Preparing for Summer following a long layoff at the gym – Get Summer Ready with VR
At VR Leisure, we have loved seeing how keen our members have been to get back to the gym exercising again. We know many of you will be keen to shape up with the arrival of summer. However, having been out of the gym since January, it’s worth easing yourselves back into the swing of things. At VR, we’ve got some tips on tricks on how to get back into the gym lifestyle safely and maintain your results throughout summer.
Firstly, gradually start increasing your daily activity. For the vast majority of us, these past few months have generally been less active, and exercise fuelled than they usually would have been. Therefore, returning to the higher intensities you were once used to, may result in muscle soreness and injury. To avoid hampering your return, start slowly increasing your daily activity ahead of your return, or alongside your trips to the gym.
Switch it up, give tempo training a go. In addition to upping your daily activity, adding tempo training to your home workouts can add an extra challenge to your reps. What is tempo training you ask? Tempo training is adding a set tempo or speed into your training to help you build more muscle, improve strength and aid fat loss. This essentially means that you have another factor added into your training, which is the speed at which you perform your reps. Be it a squat or a press-up, slowing down the rep (especially when lowering the weight) means the muscles being worked will spend more time under tension and in turn increase the intensity of the workout.
Don’t forget to stretch! There is a reason pretty much all pro athletes stand by a good stretch when warming up and warming down. Incorporating more stretches into your day will help keep your muscles active and play a big role in injury prevention. A must when returning to the gym!
Be patient! Most importantly, after an extended period of time out of the gym, it’s very likely that you won’t be able to exercise at the same levels as before, you will need to build back both your stamina and strength gradually. Patience is essential, to avoid injury. Don’t be afraid to drop the weight, intensity and take it easy to begin with. It will all come back with time and before you know it, you will be back to those high-intensity workouts!
Avoid the sauce! During the height of summer, it is awfully tempting to have a cold one in the sun with your mates, although, it’s best to avoid, alcohol which is one of the most harmful substances to maintained progress. Research has categorically shown that alcohol inflicts havoc on the body’s ability to absorb nutrients. Alcohol negatively affects a variety of different mechanisms, including reducing the amount of water, sodium and chloride transportation in the small intestine. All fitness goals including fat loss and muscle gain, depend largely on the overall health of the body and its organs. That, to a large extent, depends on getting the right nutrients in your diet and being able to digest them. Now in this instance, moderation is key. If you’re focused on meeting your fitness goals practicing moderation with your social drinking really is the best policy.
Whilst you might have been on point with your fitness regime before COVID-19 came along, after a year of lockdowns and restrictions, the vast majority of us feel out of sync and like you could do with a little push in the right direction to help you get back on track. At VR Leisure, we can help you get back on track with are friendly, helpful and qualified team of personal trainers. If you feel out of sync and would like some help getting your summer body back, get in touch with one of our team and we can work with you to help get you feeling your best again.