - pleasant.
Then we stopped.
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No matter why, no matter the reason - holidays or "crazy times" - the bottom line is that it happened, and now we want to get back to training. So what do we need to know and how do we do it right?
getting stronger
gym (those photographed have nothing to do with the news),
Before approaching the question of how to return to training and what should be emphasized again, we should ask ourselves what actually happens when we stop training, and for this we first need to understand what happens to our body during training.
Without going into details, let's say that we are getting stronger.
And how does it happen?
It's very simple: in training, some kind of load is applied to the body (there are several types of loads), at a level that "convinces" the body that it is necessary to make a change and adapt to the next load.
So, the muscles grow and/or the energy pathways in the body improve.
The strengthening, or the improvement, actually happens after the training, in the period of time until the next training, and this is called "recovery".
The quality of our recovery is affected by several factors including nutrition, sleep, the break itself between training and even our mental state (being calm and relaxed is good, but being stressed or depressed is not good at all).
The importance of the mental state is much greater than we previously knew, as studies show that it is a factor as influential as diet and sleep.
It is important to remember that training is a process, and these are not necessarily easy.
Only one workout has a small effect, so we can understand that even a break of a week or two won't change anything for us.
In fact, many times after a break of such a period of time, we may find that we have actually gotten stronger, because during the training period the body feels a continuous load.
Now that we have given him a relatively long break - suddenly we will feel the fruits of the work, because the body has finally managed to reach a full recovery.
It is also possible that we will not feel an improvement but rather a kind of "rust" feeling, but this is a relatively superficial matter, but it is important not to forget that we do not "lose" our fitness - it does not disappear after a week or two of a break.
Gym, photo: AFP.
Sometimes the break doesn't work
And what if it is a longer period?
Well, here we are already talking about a decrease in abilities, but here too it is important to remember that it is gradual and quite slow, and it also depends very much on what we do do during the day.
If we are very inactive, lie in bed (as in a sick state) and do not move the body, then the deterioration will be faster, but if our daily routine is active then it is likely to help the body maintain the achievement to some extent.
Unlike a relatively short break of a week or two, where there is no need to change anything in our training routine (you can go back and continue from where you left off in training, depending on personal feeling, if the break is longer, then we are also talking about a gradual return, and this depends on the time of the break and personal feeling.
For example, if after a period of training we managed to perform a squat weighing 80 kg for 10 repetitions and then stopped for a month, we will realize that we are no longer confident in our ability to perform this weight lifting and the same number of repetitions, so we should lose 10%-20% of the weight .
This example, by the way, can also be taken to other types of sports, such as running or any other training.
If we stopped for a longer period, for example for a few months, then we can already be quite sure that the ability has decreased, and now we are necessarily weaker.
how bad
We won't know, but we'll make an educated guess.
It is necessary to gradually return to training (archive, the photo has no relation to the news), photo: Liron Moldovan
Let's start from a safe load.
Let's assume about 50% of the load we reached before the break, and from there we will progress according to personal feeling, and so on.
The body and mind remember
You understood correctly: there is no uniform formula regarding what changes should be made after a break, and no one can give exact numbers because the body is a super complex machine in which the hidden is more than the visible, a machine that is very different from person to person that also changes from period to period and from day to day.
And what do we do if we stopped for a very long period, for example six months, a year or even more?
Will we have to start all over?
Well, the answer is complicated.
Yes, because in terms of a training program we are pretty much back to the beginning, and no - because the body remembers, the mind remembers and the soul remembers.
A person who knows how to train and has already gone through this process, will return to swimming in the deep water much faster than a "real" beginner.
The result varies according to several factors, photo: Liron Moldovan
Therefore, and in conclusion, when the break is longer than a week or two, we will treat it from a careful and individual starting point, we will test our abilities at a certain percentage of the ability we had before the break and from there we will proceed carefully.
What won't we do?
On the one hand, we will not ignore the break and rush to jump headlong into the deep end.
On the other hand, we will not fear the break too much and go on eggshells - a break in training is almost a necessity, a reality that will surely happen to us at some point, and we have to deal with that as well.
We will refer to the length of the break, choose a certain percentage of the load we have reached while taking into account the length of the break and personal feeling, and slowly and carefully we will return to business.
In any case, you should consult the appropriate professional - preferably a fitness trainer who knows us and our training history.
Avi Israeli is a certified fitness trainer and Wingate graduate
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