Returning to training after illness or injury

This weeks post is all about returning to activity. Often people experience pain and stop exercising. When they return the pain comes back. Here’s my two cents on why that happens.

During the time off the body will detrain. Some of the positive effects from exercise will be lost. When returning to activity people remember the weight they lifted/ distance they ran before taking the time off. They forget how long it took to get there.

When returning to training after illness or injury it’s better to gradually return to activity. Start with a distance/ weight that you know you can easily accomplish. Gradually increase from there by a small amount each session. This should be like going up the stairs. One small increment at a time.

If you get to a level where you start to experience your symptoms you should go back one step on the staircase. This is the previous distance/ weight you completed with a manageable level of symptoms. This is preferable to going back to the bottom step on the staircase i.e. stopping completely!

Often people remember what they were doing before and jump straight back into that like taking the elevator. They flare up their symptoms and then go back to doing nothing. This boom and bust cycle makes them feel like they can’t do the activity again. Usually they have incorrectly dosed the exercise. Once it’s correctly dosed they can return with no issues!

Next time you return to training take the staircase, not the elevator.