A best friend of mine texted me asking what he should do after taking 4 months off of the gym. You may have recently just found yourself asking the same question.
You've taken some time off from the gym. You don't know where to start. You feel weak compared to where you used to be. You're dreading that feeling of starting all over, but at the same time you're really excited to start getting that pump on again.
Well, lets dig in to this for those of you who are trying to get back in the swing of lifting weights to build muscle and get stronger (and hopefully you've been keeping up with your diet.)
1. THE COMPOUND MOVEMENTS
Now I know the first thing you're thinking about when you go back to the gym is doing bicep curls. You're looking to get that pump on and rebuild those arms because let's be honest, its the #1 most wanted part of most men's physiques. There's nothing more classic than your guns hugging your sleeves.
BUT, the truth is to get there, you really need to focus on those compound lifts. You can do curls, but your focus is compounds. Pick any variation of the following main movements:
Squat
Bench
Deadlift
Horizontal Row
Shoulder Press
Vertical Row
Surprise... surprise. These are your bread and butter movements.. or maybe your avocado and toast movements. Pick a variation to start that you're most comfortable with. For squats, you may pick front squats instead of traditional barbell back squats. For bench, you might pick incline bench. It doesn't matter. You just need to start with some general compound movements.
We want you to enjoy the process getting back, so if you for some reason just cant stand doing bent over barbell rows, then do some seated cable rows if that's what you enjoy.
2. THE FREQUENCY, VOLUME AND INTENSITY
The focus would be priming your weightlifting movements. You want more frequency and less volume to get back in the swing. So basically, don’t kill yourself. You don’t want get too sore (see source at end of article from NASM-CPT textbook about reducing 'DOMS.') Were concerned more with being able to sustain a higher frequency of training.
This means a 3x a week full body workout would be very ideal. You can do Monday, Wednesday, Friday, for example. Don't work out on consecutive days.
Keep the overall volume of the workout low. Just pick whatever you’re feeling. It doesn't need to be overly complicated to start. Choose 3x5, 5x5, 3x8 or 3x10 with a weight you can handle easily. There shouldn’t be a single grinding rep in there. Just pick a set of light weight to start. If it's light then great, increase it 5lbs the next workout. Then do it again the next. And continue do so in a linear progression format (remember: linear progression is different from linear periodization.)
Don’t bother with extra volume work. Do your curls and stuff if it makes you happy, but I’d say don’t get your biceps too sore when you’re going to be hitting rows and lat pull-downs again in a day.
The most important part of this initial phase is just greasing the groove.
3. CARDIO
You’re also going to do just 20 mins of cardio daily or after your workout. Your cardiovascular system is not where it used to be since you've taken so much time off. We want to improve your overall health, but also prime yourself to handle higher loads of volume when weightlifting. So focus on getting in the swing of the movements and get your cardiovascular conditioning back.
I’d sneak in 1-2 days of something high intensity per week if you can. Do 1 day of HIIT and do 1 day of a mile run. Every other day, do 20 mins of LIIT on the elliptical or treadmill. 10k steps a day with at least 5k of those steps being a brisk walk is a great option, too. Pick whatever is comfortable for you. After all, this is not personalized advice so don't expect this to be too specific >.<
4. DON'T RUSH IT
The worst thing you could do is rush yourself to trying to do the same weight you were doing before. The LAST thing you want to do is injure yourself in the gym.
Put your ego aside and enjoy the process of working your way back up to where you were before... and then SMASHING past that.
THE REASONING
I think this approach works better than just starting with high reps and light weight and hammering volume at the start. I’ve found I gain strength back faster if I do it this way because the focus is on frequency. Then after you’re feeling like you’re back, start increasing the volume and building muscular endurance back up. Assuming you've working on building some of that cardio base back up, I’d start a muscular endurance phase where you’re doing 3x10-15 reps with select compounds and accessory work (then after that you can start pushing to a hypertrophy phase and later on strength/power phases.)
I think it’s popular to just start off with really light weight and do a lot of volume, but you start off just getting really sore because your body isn’t used to the volume and your cardio vascular system isn't the same to even handle lots of volume work.
