Coming back from injury: rebuild path, Yousuli Help

Before you start

This walkthrough assumes:

A medical professional has cleared you to return to exercise.
The cause of the injury is resolved or being managed.
You have done at least the rehab basics (range of motion, basic strength, no acute pain).

If any of those are not true, stop here and address them first. The Hub is not a medical adviser.

Week 1: confirm the body works

Reduce volume to 40 to 50 percent of pre-injury weekly volume.
Sessions easy aerobic only. Zone 1 to low Zone 2.
3 to 5 sessions of 20 to 60 minutes each.
Daily wellness logging back on (see Logging daily wellness).
Log every session even if short. Patterns matter.

If pain returns at any intensity, stop and reassess. Do not push through.

Weeks 2 to 3: rebuild base

Volume to 60 to 70 percent of pre-injury.
One moderate session per discipline (sub-threshold tempo, 20 to 30 minutes total work).
Long sessions still at 50 to 60 percent of pre-injury distance.

Week 4: introduce intensity

Volume at 75 to 85 percent.
One threshold session per discipline (intervals at threshold pace or power, 15 to 20 minutes work total).
Long sessions to 70 to 80 percent.

Week 5+: approach normal

Volume at 90 to 100 percent.
Two intensity sessions per discipline if absorbing well.
Resume the macrocycle as written for that point in the season.

See After 4+ weeks off for the underlying framework.

What to update in the Hub

Threshold metrics

Retest within the first 4 weeks back. Pre-injury values are stale.

CSS Test for swim.
Critical Power Test for bike.
A 10K or 30-min TT for run threshold.

The race readiness page will flag stale metrics for you.

Race calendar

If an A race falls inside the first 6 weeks back:

Consider downgrading to B. Edit the race and change the priority tag.
If you must keep it as A, expect a result well below pre-injury level.

If multiple races are in question, see Sequencing two A races and When a race date moves.

Macrocycle plan

Edit the config_json to reflect the rebuild weeks. See Editing a deployed plan. The plan as written before the injury no longer matches what you are doing.

Coach communication

If you have a coach, send a clear message:

What the injury was.
When you were cleared.
How you feel each day in the first 2 weeks back.
Any sessions that produced flare-ups.

The coach reads wellness logs but cannot infer everything. Tell them.

What to NOT do

Skip the rebuild and resume the prior plan. The fitness loss from time off is real; the prescription needs to match the new state.
Test too early. The first 2 weeks back, threshold tests are inaccurate and recovery costly. Wait.
Cancel wellness logging. This is when the data is most valuable.

Coming back from injury: rebuild path