One situation that tends to get people hurt is when they let their exercise regimen lapse but then try to pick up right where they left off. The human body can adjust to its new circumstances rather quickly, and it might only take a break of a couple weeks or even a few days before a workout with demands you used to easily be able to meet instead pushes you to extremes.
If you’ve taken a break for awhile, whether because you went on vacation or simply let your attentiveness to exercise lapse, then you have to get back into the swing of things in the smartest way possible, avoiding injury and over-exertion in the process. To do so, consider the advice on hand from a new report.
First, make sure you don’t oversell your own abilities, and furthermore, be okay with what you’re able to accomplish upon your return to heavy exercise. If you used to be able to run five miles without a problem but find that you’re overly winded at three, be willing to cut the run short. If you lifted a certain weight but find that half of that is now putting strain on your muscles, take the time to get back up to your previous form.
If you’re not willing to give yourself this time to bridge the gap between where you were and where you are, you’re more apt to burn out and thus subject yourself to another break. You’re not helping anyone if your intense exercise gets yourself injured. Your first trip back to working out doesn’t have to be a marathon; it takes time to get yourself back to top form.
By the same token, you don’t want to be so hesitant to exercise that you wait too long to get back in the game or don’t push your body enough. This is where taking a tempered approach helps. If you run 15 miles right away, you might take two weeks off just to recover. Instead, get some amount of limited exercise a few days per week, enough that you’re breaking a sweat and aiding your body but not so much that you’re leaving yourself open to injury.
When you return to working out, also make sure that you’re not engaging in the same tactics that led you to take a break in the first place. If you had to stop running because it was taking a toll on your joints, running at full speed when you return might not be the best idea. Instead, consider an alteration to your routine with help from your physical trainer. A bike or an elliptical could hold more benefits, or maybe swimming is the way to go. No matter what, make sure you’re exercising in a way that’s enjoyable to you, as that makes you more inclined to keep it up.
Finally, realize that where you have to be especially careful is when the break came about for medical reasons. If you've had a microdiscectomy, for instance, you can't just leap back into things. To avoid severe microdiscectomy pain after surgery, you'll need to work directly with a doctor to figure out the best way to get back to pre-operation levels.
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