It’s been months since you heard the familiar BEEP of your gym key fob as you enter your pleasure palace of pain! All the familiar weights and machines are right where you left them. It’s time to get to work! But, because it’s been a while since you have really crushed it, you may not remember how much soreness is heading your way, but it doesn’t have to…

Of course, you want all those gains back, and they will come, but they don’t have to happen during your first workout! If you hit the ground running TOO hard, you might just find yourself too sore to workout or even worse, injured, which will definitely set you back some serious time. Here are some ways in which you can ease back into your workouts, limit muscle soreness, and stay safe:

1. Don’t go heavy-Yeah, we know you want to grab the bar and hoist serious weight, so you feel like Thor as the rest of the gym looks on in awe, but, just don’t. Your muscles need time to adapt. START LIGHT even though it pains your inner ego. Use about half the weight you normally do until you have a couple of workouts back under your belt.
2. Cut the rep counts in half-In addition to backing off on the weight, start with lower rep counts as well. Instead of going overload with 15-20 reps on your favorite exercise, stick to 6-8 reps of each exercise. Let your muscles acclimate. Banging out tons of reps on your first day back is a recipe for disaster. Your muscles, joints and tendons need to get used to the activity and easing back into your workouts with lighter weights and lower reps is the best way to make that happen.
3. Hit the whole body-We all love those body part specific workouts, where you choose a muscle, say biceps for instance, and then you just curl and curl and curl until your bicep is a screaming, bulging beast of a bump on your arm! BUT, as you are now just getting back into the gym, body part specific workouts are not the smartest idea. Instead, focus on compound movements such as squats, pullups, and deadlifts…go light and work the entire body to start firing up all of your muscles slowly. After a few workouts, you can start to specialize and hit individual muscle groups again.
4.  Every other OTHER day-While you probably KNOW that your muscles need rest, you may feel no day is complete without crushing some iron. If you want to get back into shape safely and as pain free as possible, then resist the urge and take some days off! Adding 2 days a rest between workouts (at least initially) will allow your body plenty of rest time and allow your muscles to adapt and grow between workouts. If gains are your goal, then rest days are the way to get there…
5. Cut the creatine-Creatine is one of the most researched supplements in existence, and one that is absolutely proven to WORK. It will help you workout longer and stronger and WILL result in muscle growth over time. BUT, because it will allow your muscles to work through normal levels of fatigue, as you ease back into your workouts, adding creatine can mean that you do TOO MUCH work too quickly. You might want to start back into your gym time creatine-free so you can listen to your muscles when they say, “we’ve had enough!” This will help to keep you injury and pain free as you get that perfect body back in shape.
6. Epsom is your friend-Epsom salt baths have been around for hundreds of years. The chemical compound breaks down in hot water to release magnesium and sulfate which is supposed to ease muscle soreness. Studies are inconclusive but the warm water and relaxation that comes with a bath is sure to help ease soreness and aid in recovery, so go ahead and SOAK!

I know that starting SLOW is not as exciting as trying to hit new PR’s every time you step into the gym, but as we have all been locked out of our favorite workout spots for months now, easing back into your workouts is the smartest way to stay safe and get your muscles ready for serious work again. Follow the tips above, and in no time at all, you will be at 100% again and crushing it like this pandemic was only a bad dream!