Starting Back at the Gym After a Break

Chelmsford Physio • January 22, 2025

Noticed the number of gym adverts increase recently? Noticed a bit of an upturn in attendance at the gym in the past couple of weeks? A combination of the New Year's Resolution market and December excesses mean this is peak gym membership season. So what are we trying to work against?


Christmas Calories


Some sources estimate that during Christmas Lunch, an 'average' person may consume up to 5,200 calories through starter main course, dessert and drinks. These figures were sourced from a supplements firm, so there is a vested interest here, however the same article suggests this would take jogging 52 miles (i.e. 2 marathons) to burn it all off. Whilst this may not be everyone's preferred option to address the balance, come early January, with the December splurge behind us, it is a good time to start a new regime so that next Christmas we are ready for it!


However the initial push to get the ball rolling can end up with disillusionment, pain and injury or frustration at a lack of progress and subsequent withdrawal from the process. Here are a few easy steps to try to stay on target so that the monthly membership costs aren't going to waste:


Pace Yourself


Don't try to burn 5200 calories in one go. It won't work (unless you are going to swim the channel in which case that's about a daily energy requirement and a little extreme).


Ease into it- consistency is most important and in the early stages you may be better coming out of the gym or finishing your exercise thinking you could have done more. Build it up over a few weeks until you can hit it harder when your body will be better conditioned to the work.


You Are Where You Are


Remember when you used to go to the gym 5 times a week 6 years ago? Regularly bench pressing 90kg, squatting 120kg and managing an hour on the treadmill? Easy there tiger.. that was a little while back. If you are returning to the scene of previous triumphs, take those weights and reps right down.


You will get much more getting your technique right on a light weight that you can increase over a few sessions than by jumping back in where you were. You might get away with it for a couple of sessions but your body's powers of recovery will start to lack. 


Recovery is Important


If it's been a while, build up from a couple of sessions per week. Most gains are made when the body is recovering and in the early stages there may be a lot to recover from. If every session feels like torture, give yourself a chance - do your exercise, but drop the weight or reps a little.


Focus on technique or something different to what you might normally do. Preparation (warm up, the right food and hydration levels for you, making sure you are doing the best session for you) is important, but recovery (light refuelling, stretching, resting afterwards) is just as vital.


Enjoy it!


It is supposed to be fun! Exercise doesn't have to be about slamming away on the treadmill almost doubled over with exhaustion in a gym full of seemingly uberfit obsessives wondering how on earth Mo Farah does it. 


It can be a cycle to the station, restarting some team sport, going for a longer walk with some friends, anything that gets your heart rate up for a prolonged period of time. It is often easier to exercise with someone as you are both doing the same thing and if you aren't feeling it one day, there is the perception you are letting someone else down if you pull out of what you were going to do together. Stick with it, long term it will be worth it!


The other barrier for lots is embarrassment in the gym. Try not to think people are watching and everyone is in the same boat, more so than ever in January. But pick a gym that you enjoy the feel or atmosphere as you're more likely to go. 



For personalised advice and support, don't hesitate to contact Chelmsford Physio. Our team is dedicated to helping you achieve your goals with tailored physiotherapy treatments in and around Chelmsford, Essex.


Chelmsford Physio

hello@chelmsfordphysio.co.uk

01245 895410

Riverside Leisure Centre, Victoria Rd, Chelmsford CM1 1FG

How Athletes Adapt Their Training to Cope with High Temperatures: The Science of Heat Acclimatisation

By Chelmsford Physio • July 29, 2026
Athletes competing in hot and humid environments face significant physiological challenges that can impair performance and increase the risk of heat-related illness. From marathon runners in tropical climates to footballers playing summer tournaments, the ability to tolerate and perform in high temperatures is a critical component of elite sport. As a result, many athletes use structured heat acclimatisation strategies to prepare their bodies for environmental stress.  What Is Heat Acclimatisation? Heat acclimatisation refers to a series of physiological adaptations that occur when an athlete is repeatedly exposed to hot conditions during training. These adaptations typically develop over 7–14 days and help the body improve its ability to regulate temperature, maintain performance, and reduce cardiovascular strain during exercise in the heat. Common methods include: ● Training in hot environments (natural or artificial heat chambers) ● Passive heat exposure (saunas or hot water immersion post-training) ● Adjusting clothing to increase thermal load during sessions ● Gradual exposure to increased environmental temperatures The goal is to safely stress the thermoregulatory system so the body becomes more efficient at dissipating heat.

Why Footballers & Athletes Use Ice Baths: The Science Behind Cold Water Immersion

By Chelmsford Physio • July 29, 2026
Ice baths, also known as cold water immersion (CWI), have become a common recovery strategy among elite athletes, particularly footballers. From Premier League changing rooms to Olympic training camps, many professionals immerse themselves in cold water after intense matches and training sessions. While the sight of players sitting in freezing water may seem extreme, there is growing scientific evidence explaining why this recovery method is so widely used. What Is an Ice Bath? An ice bath typically involves immersing the body (or lower limbs) in water between 10–15°C for 10–15 minutes shortly after exercise. The aim is to promote recovery by reducing muscle soreness, inflammation and fatigue, allowing athletes to perform consistently during periods of heavy training or competition. Why Do Footballers Use Ice Baths? Football is a physically demanding sport involving repeated sprinting, jumping, tackling, rapid changes of direction and high-impact collisions. These actions create microscopic muscle damage and trigger an inflammatory response. Cold water immersion is commonly used because it may help: ● Reduce delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS) ● Minimise post-exercise swelling ● Decrease perceptions of fatigue ● Improve recovery between matches ● Maintain performance during congested fixture schedules For professional footballers playing two or three matches per week, rapid recovery is often as important as training itself. 

The Physio’s World Cup Playbook: Most Common Injuries at FIFA World Cup 2026 (and What to Do About Them)

By Chelmsford Physio • July 29, 2026
The FIFA World Cup is a unique tournament environment: elite athletes compressed into a short, high-stakes schedule, with repeated sprinting, sudden acceleration/deceleration, frequent collisions, and often limited time for full tissue recovery. It’s not surprising that the injury pattern in football tends to cluster around the lower limb—particularly the hamstrings, groin/hip-adductors, knee, and ankle. Across football research more broadly, these are repeatedly identified as the most common locations and/or injury mechanisms, even if the exact percentages differ by competition and injury-reporting method. Below is a physio-focused overview of the most common injury “types/regions” you should expect to see at World Cup 2026, along with practical assessment and management themes. 1) Muscle strains—especially hamstrings (HSI)  Why they happen in tournaments: Hamstring strain injuries (HSIs) are strongly associated with high-speed running and the physical demands of sprinting mechanics. In injury surveillance and football epidemiology, hamstring injuries consistently appear among the most common soft-tissue problems, with meaningful recurrence risk. What a physio will look for: - History: onset during acceleration/sprinting, feeling of “pull,” bruising (sometimes). - CNS/tissue considerations: prior injury, training load spikes, inadequate sprint exposure progression. - Clinical exam: focal tenderness, resisted muscle testing, and functional tests aligned to your local protocols (e.g., pain-free activation and lengthening tolerance). Rehabilitation themes: - Restore capacity for high-speed eccentric/concentric demands (not just range of motion). - Use progressive loading and functional return-to-play criteria to address reinjury risk—because football research highlights that the hamstring is one of the most frequently reinjured regions.