Taking time off

Travel, illness, life — how to step back in.

Life happens — a vacation, a busy stretch at work, getting sick. Time off does affect your tendons, but stepping back in correctly protects the progress you've made. Find how long you paused below, and follow the matching re-entry plan for both your strength and activity work.

Why re-entry is tiered

Tendons are built from collagen fibers that adapt to the loads you place on them. When you train consistently, the cells in your tendons build and organize collagen to handle more — but this structural adaptation is slow, taking weeks to months.

When you stop, the process reverses: your tendon's capacity to handle load softens faster than your muscle strength does. That's why re-entry is tiered — we're matching your activity back to your tendon's current capacity, not your muscle's.

The good news: the rebuild is much faster than the first time, because your body re-engages the machinery quickly once load returns.

Find your time away

9 days or less

A short break

Strength & activity

Resume both at your previous level. No need to drop back — pick up where you left off.

10–21 days

1–3 weeks

Activity

Drop one activity Tier.

Strength

Repeat the week you were on before your pause for 2 weeks, then continue.

22–42 days

3–6 weeks

Activity

Drop two activity Tiers.

Strength

Restart your current month, completing 3 weeks at this level, then continue.

More than 42 days

6+ weeks

Strength & activity

Restart the program from the beginning — both strength and activity. You'll move through the early Tiers faster than the first time.

Re-entry is faster than the first time. Moving back through the Tiers after time off is usually much quicker than when you started — your body remembers.

If a flare happens during re-entry — at any point, regardless of where you are in the rebuild — follow the Flare-Up Framework.