Back to work....ugh.

[Ledd]

Hey guys, I am a seasonal worker and I just started back last week full time and man my strength is down.  Over the winter I had been going to the gym mid-mornings ( 9am or so), when I am working I go between 5 - 5:30am.  The first morning I went my strength was down at least 10%, and every morning I feel slow and sluggish until I've been awake for a couple hours.  I think I get enough sleep, usually 8 or more hours.  Another thing I have noticed is that my joints have ached all week.  Do you guy's think I should take a week off to let my body get used to working again?

[pumpster]

This is all the normal shock from returning to workouts: the soreness, the tiredness, etc.:

-Take days off till the soreness is gone.

-It's better to ease into the first couple of workouts by not doing as many sets and not pushing to max., until the initial soreness after the first workout(s) passes, then ramp up.

-Make sure you're taking the time to warm up thoroughly, even more important when coming back.

-Keep the reps 8-10, especially at the beginning, to put the stress on the muscles instead of the joints. Any exercises that continue to create joint stress should be replaced by variations of the same exercise, and if that's not enough, by substitutes that hit the same muscle without the negative joint problems.

-Your strength will come back after the break-in period, as you regain a sense of balance. After that, the long break you took should provide the freshness & energy to work up to and exceed what you were doing before. Just give it time to get up to speed, no hurry.

-Hot baths or showers will help reduce the soreness as will light activity like walking.

[JPM]

Getting back to the job can be just as much  a mental thing as a physical one. Also the body has been on a different biologica/biorhythm time clock for awhile. It's almost like you are on jet lag (I'll get that returing from the South Pacific or Central America...seems to hang on way too long). If you have been working out at a steady level you body should be in good shape. Take a week off but not at the expenise of any more time off after that recovery week. Don't get in the habit of misssing too many workouts. Come back to your regular workout renewed and with the enthusiasm to pack on the muscle mass.

Start the returning workouts at a slower, lighter pace than normal for the first week (do complete full range of motion movements..stretch them out). You'll feel somewhat weaker anyway. A couple of weeks later you should be stronger than you were before. Keep in mind that summer will be here before you know it (unless you live south of the equator) and if your a true BB'er, you want to look your best. Good Luck.