With gyms set to reopen soon, it brings with it a pile of excitement. Most can’t wait to get back to the gym, and for us, our schedule is almost entirely full for the first week of classes. With all of the excitement surrounding the resumption of semi-normal life, there’s a few things that you should keep at the forefront of your mind as you make your way through the next month.
The Elusive Pull-Up Bar
Most of you that have been working out at home have not had access to a bar. Your first session on the bar is going to be a rocky one. Your hands might not feel as great as they did when you last were swinging from the bar. You’ve spent three months diligently applying hand sanitizer, and washing your hands. How are your calluses doing?
A structured and well-planned program would not have you up on the bar doing hundreds of pull-ups in the first week. We’ll keep the volume lighter, and we’ll talk about scaling quite frequently in this first week. If you have grips, probably a good time to use them now. If you are in an occupation that washes their hands more than the normal person, consider your approach even more.
In that same breath, your pull-ups may not be as progressed as they were three months ago if you haven’t been working on the movement. We’re going to build this back up, and work on skill and technique in controlled environments. That’s where our expert Coaches come in — let’s relearn the movement, and rebuild our capacity with safe and effective methods.
Why Do I Feel So Weak?
For a lot of you, you might not have access to the barbell while we’ve been apart. While DB’s and KB’s are great implements, the barbell is unique too. You’ve had 10+ weeks of not using those specific motor patterns. Things might feel a little clunky when you get going again. Be patient with yourself, and listen to your Coaches. They’ve got the eye, and the cues. They’ll help walk you through it. Be open minded and take their advice. The transition back to the barbell won’t take long. We just need to wake up your neurological system a little bit!
Once we get our technique up to speed, you have to consider the amount of loading you have had access to over this break. Some of you have been lucky and had a lot to choose from, others not so much. While we implemented accessory work, and tempo work, there’s nothing comparative to sitting underneath a heavy back squat. What once was your 100% three months ago, probably won’t be today.
Have some patience with yourself, and trust the process. With some time and consistency, we will get there again.
Don’t Let Your Excitement Consume You
Remember that while we all are excited to be back in the gym, there might be some people next to you that are overly cautious about their venture into this public space. Differing opinions aside, we need to be respectful of that. Maintain your social distancing practices, and follow the guidelines and procedures we have laid out for the cleanliness of the building. While we work as hard as we can to do our best with this, we are depending on you to help us. Enjoy each other’s company, but be respectful of others too who might be a little bit more nervous than you might be.
Set A Goal, Have A Plan
Lastly, you’re at a very unique point right now. You have an opportunity to start out fresh, and establish a new path for yourself a and your fitness journey. There might have been a time when you walked into CFF and didn’t have a specific plan other than to workout, but you’re more mature in your fitness journey now. You know what you like to do, what you might not like to do. You know the things you might be somewhat good at, and the things you’re just trash at.
Having a plan gives us direction. It gives you something to focus on, and strive for. A plan gives you some actionable reasons to the things you are doing within your day, and also lets us know where our progress lays. Maybe it’s something weight loss related, or lifting a specific weight on a certain movement, or building your competency with a particular skill.
If you don’t know how to set a goal, we spoke a lot about the goal setting process on our One Percent Better podcast. That’s a great place to start.
