Returning To Workouts After A Training Delay
November 26, 2025
If it’s been months, or even years, since you last broke a sweat, you’re not alone. Life gets busy, injuries happen, and sometimes motivation fades. But getting back into exercise doesn’t have to be intimidating. With the right mindset and gradual approach, you can rebuild strength, boost your energy, and rediscover the joy of movement- without burnout out or getting hurt.
No matter your circumstances, your training program will need to be individualized and should follow a gradual progression.
Here’s how to progress back into training. These recommendations are based off of the recommendations by the Korey Stringer Institute (KSI) and National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA):
- Reduce risk of serious complications
- Follow the FIT and 50/30/20/10 rules for training progression
Key Takeaways: Returning To Workouts
- A progressive exercise plan after a pre-participation examination helps reduce your risk of serious complications.
- Following the FIT rule and the 50/30/20/10 rule allows for a gradual return to training, minimizing injuries like sprains, strains and stress fractures.
- Any significant change in workout routine or a break longer than two weeks increases your risk of injury or illness, making a structured progression essential.
Talk To Your Physician First
Before beginning training or after a long period of time away from training, you should receive an examination from your Primary Care Physician or a Sports Medicine Physician to identify any health concerns. The CSCCa and NSCA Joint Consensus Guidelines for Transition Periods: Safe Return to Training Following Inactivity and the National Athletic Trainers’ Association Position Statement: Preventing Sudden Death in Sports describe the importance of a pre-participation examination prior to beginning training, especially after any long periods of time away from training.
Once a person has completed a pre-participation examination from a physician and the physician recommends the person is at a lower risk for developing conditions such as exertional rhabdomyolysis, exertional heat illness, cardiorespiratory failure, or other possible conditions, that person can then begin training progression.
Plan A Progressive Program
Once you have received a pre-participation examination, plan your exercise routine to reduce the risk of other serious complications such as exertional rhabdomyolysis, exertional heat illness, and cardiorespiratory failure.
The exercise progression will help to reduce other setbacks such as musculoskeletal injuries (sprains, strains, stress fractures, etc.) and prevent delayed onset muscle soreness. Having a plan and following the FIT and 50/30/20/10 rule will help to ease back into training and reduce the risk of injury or illness that would further cause disruption from training.
Any time there is a change in workout or any chance that there is an adjustment in training can be difficult. Starting a new or different workout routine or having a significant amount of time of deviation from normal training (more than 2 weeks) poses risks for developing an injury/illness.
Selecting appropriate exercises, volume, intensity, and rest intervals that will maximize performance while reducing risks can be a challenge. In order to reduce the risk of injury and illness the National Strength and Conditioning Association and Collegiate Strength and Conditioning Association put out a joint guidelines to follow the 50/30/20/10 rule and FIT (frequency, intensity volume, and time of rest intervals) rule in order to guide a gradual return to activity in a way that reduces the risk of injury and illness.
The guidelines are a maximum recommended dosage for the transition process and the training load can also be reduced even less than the guidelines suggest.
The F.I.T. Rule
The F.I.T rule stands for frequency, intensity volume and time of rest intervals.
Frequency
Frequency refers to the number of training sessions completed per week for a specific muscle group or movement. Plan for a maximum of 3 sessions in the first week and maximum of 4 sessions in the second week.
Intensity Volume
Intensity volume (IRV) is a way to calculate intensity of workout and is usually based on the % of the maximum a person can lift of a certain strength and conditioning exercise (referred to as 1 RM).
The calculation is Sets x Reps x %1RM = IRV which produces a number.
- An IRV between 11-20 has been shown to demonstrate the greatest increase in strength.
- An IRV between 21-30 has shown an increase in strength but was lower than IRVs between 11-20.
- An IRV below 11 may not increase strength.
- An IRV above 30 are not recommended (contraindicated) during the retraining process.
