TRAINING
INJURY EFFECT
If your lay-off is due to injury, it changes
the scenario and you lose strength and
muscle at a much faster rate due to the
nervous system going “off-line” in order
to prevent additional damage to the body.
An injured athlete will also compound
his situation because he will most
probably carry both emotional and
psychological baggage in relation to his
injury. This combination of physical and
emotional stress can cause an athlete
to lose muscle in a hurry due to the
cortisol response.
In addition, the more conditioned and
the stronger you are, the quicker you will
lose your strength, report Hakkinen and
colleagues in their 1985 study about an
Olympic weightlifter who lost 10% of his
strength after only 4 weeks of detraining.
In contrast, Schmidt et al. found that
motor learning and performance skills are
retrained even after decades without training
particular basic compound movements
as these neurological adaptations
remain longer in comparison to
those of isolation exercises.
This is what is referred to as
“muscle memory”, where
your ability to retain motor
coordination and muscle
fibre recruitment patterns
last longer, even when
you have lost a significant
amount of muscle, strength
and endurance during a
prolonged break.
GETTING BACK INTO THE GAME
Trainer Keith Diedrich is of the opinion that the sooner you get
going, the better. “Bodybuilders typically take a week, sometimes
two off after they have dieted down 10 to 12 weeks for a contest to
try and give their bodies a chance to rebound.” Here are 4 tips from
Diedrich to help you when you make your comeback:
1 BE PATIENT Although
you might not resume
where you have left off,
you should be patient
enough to avoid the risk
of injury.
2 DON’T GO IN
GUNG-HO Setting
short-term goals with
each and every workout,
instead of going all-out,
will put you firmly on
the path to where you
were. Don’t try to get
in shape faster as it will
backfire!
3 COMBINE WEIGHTS
AND CARDIO Slowly
build back up targeting
both the aerobic
(endurance) component
and the anaerobic
(without oxygen)
component of training.
4 SUPPORT You are
more likely to follow
through
on your goals
on your return
to the gym when
you have support
to encourage and
inspire you and hold
you accountable.
CHANGE THE WAY YOU TRAIN
Diedrich suggests switching to a
full-body workout regimen for the
first few weeks. “If you have not
touched a weight in over a week
or more it certainly is not going to
take much to fatigue the muscle and
induce soreness. Do not try and pick
up exactly where you left off,” he
urges, referring to the popular 1 or 2
muscle group training splits that are
usually followed.
Scale back the volume (number of
sets) for muscle groups and lengthen
rest intervals between sets. “Since
your muscles have had no reason to
60
Muscle Evolution
store nutrients and stay volumised,
you are not going to recover as quickly
between sets. Instead of 60 seconds,
you may need up to 2 minutes to feel
recovered for the next set. Think of the
muscle as a sponge. When you return
from vacation it is in a dry, light state.
Once you resume weight training
and proper hydration/nutrition, the
muscle will soak up nutrients much
like a sponge soaks up water, thus
becoming fuller and heavier.”
He also recommends shifting a
focus to cardio: “Cardio is not just a
tool to drop body fat. It also is a tool
“IF YOU HAVE NOT
TOUCHED A WEIGHT IN
OVER A WEEK OR MORE IT
CERTAINLY IS NOT GOING
TO TAKE MUCH TO FATIGUE
THE MUSCLE AND INDUCE
SORENESS. DO NOT TRY
AND PICK UP EXACTLY
WHERE YOU LEFT OFF.”
for recovery. When your muscles are
very sore and the thought of strength
training sounds terrifying, go knock out
some low-to-moderate intensity cardio
instead. This will increase circulation
and help with recovery while also
boosting endorphins.” Slowly add
on exercise duration each week and
make sure to incorporate rest days
in your training. Spend a little more
time concentrating on flexibility by
incorporating a solid warm-up and cool-
down period to make your comeback
more effective and not turn it into a trip
to the nearest hospital. M.E