Back after 2 weeks: new short term training strategy

[greyhair]

Well, I got sick.
Cold or flu? I'm not sure, but I had a sore throat, body ache, mild fever, cough and sinus congestion.

I've never done too well after a layoff, even as short as 2 weeks.
The last time I took off 10 days (vacation, not sick), it took months to get back.

I'm convinced that it can't be significant muscle loss after only 14 days. I'm guessing that its from a loss of "training effect" basically intra and intermuscular fiber coordination.

Basically, I believe it is a CNS conditioning issue.

So I'm trying something different to get back to my previous lifts more quickly.

That is, I'm going heavy. I'm doubling the frequency of heavy sessions with a few SRM sessions.
The idea is to re-learn the lifts and then go back to the pre-layoff program.

I think it may be working.

Today I hit 395 SRM for squats and earlier this week I hit 295 SRM on bench.
Not my all time best, but pretty good.

I wouldn't mind hearing from some other experienced lifters on how they come back after a short layoff.

[Larryman]

Plus, since the layoff was an illness, you want to ease back into into, and maybe try to push back to full speed by the 3rd workout of each bodypart, or you could find yourself back with a cold.

Originally Posted by greyhair

Well, I got sick.
Cold or flu? I'm not sure, but I had a sore throat, body ache, mild fever, cough and sinus congestion.

I've never done too well after a layoff, even as short as 2 weeks.
The last time I took off 10 days (vacation, not sick), it took months to get back.

I'm convinced that it can't be significant muscle loss after only 14 days. I'm guessing that its from a loss of "training effect" basically intra and intermuscular fiber coordination.

Basically, I believe it is a CNS conditioning issue.

So I'm trying something different to get back to my previous lifts more quickly.

That is, I'm going heavy. I'm doubling the frequency of heavy sessions with a few SRM sessions.
The idea is to re-learn the lifts and then go back to the pre-layoff program.

I think it may be working.

Today I hit 395 SRM for squats and earlier this week I hit 295 SRM on bench.
Not my all time best, but pretty good.

I wouldn't mind hearing from some other experienced lifters on how they come back after a short layoff.

[billybigbolocks]

Originally Posted by Larryman

Plus, since the layoff was an illness, you want to ease back into into, and maybe try to push back to full speed by the 3rd workout of each bodypart, or you could find yourself back with a cold.

I agree, there''s a difference between returning after a virus and from just taking a break.
You need to feel your body out, it could be that you need to only train every second day while you get properly well again. I've found that a virus can stick around a lot longer than a non-athlete might think, re-appearing whenever you get run down over the next couple of weeks.
By the time you've done one of each body-part workout, your muscles will be 90% back to where they were, but your immune system may not, so be careful
If this were a return after a vacation, then I say 'why not' mix things up. It really can't hurt to try new things out in the gym, so long as you stay safe.
The body ALWAYS benefits from changing things up, and so does the mind

[greyhair]

Well, for my comrades who commented, let me tell you how it went.
The first session I went heavy on my lifts. Hitting 5's 3's and 1's.
The lifts went pretty well.
The next session I did it again, the liftts went pretty well. A few really good ones.
The third session I did set of 15. Or atleast I tried to. The first set was outstanding. The second and third sets fell apart.
The 4th session, I did sets of 10, everthing worked as planned.
If my next session of 15's comes back to where they were before, the experiment will have been a success.

The down side? I'm feeling some connective tissue stress, nothing long term, just a little tightness.


TNX for the comments