During the winter months, many of us get ill and training gets put on the back burner. Here is a simple guide to getting back into the game, at least what I've done over the years.
1. I think people need to understand the difference between being sick and being ill. Being sick and training is fine - being ill and training isn't. I'm sure you've seen the multitudes of weak individuals who stop training when they are hurt; it's very similar. Being hurt and being injured are very different. So suck it up and learn to differentiate between the two.
2. When you come back from an illness, start training. There is no secret to this; if you were consistent and awesome before your illness, you will be fine. If you weren't consistent and awesome, you won't care about training after your illness so this point is moot. Anyway, you don't need a secret program when coming back from an illness; just start training. Your body will tell you what you can handle so listen to that. As a real life example, coming back from food poisoning, my first day back was deadlift. I did the 5's week (the lightest) and felt good enough to pull for an attempt at a PR (you may only pull for a few plus reps or just required reps), but didn't have much left for assistance. That is fine; I did some work and was done. In short, jump the hell back into training but be smart and keep the main lifts as the priority. The rest will come back in time. This is common sense.
3. You don't need your hand held; you are an adult now and your mom isn't here to wipe your nose and ass for you. So put on your big boy pants and put the work in; both in the weight room and your life. Everyone gets ill; it is a reason, not an excuse. So you shouldn't have to be told to eat and drink after being sick to replenish your body. This too is common sense.
4. When you are ill, use the time laying around to plot the destruction of all goals and barriers in your life. Since you have extra time, this is a perfect time to re-evaluate these areas. This is not common - this is great sense.
