4 TIPS TO EXERCISE AGAIN AFTER HOLIDAYS
Most of us have enjoyed a few days of vacation, rest... and now the question arises, how to exercise after vacation? First of all, it is important to become aware and start to get going as soon as possible, especially in training, since little by little you must return to your usual rhythm, although progressively.
To start facing the return to exercise, it is important that we know some points to take into account so as not to end up doing poor physical performance. After spending several days without doing any type of physical activity, the body is in poor shape, so you should not force your body and start exercising as before the holidays.
WHAT ARE THE 4 PERIODS OF ADAPTATION TO SPORT?
After physical inactivity the body may need to adapt. To do this, it would be good to go through a series of phases to help the body acclimatize to the resumption of sports. We could classify physical adaptation into 4 different periods:
1. Patience
The first days it is better to take the return to the sport calmly. It is normal to arrive with a lot of strength and desire, but everything in excess is bad, so be careful, the first exercise sessions after a period of inactivity should not exceed 35 minutes.
2. Heat
Although this is always an important part, it becomes essential after a break. Also, if you didn't do it before, start by getting used to it because warming up is a fundamental part of preparing your muscles.
3. Reframe goals
After a period of doing nothing, you can't wait to have the physique of before, since inactivity, even for a few days, is noticeable. You have to gradually return to the routine and rethink your goals if necessary. Remember to set yourself some long-term and realistic goals, since it is not good to overload yourself physically and psychologically.
4. Organize the new training
We recommend doing very short workouts in which you can combine different muscle groups, alternating aerobic and strength exercises. It is important to let the muscle adapt and gradually increase the intensity over the days. This is essential, above all, to avoid injuries.
Remember that it is better to fall short than to overdo it during the first days of returning to training. Of course, we warn you that some annoying stiffness could appear, a sign of having had the body at rest for a period of time.
WHAT IS SPORTS ADAPTATION SYNDROME?
To understand how the body adapts and reacts to training, one must first understand the General Adaptation Syndrome (GAS). In order to fully understand what this syndrome is about, let's see the 3 phases it goes through:
1. Alarm: when the exercise begins, the body reacts by alarming, since it was not prepared for it. The body reacts by firing hormones, including adrenaline, to temporarily improve physical performance.
2. Endurance: performance will start to increase until it reaches its maximum. The body, at this point, increases the concentration of glucose, fat, amino acids in the blood and cortisol.
3. Exhaustion or recovery: depending on the intensity of the exercise, your body will reach exhaustion.
If your body is able to overcome the initial physical effort, you will have reached the recovery phase and, therefore, compensation and performance improvement will occur.
TIPS TO EXERCISE AGAIN AFTER HOLIDAYS
To help the body acclimatize to exercise again, it is necessary to perform a series of adaptation routines. Above all, they will be based on low-intensity exercises, since in no case should the muscles be forced and overloaded the first few days back.
Keep in mind that, having not done any type of activity on vacation, it is important to know that the muscles at this time are very relaxed and need progressive adaptation to stimulate them again and prepare them for the effort.
Here are 5 tips you can follow to help your body with this adaptation process after the holidays:
1. Stretch and warm up. This phase is the most important when training, as it prepares the muscles for training. Stretching and warming up will activate the circulation and prepare the fibers for the effort that the exercise will entail. It is recommended to dedicate 10 to 15 minutes to this phase after a period of inactivity.
2. Gentle and simple exercises. To help the muscles in adaptation. It is important to resume activity smoothly and progressively. There is no need to start exercising in the same way as we left off before the holidays. The intensity should be lower, since the muscle must adapt to the training again.
3. Reduce training time. You have to dedicate less time than you used to before the holidays. Yes, it is true that the muscle remembers and adapts perfectly to different conditions, but it does not do so immediately, so it must be helped to remember.
4. Don't focus on just one muscle group at first. The body must be adapted again with varied training, in which all parts of the body are worked in order to start moving as soon as possible and accelerate the acclimatization process.
Ready to get back into exercise after the holidays? Follow our tips for returning to sport and start again to take care of yourself and lead a more active life. Do not forget that sport is still a fundamental part of having an optimal physical and mental state. Returning to sports on vacation has never been so easy with these tips! Enter our ATAA Sports online store and see all the gym machines we offer to do sports at home comfortably.