How to approach your fitness after a training break?

How to approach your fitness after a training break?
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After gyms being shut down, in some places of the world gyms are opening up again. In today’s post, I will discuss how you can approach your training to rebuild your fitness after a break from the gym!
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First, some good news. After losing muscle, your body has the capacity to regain that lost muscle at an accelerated pace [1]. A leading theory of muscle memory is that the human body retains the nuclei you acquire while lifting weights. Nuclei are basically the control centers of your muscle fibers. Acquiring new nuclei allows for more muscle growth to occur. One study found that muscle nuclei can stay present for up to 15 years in humans [2]. So even if you lose muscle in your break, your training experience helps you regain muscle.
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Now, about the first week back to the gym, I suggest you maintain an intro-cycle. If you had a 3-week or longer break from training, it’s common to be very sore once you train again. In fact, some people are so sore that they can’t train anymore the days after. To prevent this from happening and rebuild consistency in your routine, an intro-cycle helps. As a guideline, reduce your training volume by about 25% compared to your regular workouts during a 1-week intro-cycle.
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Next up, it’s also time to rebuild your strength again by focusing on progressive overload. The first time after weeks or months of you doing something like a bench press, it is normal if you have to start with a lighter weight. As a general guideline, for every month that you have not practiced an exercise, decrease the weight by 10%.
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Lastly, we have your nutrition. For most people, after a training break, there is the opportunity for a body recomposition phase. Because your muscles experience faster development due to muscle memory, it is likely that you can build muscle while losing fat in the first 1-2 months after your training break. So if you have a fat loss goal, maintaining a moderate 15-20% calorie deficit while consuming enough protein can help you lose fat and develop muscle.