It has been a few months now since you had that injury to your elbow, your leg or even your back. The doctor has written you off and given you the go ahead to continue with your gym routine and workouts.

You want to make up for all the time you have lost,lose all the extra pounds that you gained during this period, and get those muscles toned and active again.

But there is a catch to this. You have just come out of an injury and even though your doctor says that it is alright to go ahead you are worried that you might start out wrong and wake up an old wound.

Well, that is why I am here to help and guide you through those initial stages when you are working out after coming back from an injury.

This article will give you safety tips on what to do and not to do and it will also tell you about all the warm ups and workouts for the initial few days so that you can ease into your old routine comfortably preventing further damage to your old injury.

I won’t keep you waiting any longer, so let’s start with some safety tips to keep in mind before we start.

You can never be too careful…

1. If you are into weight lifting, strength building, or any high intensity workout do not carry heavy weights for sometime especially if you have hurt your back or any part of your arm. You do not want a repeat injury to occur.

2. Always have a warm up session for 5-10 minutes before the workouts and also a cool- down session for the same amount of time.

3. For the initial stages of your comeback workout do not stretch your workout routines. Stop when you are fatigued or feel pain.

4. Choose clothes or shoes which are designed  only for your type of exercise. During winters keep yourself warm but also ensure that as you warm up you can remove them layer by layer.

5. If you are a runner, an athlete or triathlete make sure to stay hydrated with plenty of fluids and electrolytes other than just plain normal water.

Warm ups

Now that I am done with the safety tips let me tell you about some warm ups that you can start your workouts with. You can continue with these warm ups for as long as you want even after your body has completely recovered from the injury.

1. Forward lunge

Reps: 10

Keep your shoulders relaxed, stand with feet hip width apart. If you want you can hold some light weights in each hand. Now take your right foot forward such that one foot is infront of the other.  Now bend your knee such that your thigh is parallel to the floor and your other leg is straightened. Stay in this position for 10 seconds and return to the first stance. Repeat with the other leg.

2. Wall support squat

Reps: 15

Stand with your back touching the wall. Now do a normal squat with the support of the wall. Make sure your back is at all times touching the wall at parallel.

3. Jog on the spot

Time: 2 mins

As the name suggestsyou need to keep jogging but the only difference is you jog in the same place for the given time.

4. Heel Digs

Reps: 10 each leg

Stand with your legs a little apart. Now raise the right leg and rotate the feet at the ankle in a clockwise and anti clockwise manner. Do it for 10 secs per direction. Now return to the initial position and repeat with the left leg.

5. Shoulder rolls

Reps: 10 each shoulder

Stand with your feet hip width apart. Relax your shoulders and move it up and down in a circular motion. Move your shoulders backwards first and then forwards.

Workouts

After your warmups take a 2- minute break to cool down. Once you feel that you have cooled down and your heart rate has normalized a bit you now carry out the workouts as given in the table below.

The table gives a one- week workout plan, with a one day workout rest day. You can carry on with these exercises for a month or two months till your body has completely recovered from the injury and your muscles have started responding.

The Comeback Workout
Day 1	Warm ups	30 minutes
	Stiff legged Barbell Deadlift	4 sets, 8 repetitions
	Dumbbell Bench Press	4 sets, 8 repetitions
	Single leg glute bridge	4 sets, 8 repetitions
	Pushups	4 sets, 8 repetitions
	Swiss ball Leg Curl	1 set, as many in 60 seconds
Day 3	Warm ups	30 minutes
	Overhead press	4 sets, 8 repetitions
	Pushups	4 sets, 8 repetitions
	Leg Curl	1 set, as many in 60 seconds
	Back extension	4 sets, 8 repetitions
	Lateral Raise	4 sets, 8 repetitions
Day 5	Warm ups	30 minutes
	Swiss Ball crunch	4 sets, 8 repetitions
	Standing Dumbbell calf raise	4 sets, 8 repetitions
	Pushups	4 sets, 8 repetitions
	Straight leg Calf Stretch	4 sets, 8 repetitions
	Knee to Chest Lower back stretch	4 sets, 8 repetitions
Day 7	Warm ups	30 minutes
	Stiff legged Barbell Deadlift	4 sets, 8 repetitions
	Dumbbell Bench Press	4 sets, 8 repetitions
	Single leg glute bridge	4 sets, 8 repetitions
	Pushups	4 sets, 8 repetitions
	Leg Curl	1 set, as many in 60 seconds

I wish you a speedy recovery and injury free workout always. Take good care and do not over stress yourself. What you had received initially through work out you will receive again. All you need is to keep patience. Good luck to you and i hope to hear from you soon.