Isolation is coming to a close here in Australia, and with the opportunity to catch up with some clients and gym members I've heard some stories about how they spent their time.
Spoiler alert - it wasn't what they had planned.
I've heard people tell me they planned to spend their time mastering double unders, get awesome at handstand holds and work on their running ability.
What did they really get better at? Hitting the "Yes" button when Netflix asked if they were still watching, 8 hours deep into binge watching Tiger King and The Last Dance.
As well as people being excited and frothing at the mouth for gyms to reopen and a chance to get back to their normal work/ life schedule and catch up with all their training buddies...there is also a real sense of fear and nervousness. Sound familiar?
Fear that all of your skills have left you in the last 8 weeks, that you won't have the ability to walk down the driveway to the gym let alone run in a workout, or that the barbell that used to seem so light will now be as heavy as Thor's hammer Mjolnir.. and guess what? You're scared you aren't worthy and it just won't lift off the ground.
I'm not going to lie to you. It will be hard.
...But here are 5 strategies to help make the climb back to fitness a little easier, think of me as your 6 foot tall Sherpa.
1) Do ease back into it. Something that was considered an easy workout months ago may now crush you. Yes, even if you have kept up running and cycling and swimming and some intense thumb scrolling on Instagram.
For the first two weeks don't work above 75% and bear in mind that adding weightlifting to conditioning elements is a different beast than running or rowing alone, so keep the heart rate below your max.
2) Handcare. And not the wash your hands 3000 times a day we have all become accustomed to (although it's a good habit, so keep it up and use the sanitiser). I'm talking about not jumping up on the rig and knocking out max effort sets of toes to bar and pullups. Your poor soft hands can't take it, and the last thing you need to do right now is rip and be out of action when we just got back in.
3) Splurge. Everything's going to feel rusty. Jump into a class environment or book a PT with a coach if that is an option. Go over the movements you are concerned about, be reminded of the difference between a clean and a snatch and how to perform those damn double unders again.
The fastest way to improve is 1 on 1 under the watchful eye of someone who knows better, so if this is a concern of yours it's an easy way to fix it straight up until everything feels familiar again.
4) You're going to get sore. Don't stay at home and feel sorry for yourself. Get out, get back to the gym and just MOVE. This doesn't mean attack the next workout with all intensity, it means move your joints around, promote blood flow and recover faster. The body adapts quickly, and while you've trained it wonderfully to sit on the couch 8 hours a day, watch YouTube conspiracy videos and expect ice cream at 8pm on the dot every night, now is the time to train it to expect to be used and be forced to recover from that.
5) Cut yourself some slack. It's been a break that you probably needed. All you savages getting up at 5am every morning to hit the 5:30am classes, no days off, always giving 110%, never stopping, never backing down, beast mode... yeah yeah yeah.
Balance and longevity is the key here. Your body may actually feel better than it has in the last few years just due to some good old fashioned rest and recovery. Remember that and focus on the positives from this situation rather than a lack of fitness.
Losing fitness is like losing your car keys, it's annoying, but the odds are you will be able to find it after a good search and your significant other looking properly for you.
Want to know what we're doing with our fitness at this time?
New block of The Herd Group Program starts on the 20th June.
Perfect timing to get back into it, no matter how long you've had off.
Want in? >>> Hit the link and sign up for a Free 7-Day Trial and let's come back stronger than ever.