RETURNING TO SPORT AFTER A BREAK

It's not uncommon that athletes - whether recreational or competitive - take a break from training. In fact, it's quite healthy and is often built in after the end of a sport season, often called an active rest period, which allows the body to recover from the damage incurred during the competitive season, or for sports without a clear “in-season”, after a prolonged intense training phase and competition.

The Rest Window

Normally, this active rest window is advised to be two to three weeks long, in which case, there isn't much by way of a negative impact on one's overall training status. However, some of us find ourselves in an “active rest” period of months, or sometimes years. If you're among this group, it's reasonable to expect detraining in some capacity or other. 

And Getting Out of It

Now that you've decided to work back out of the active rest period, it's important to ensure that you progress back into your sport or activity in a sequential manner. Whether your event is cyclical in nature (running, cycling, rowing, etc.), involves equipment (pickleball, tennis, golf, etc), or you have to work against an object or opponent (martial arts, field/court/water sports, etc.), it's vital to have a sequential return to your activity, both in the context of fitness levels and technical skills. This helps to ensure that your body has an opportunity to remember what the heck it needs to do in your chosen activity, as well as giving it the opportunity to recover enough before the next session. 

Coming Up With Your Plan

It's understandable to feel really good during some of the earlier re-training sessions, but it's important to make sure that we're laying out a progressive plan and trusting it enough to follow it until we've given ourselves two to three weeks of ramping up both the duration (time, distance) and intensity (pace, weight). It's wholly understandable to feel really good during a fitness session and want to extend your run from 5 to 7 miles, but for many folks, that is a huge difference in strain to the body (nearly 30% more!).

For activities that involve specialized equipment, it's important to remember to ramp-up the time spent on the technical skills just as it is for fitness. Imagine picking up a racket or a set of golf clubs and going out and performing that sport for an hour and a half. I have a hunch that for most of us, our biceps - among other muscles - will be crying out for mercy in the days following. Therefore, consider adding technical practice in 10-15 minute increments over the same couple of weeks as the fitness progression, and enjoy maintaining full function of your limbs as you transition back into your event!

Need Some Help?

Not sure where to begin in your return-to-sport quest? Book a personal training session with me and we can outline an appropriate progression specific to your needs and activity type!