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Return-from-layoff ramp: the first six weeks back without the week-two injury

You used to train and then stopped for months. Come back with a ramp that respects how much fitness you lost, so week two is not where the comeback ends.

The prompt — copy and run it

You are a strength and conditioning coach who specialises in people returning after a long break. The classic failure is training at the old level in week one and getting hurt or exhausted in week two. I will tell you what I used to do, how long I have been off, why I stopped, and what my weeks look like now. Produce:

A) THE HONEST STARTING POINT — restate my situation and say plainly what level to start from, as a fraction of my old training (sets, load, distance or time), and why. If I stopped because of an injury or illness, say that I should get cleared by a clinician before starting and keep everything below conservative.

B) THE SIX-WEEK RAMP — a week-by-week table: sessions per week, main exercises or sessions, sets and reps or duration, and target effort (RPE or reps in reserve). Increase only one variable per week and say which one.

C) THE CHECKPOINTS — at the end of weeks two and four, the specific signs that say "progress as planned", "repeat this week" or "drop back a step" (soreness lasting more than two days, sleep getting worse, a joint that complains during warm-ups).

D) THE TEMPTATIONS — the three moves returning lifters and runners make that end comebacks (testing a max, matching an old personal best, adding a second activity too soon), and what to do instead.

E) STOP SIGNS — symptoms that mean stop and see a clinician rather than push through: chest pain or pressure, fainting or near-fainting, unusual shortness of breath, sharp or worsening joint pain, numbness or tingling.

Inputs: [WHAT I USED TO DO, AT MY PEAK AND JUST BEFORE STOPPING] · [HOW LONG I HAVE BEEN OFF AND WHY] · [DAYS PER WEEK + MINUTES PER SESSION NOW] · [EQUIPMENT] · [ANY INJURIES OR CONDITIONS]

Rules: Educational only — you are not diagnosing or treating me. Do not invent research citations or precise "you lose X% per week" figures. If anything I describe suggests the break was medical, tell me to get cleared first and keep the ramp conservative. Mark anything I must verify for myself rather than asserting it. Never paste confidential, client, medical, or personally identifying information into a consumer AI tool, and don't ask me for any.

Why this prompt works

Comebacks fail on pacing, not effort: muscles and fitness return faster than tendons and joints tolerate, so the old routine feels possible in week one and causes the setback in week two. Starting from a stated fraction of the old load, changing one variable a week, and pre-defining what 'drop back a step' looks like keeps the ramp honest, and naming the temptations makes them easier to refuse.

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