How to Resume Training After Your Vacation

Resuming your training regime after a few days away can be difficult. Today, we'll tell you how to get back into your routine after a vacation.

Vacations are usually a time for peace and relaxation, where you set everything else to one side, including exercise. But sadly, all good things must come to an end, and eventually, you’ll have to resume training after your vacation.

But, this can be harder than you think, and some people may struggle. So, today, we’ll look at what you need to do to resume training after your vacation.

Physical deconditioning while on vacation

When you interrupt your training, this can cause some physical deconditioning. This is why it’s not so straightforward to get back into your previous routine.

On your vacation, you’ll probably have been using your muscles less, and these muscles start to deteriorate. This is why you can’t resume the same level of intensity and effort as before.

A clear example is strength or resistance training. If you take a couple of weeks vacation, you’ll see straight away that you’re not capable of lifting the same weights as before or at least, not without considerably more effort.

Resume training after your vacation: what is deconditioning?

According to a study by Pardo in 2001, deconditioning the metabolic and systemic deterioration of the body as a result of prolonged immobility.

These metabolic changes can be seen within the first 24 hours of immobilization. Obviously, therefore, it’s not the vacation that causes this, but the lack of movement or physical activity. Furthermore, this deconditioning is accompanied by other physical symptoms, such as:

• Loss of appetite
• Stress and anxiety
• Reduced desire to do physical activity

How to resume training after your vacation

So, as you can see, there are some factors that you need to address before you launch yourself back into training. Take note of the tips below to make sure that you don’t suffer too much!

Avoid making excuses

When we take a vacation, our routine changes completely. Instead of the busy work-life balance we tried to maintain before, we establish new routines to unwind, and some of these routines can be quite lazy. Then, when we return to reality, the old daily routine becomes quite tedious, and this can include our training routines.

This is when the excuses start. “I’ll go to the gym next week.” Or “It’s too late to go to the gym this evening.” These are some of the common ones. You need to avoid these if you’re going to properly start exercising again.

Don’t train too hard

You need to think very carefully about intensity, repetitions, rest, and how long you train for. It’s really important to be strict with yourself so that you don’t overdo it, whatever the temptation.

Start training at a lower intensity and gradually increase the load. The secret to resuming training is to gradually recondition your body.

Don’t train too often: resume training after your vacation

Similar to the previous advice, don’t train for too long when you first get back in the gym. Your body won’t respond the same way if you overdo things and you could do yourself an injury.

When looking to resume training after your vacation, you might be very enthusiastic and eager to be in the gym as much as possible. But you need to control yourself, otherwise, you could overtrain and even cause your muscles to deteriorate further.

A healthy diet, a healthy body

When we go on vacation, we don’t just stop exercising; our diets also change. On vacation, people often eat whatever they want and, in particular, a lot of fats and simple carbohydrates.

Once you resume training, you’ll need to also change your eating habits. Try to get back to a healthy diet with reduced portion sizes and make sure that what you’re eating is appropriate for your training routine.

Seek professional help to resume training after your vacation

You might already have an established routine before you go on vacation, but after a long break, physical deconditioning will have started and you won’t be able to just go back to the same routine straight away.

Of course, this doesn’t mean that you need to start from scratch, but you may still benefit from some professional guidance. A gym instructor will be able to help you devise the right routine to help you get back to where you were previously. And don’t be afraid to ask for a second or third opinion just to be on the safe side.

If you take these tips on board and look for some help from your instructor, this process will be so much easier and reduce the risk of injury. Enjoy your well-earned break and recharge your batteries for when you come back!