I'm due there in 26 minutes

December 22, 2010 3:58 PM

Going back to the gym after a layoff. How much is too much?

I got injured two years ago in a motorcycle accident. I'm cleared to do anything I want (other than running, which is right out, and I choose not to do deep squats - in both cases, because I have an artificial hip), but in two years of sloth I've gained weight and lost muscle. And in my first few workouts, I've regained an amazing amount of flexibilty and relief from the weakness and tightness I've had in my legs and hips.

I shoulda/coulda gotten back to it sooner, but other than doing some walking I've let it slide due to work-related issues and the lack of a good gym near my home and office. Now a Planet Fitness has opened right between my home and office, and I've joined.

I've read other motivation threads, but in my case the problem is not getting myself there, it's holding myself back. At the risk of sounding strange, I enjoy being at a good gym, zoning out, listening to thumping music, etc.

Before the accident I had a lot of experience with gyms and workout routines, and I think I know how to ease back into it, but I wonder how much is too much. I did tend to ossilate between too much and not enough in the past. I've started with relatively low intensity and short duration workouts, say 30 minutes in length. Provided I keep the intensity down, do you see pitfalls with going every day with perhaps 2-3 days a week being morning AND evening?

posted by randomkeystrike to Health & Fitness (11 answers total)

It's hard to say if you're doing too much without knowing what you are doing and what your injuries are currently.
But in general, start small, start lite and then gradually increase.

You won't be getting any weaker and it allows you a long time to feel like you are progressing (which you should be). Lite is relative of course but basically a weight that almost feels too easy.
I still warm up with the bar before squatting, pressing, deadlifting, or benching.

I would say high intensity is a good thing and to keep that up. Getting too heavy too fast is normally what causes actual injuries -- not working out too long or too hard.

Just listen to your body. If it's too much than quit and comeback again later.
posted by zephyr_words at 4:15 PM on December 22, 2010 [1 favorite]

I wouldn't go every day. Give yourself 1-2 rest days per week, which I'd recommend even if you weren't coming back from an injury.

I'd also mix up your type of workouts, so you're not on a never-ending quest for higher reps and/or higher weights. Super-slow sets, single sets to failure, high rep/low weight workouts, drop-sets...try something different so that the "zoning out" doesn't turn into "overtraining due to distraction."
posted by xingcat at 4:38 PM on December 22, 2010

If you give yourself rest days and/or light days, going morning and evening is fine. Obviously, keep that intensity down, but one advantage to going twice in one day is that you're likely to get warm and loose more often, and more likely to take the time to stretch properly, which is going to be especially key for you.
posted by ldthomps at 5:07 PM on December 22, 2010

You'll probably be ok doing low intensity and increasing duration rather than high intensity low duration.

The former makes you tired, and can give some strain, while the latter is where people start getting hurt in serious ways by putting on more force/weight than a particular set of muscles/tendons can handle.

Up your intensity gradually and make sure to do whatever stabilizer exercises you've been given by your PT.
posted by yeloson at 5:28 PM on December 22, 2010

Get a formal routine from your PT. You may screw up something big time. How about cross training-a day of swimming, another light weights, and another cycling? You can undertrain and have no ill effects, but overtrain and you may never step foot in a gym again. (I'm with ya there bud-a drunk driver plowed into me and my Harley on a charity run last year)
posted by ~Sushma~ at 7:31 PM on December 22, 2010

Getting too heavy too fast is normally what causes actual injuries -- not working out too long or too hard.

I have to disagree. Going too long or too hard is exactly the same as going too heavy too fast, it's just the cardio equivalent of that, and we all know what happens if you run too much without ramping up.

It's really hard to say what you should do, except listen to your body and try to get on a regular schedule before ramping up. You can probably go and do SOMETHING 3 days on, 1 day off, or 5 days a week, or something. I would start with that, even if a couple of the days are just stretching and light work. Listen to your body. Give yourself permission to go (because you want to go), but take it easy when you're there. Set up your schedule first, and ramp up intensity from a schedule you know you can keep.
posted by ch1x0r at 8:53 PM on December 22, 2010

Response by poster: ~Sushma~, ouch.

To clarify, I'm 'healed' as completely as I guess I ever will be. The residual effects are:

- artificial ball and socket replacing the left hip (as artificial joints go, they're one of the best "replacements," i.e. restore virtually all the old functionality, but the doctors will not clear you for high impact sports like running ever again).

- a certain amount of stiffness in the left hip area that may actually clear up with training, or may be a unavoidable range of motion issue. I have a follow up appt with my surgeon in January, and I'm going to ask him more about this. It feels better when I exercise, not worse, so I'm thinking it's the former.

- my right elbow was dinged up pretty good and reconstructed. It works fabulously smoothly and pain-free, except it stops at about 30 degrees extension (point your right index finger at 12 o'clock using a straight arm, then pull your arm slightly toward your chest until it points at 11 o'clock, and you'll get the idea. Kind of frustrating when I do tricep extensions.

Thanks for the advice, everyone, keep it coming!
posted by randomkeystrike at 6:38 AM on December 23, 2010

Provided I keep the intensity down, do you see pitfalls with going every day with perhaps 2-3 days a week being morning AND evening?

No, provided you follow the other advice here: Up your intensity gradually and Listen to your body. Also, vary your exercises.

My best gains both in muscle development and cardio happened when I was working out every day (also after a motorcycle accident + knee surgery, btw). Hell, my physical therapist made me work out -- hard! -- nearly every day for months!

But I appreciate that not everyone responds the same way. Be careful and aware. Maybe ease into it, rather than going full steam right away.
posted by coolguymichael at 11:12 AM on December 23, 2010

Make sure you monitor yourself for signs of overtraining. The classic test is to keep a track of your resting heart rate every time you wake up, and if it increases above baseline more than 10% then you need to take the day off. Here's a reference.

Remember - you don't get stronger in the gym, you get stronger outside of it. This is tautological - you go to the gym to hypertrophy, i.e. damage your body, and then leave the gym to rest, i.e. repair your body. One must go with the other.
posted by asymptotic at 11:29 AM on December 23, 2010

Response by poster: coolguymichael I feel your pain about the knee injury. I was fortunate to not have knee injuries (other than road rash), but when I was in PT I saw a lot of people in the aftermath of having knees replaced or repaired, and I'm here to tell you - a knee injury is harder to rehab your way out of than a hip problem. Those who had knee replacements were going through the agonies of the damned.

asymptotic thanks for the reminder - I knew that, but it's amazing how you push that out of your mind in the "initial enthusiasm" phase of the project. I think I'm after that "row of red Xs" effect, but I think I've talked myself out of multiple workouts in a day, at least
posted by randomkeystrike at 7:13 AM on December 24, 2010

Response by poster: If anyone's still paying attention: - my 4square check-ins tell me that I've been to the gym 30 times. I've been there every day since Christmas, when the gym was closed. I've been ramping up from 20-30 minute cardio and light weights to usually 1 hour cardio and progressively heavier weights (weights are 2-3 times a week, and I don't do much cardio on those days).

I haven't made too many 2-a-day workouts. I can sense that, for now at least, I would get too tired if I did that, and time is a factor (I go in the mornings before anything else can happen to my day, and that seems to be a good system).
posted by randomkeystrike at 1:46 PM on January 18, 2011