If you’re getting sore for 2-3 days after the workout you’re delaying your process of building back because you have to sit and wait until you’re not sore again. Now you’re pushing your workouts back. So it’s better to start light with lower volume and get used to those compound movements again. They’re going to hit every muscle and you’ll get enough “volume” because any amount of volume will work when you haven’t done anything in months.
THE MINER FIT, BACK TO MAJOR RESULTS, WORKOUT:
You probably wanted something exactly spelled out for you, so this is exactly what I would do if I took over 3 months off and came back to training at a gym. This might not be the best for you, but this is what works for me and what I enjoy. I keep it simple. (KISS - Keep It Simple Stupid)
Do the same workout 3x per week - Monday Wednesday Friday.
Start off using around 50% of your old 1 rep max for loading intensities.
Use Linear progression - add 5 lbs each workout on upper body lifts and 10lbs to each lower body lift each workout (you should have started off light enough where you can sustain this linear progression easily for 2-4 weeks)
Sample Workout Option 1
Flat Barbell Bench Press 3x5
Barbell Back Squat 3x5
Romanian or Stiff Legged Deadlift 3x5
Pull/Chin Up 3x8-12
Seated Dumbell Shoulder Press 3x8-12
Face Pulls 3x8-12
Sample Workout Option 2
Incline Dumbbell Chest Press 3x5
Barbell Back Squat 3x5
Trap Bar Deadlift 3x5
Close Grip Bench Press 3x8-12
Underhand Bent Over Barbell Row 3x8-12
Lateral Raises 3x8-12
Personally, I like to arrange my bench press before lower body movements. I do this because I find that if I do squats before bench press, it effects my bench press more negatively than if I did bench and then squat. Traditional programming usually has your most complex and difficult movements first, so this may go against the likes of what I've learned from NSCA books for programming, but you need to take into account your own goals and how your body responds to certain training stimulus. It's also very common for squat to be the first movement of full body workouts. This may or may not be the best for you; this is just MY workout.
This month long workout will give you a ton of frequency, reasonable volume, and get your muscles ready for an intense muscular endurance phase, as long as you're focusing on quality, controlled reps.
After these 4 weeks, you have many options. You can:
1. Keep doing the same workout above!
2. Go into a more general strength training phase following the ABA, BAB structured workouts using linear progression depending on your level. Now you can now really start pushing the weight and pushing yourself with heavier loads. (which you can also start with this workout instead of the other 2 sample options from before)
Example
Week 1: A, off, B, off, A, off, off
Week 2: B, off, A, off, B, off, off
Repeat the alternating scheme with linear progression:
A
Barbell Back Squat 3x5
Flat Barbell Bench Press 3x5
Bent Over Barbell Row 3x5
Overhead Tricep Extensions 3x8-10
Preacher Curls 3x8-10
Romanian Deadlift 3x10
B
Barbell Back Squat 3x5
Standing Overhead Press 3x5
Trap Bar Deadlift 3x5
Weighted Chin Up 3x5
Close Grip bench Press 3x8-10
Barbell Curls 3x8-10
3. Start a muscular endurance block phase of training with new exercises, new rep schemes, etc, in preparation for hypertrophy, strength, and power blocks
4. Start an Upper Lower program with linear periodization ( check out my eBook and Excel/Google sheet program here)
The Spark Notes:
Full body workouts.
Compound movements.
Moderate volume.
Higher frequency of workouts.
Don’t rush it.
PS: Pushups, Pullups, Jump Squats, and Cardio go a long way for at home workouts that can prepare you for getting back into the gym. 50 reps each daily. Give it a shot.
What this workout does not include:
Personalized Programming and Periodization
Alternative Exercises (based on available equipment or personal limitations)
Alternative Workout Splits based on your schedule
How to Break Plateaus
Progressions and Regressions
Exercise Tempo selection
Form Check
Corrective Exercises
Nutrition Advice
Mobility Training
Flexibility Training
Ab/Core Training
Cardio Fitness Training
Warm Ups & Cool Downs
If you’d like to ensure you’re safely and effectively reaching your goals, consider my personal training services to help you through your journey!
Schedule a quick call with me to get started.
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