Thanks mate. Need to try and get i the best shape for next years transformation. LOL
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Nice, forearms, chest and lats all looking great!
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And then you’re going to…transform more??
But that’s also my plan. 
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I’m constantly working on my before pics
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#dedication 
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Not bad at all.
I’m in a similar boat. Two weeks in Italy, caught Italian Covid, and now finally ready to get after it–haven’t touched a weight in a month.
How do you plan to get in your best shape?
Broadly, I’m interested in hearing everyone’s thoughts on how to return from a month-long layoff.
Mike Israetel had a video on this recently; he suggested starting with one or two sets per muscle group at low intensity, like 4RIR, and adding volume sloooowly, taking up to two months to get back to pre layoff levels of effort and volume.
He said this minimal dose should get you back to about the same condition as before the break in training.
I’m certainly no expert–does this seem like enough?
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I personally don’t see why we need to baby ourselves. You’re not going to be as “good” at lifting, anyway, so why further retard your gym efforts?
What I mean is, let’s say you were squatting 315 for 3 sets of 8 before you went out and then maybe also doing a couple really hard sets of 20 on leg press.
When you come back, you’re going to be squatting like 225 for those sets of 8 and doing sets of 12 on leg press. Why not just let that take care of itself vs also putting rules on yourself that you have to stop short and do fewer sets and all that? All your muscle and strength isn’t gone, you just need a couple weeks of practice, so I don’t see a compelling reason to stretch getting back into it out.
I like Dr. Mike’s stuff, and find him hilarious, but he leans way farther into the minimal dose side of things than makes sense to me.
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I hear that’s the kind that breaks your legs instead of your lungs.
I liked Dusty Hanshaw’s idea of how to come back from a cruise in DC: Walk the weights back 4 weeks and go from there. Stuart McRobert had a similar idea for starting new cycles in Brawn.
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A lot of tough guys who are older, like Wendler of 5/3/1 and Dusty Henshaw of DoggCrapp say to do that too.
Not even after an extended lay-off. Just after any 3 month period of training. You kick ass, then take a little break, and when you return you go back and lift the weights you lifted 2 months ago.
Then, after 2 months you’re back to where you were, and you totally bust ass for a month.
Then you repeat the cycle.
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Jinx!
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Thanks for the replies.
This was absolutely my initial reaction, too. But, I’m almost 46, returning from a month off, recovering from Covid, and, truth be told, don’t look a whole lot different than I did four weeks ago–maybe five lbs lighter and a bit… softer.
This is the part that I found appealing: that by the time you’re back in shape, you still haven’t fully acclimated to training, leaving a few more weeks/months of adding volume and/or intensity and the resulting potential gains ahead.
Over the last two weeks, I’ve been slightly less active than your average middle-aged man with two broken legs.
I think I’ll try walking back effort, volume, and weight–maybe keeping 2RIR–for the first week and building from there over 4-6 weeks.
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I’m thinking of offering an online prep course for these.
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Thats a great question, the difficult bit is for me to determine what best shape means for me. Like a lot of people who train I want “everything”. I want to be stringer, faster, better conditioned and leaner all at the same time. Which is not really possible.
Best shape for me, will likely end up a slightly lower fat, hopefully stronger but much more conditioned version of what I am now. I am around 91kg (200 lbs) right now. I figure if I can lose 5kg (10lbs) of fat whilst maintaining strength and increasing conditioning then I’ll be sweet.
Plan will be to slowly work towards those goals for the next six months and likely drop a couple of kilo’s and then step up the training in the new year and see what I can do.
1 week light, lots of movement on non gym days, walking, cycling, bodyweight stuff - squats, push ups etc to flush blood through the muscles. 2nd week is the first week of a new block, aim to finish the 4 week block at around 90% of what I was doing before (assuming last block was PR city). If last block was nothing special then just match it with the first block and progress from there.
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Sounds reasonable.
What level of intensity and volume does it take to get you there?
Mike Israetel said 1-2 working sets at, like, 4RIR would get you back to where you were prelayoff in 4-6 weeks.
This seems low to me, but I’m willing to try significantly less volume with less effort for at least a few weeks. I can always scale upwards if needed.
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Doing awesome now that I’m home. Down to 259 and losing still thanks to being in control of my own diet. A gym that isnt’t slightly rocking while you lift is also amazing.
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OK lets pick Squat as an example, and assume before my break I finished a strength block with 5 sets of 4 reps with 330lbs.
First week back I would squat twice, first session would be 3 sets of 8 at 135, second session 3-4 days later would be 3 sets of 8 at 176 lbs.
The new 4 week block would then start. If I was aiming for 90% of my previous then I would be aiming to squat 5 sets of 4 with 300lbs in week 4. Weeks would look like:
Week 1 - 4 sets of 4 at 240
Week 2 - 4 sets of 4 a 260
Week 3 - 5 sets of 4 at 280
Week 4 - 4 sets of 4 at 300
This doesn’t sound like a lot but it would probably work, I like a few more sets that 1-2 as there is a neural element to strength that U feel improves with more practice, especially when returning from a lay off.
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Where I think this is different, though, is you’re all talking a planned deload after strategically overreaching or peaking. I. @barley1’s case, he traveled and got sick. I think the circumstances are a little different.
I’m not necessarily disagreeing with any of the advice, but I think the situations are slightly different.
Now, on the flip side, I never actually get any stronger… so I should probably just be paying attention to your more methodical loading plans.
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I think it is a very slight difference, depending on how sick he got. I think it boils down to this. It is unlikely he lost a significant amount of muscle or neural strength in 1 month. He may have lost some weight depending on the type of sickness and if that is the case it will definitely effect performance.
a one week ease into and then a 4 week ramping block to get to 90% of where he was, should not be that hard.
Either way I think the general advice is just take it slowly. We are in this for life so if it takes a few more weeks, who cares.
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