Stopped lifting due to injury. Question regarding starting up again.

[Delevicton]

Around 9 months ago I began suffering symptoms of tendonitis and was unable to work through the pain in every-day activities, let alone work through it in the gym. I've been gradually easing my way back into it starting at beginning of February, and I'm about 70% of the way to where I left off in terms of how much weight I work with.

A decent amount of the muscle I had was lost(most notably in the chest, my arms aren't TOO noticeably lessened). I'm only about 4 lbs lighter than when I stopped working out, but a lot of the old weight has become soft fat. This brings me to my question: in order to completely regain the muscle I had, the look I had, and the amount of weight I was able to work, do I need to eat as though I'm bulking(extra calories etc), or do I still have the muscle "in me", so to speak? Could I just keep a maintenance-style diet and get back to my old self? I'm confused about whether or not I can achieve the muscle I left off with nine months ago with just what I already have in my body.

tl;dr version: when coming back to the gym after a long break(7+ months), do I need to over-eat as though Im bulking to hit the same level I was when I left off?

Thanks in advance, everyone.

[Deleted]

It kinda depends. How long did you workout prior to getting your injury, and were you bulking at the time. Undeniably your going to regain some mass and strength, even at a caloric maintenance level, however your most likely not going to hit your peak form / strength unless you go on a caloric surplus unless you have made minimal progress from when you started training, or haven't trained for that long.

[Delevicton]

It kinda depends. How long did you workout prior to getting your injury, and were you bulking at the time. Undeniably your going to regain some mass and strength, even at a caloric maintenance level, however your most likely not going to hit your peak form / strength unless you go on a caloric surplus unless you have made minimal progress from when you started training, or haven't trained for that long.

Went from 135 to 160 from early march to late july of last year until I got my injury. I'm about 155-156 right now, but can only dumbbell press 3 sets/10 reps each with 40 lb dumbbells in each hand instead of the 60 I could when I left off. I'm about 5'9''.

[Deleted]

Went from 135 to 160 from early march to late july of last year until I got my injury. I'm about 155-156 right now, but can only dumbbell press 3 sets/10 reps each with 40 lb dumbbells in each hand instead of the 60 I could when I left off. I'm about 5'9''.

Well, given enough effort you should be able to reach your former performance I'd say, however it is one of those things nobody knows for sure. Strength however, is usually recovered pretty quickly up to a certain point after a long break.

I've read an article that says your body "remembers" how you were.
So you only need to train 1-2months to get back to your "steady" level, close to how it was.
Your muscles remember basicly.

Yes, muscle memory is a thing. But there is certainly a limit to how much you can 'gain' from it.

[Lilly32]

When returning from an injury Id hire a trainer. Theres a lot more going on after an injury, especially involving tendons. Tendons heal very slowly because they are connective tissue and lack a constant blood supply to deliver nutrients. Remember you quit working out because of a tendon issue not a muscle strain or anything muscle related. Forget about muscles because they heal fairly quickly and also fairly quickly to build back up a with a good workout regiment and proper diet.

You need to focus on making sure you are working out properly so you dont get tendinitis again. Tendinitis can be a bitch to get rid of because it happens in places you are always using like your elbow, heel, hand/wrist area, or shoulder which means the only time you are really resting them is in your sleep. He can also help you avoid another injury in case you were doing something wrong which led to your injury. Even if you can only afford to keep him for a month at least he will get you working out properly to avoid another injury.

[Delevicton]

When returning from an injury Id hire a trainer. Theres a lot more going on after an injury, especially involving tendons. Tendons heal very slowly because they are connective tissue and lack a constant blood supply to deliver nutrients. Remember you quit working out because of a tendon issue not a muscle strain or anything muscle related. Forget about muscles because they heal fairly quickly and also fairly quickly to build back up a with a good workout regiment and proper diet.

You need to focus on making sure you are working out properly so you dont get tendinitis again. Tendinitis can be a bitch to get rid of because it happens in places you are always using like your elbow, heel, hand/wrist area, or shoulder which means the only time you are really resting them is in your sleep. He can also help you avoid another injury in case you were doing something wrong which led to your injury. Even if you can only afford to keep him for a month at least he will get you working out properly to avoid another injury.

My injury was actually mostly due to a non-gym related repetitive stress injury. I was playing a shit-ton of WoW on a laptop in bed with my wrist curled up closely to me in order to hit all of my key binds quickly and efficiently. That ended up numbing and then damaging the tendons in my wrist and elbow.

[brimdog]

My injury was actually mostly due to a non-gym related repetitive stress injury. I was playing a shit-ton of WoW on a laptop in bed with my wrist curled up closely to me in order to hit all of my key binds quickly and efficiently. That ended up numbing and then damaging the tendons in my wrist and elbow.

Aren't wrist injuries are awful; it's amazing how much you rely on your wrist until you can't use it?

Two things I would strongly encourage you to try are:
1. Handwraps - what boxers wear. When properly applied, these wraps will provide a needed amount support to your wrist. This is especially helpful with movements such as the dumbbell presses you have done (which is one of the best for chest, too!).
2. Warm up! - cannot stress enough how important it is be warm and stretched out, particularly in areas with prior trauma.

One last thing...If you are not already, I would suggest weaving in some heavy bag workouts to your routine, maybe even to replace other cardio sessions. The physique you listed as having sounds ideal for that type of training.

[Delevicton]

Aren't wrist injuries are awful; it's amazing how much you rely on your wrist until you can't use it?

Two things I would strongly encourage you to try are:
1. Handwraps - what boxers wear. When properly applied, these wraps will provide a needed amount support to your wrist. This is especially helpful with movements such as the dumbbell presses you have done (which is one of the best for chest, too!).
2. Warm up! - cannot stress enough how important it is be warm and stretched out, particularly in areas with prior trauma.

One last thing...If you are not already, I would suggest weaving in some heavy bag workouts to your routine, maybe even to replace other cardio sessions. The physique you listed as having sounds ideal for that type of training.

Thanks man! I'll look into ordering some hand wraps and implementing some bag training.