Grow Like a New Lifter Again?
Dr Greg Nuckols’ provides some interesting research on how taking vacation time off from training enables you to make progressive gains in the long run.
Taking vacation time off from lifting falls into,
"The General Adaptation Syndrome
The foundation of Periodization Training revolves around “The General Adaptation Syndrome” from Hans Selye, MD, PhD in 1923.
“The General Adaptation Syndrome” (GAS) revolves around how the body and organisms adapt to stress.
When the right amount of stress is provided and you allow yourself to recover, you become stronger. This (GAS) is the foundation of…
Periodization Training
Periodization Training revolves around cyclical training periods that involve Planned Progressive Overload that push you into…
Overreaching
Overreaching means you have push yourself to the limit in a training program. Overreaching mean you are slightly overtrained.
The Recovery, Rebound Effect
To maintain progress, a Planned Recovery Period need to follow overreaching. Recovery is where you grow, become bigger and stronger.
Planned Recover Period
That mean De-Loading; dropping you training load down to between 80% of what you were doing. Then progressively increasing the load to a new personal best over a period of weeks. NOT days.
The Optimal De-Load Periodization Plan
The optimal de-loading plan revolves around taking 3 week or longer to work up to and past your previous best.
Another form of Planned Recover is (as Dr Greg Nuckols states) is taking vacation time off.
Periodization Training and Planned Vacation Time off from training allows you to physically recover and rebound back, with more strength.
It also allows you to mentally rebound back, too. As Yogi Berra said…
90% of The Game is Half Mental
The ability to push yourself in training is mentally driven.
Not only can you physically overreach, you can also mentally overreach. Mentally overreaching equates to simply burning out.
Thus, Planned Recovery Period via De-Loads and Vacation Time Off from training ensure that you come back physically stronger and mentally refreshed, enabling you to make new personal records.
Yes
Yes, your going to Bench Press LESS that your previous best of 225 X 10.
Coming back and trying to pick up where you left off benching 225 is counterproductive. It ensure that you are going to regress in you attempt to bench 225 X 10; you’ll struggle to do that, at best.
Return to Training
- Start off with a lighter Bench Press Load. The initial lighter stress allows allows your body to adapt and become stronger.
Bench Press Training Load: The first week back (if you working on 10 Reps) work up to around 185 lbs (82%) of your 225 lb, 10 Rep Max.
Over the next four weeks, increase your top end set of 10 Repetition by 15 lbs.
Example:
Week 1: 185 X 10 Reps
Week 2: 200 X 10 Reps
Week 3: 215 X 10 Reps
Week 4: 230 X 10 Reps
Warm Up Sets
Your top training set is the most important for increasing strength and/or size.
The purpose of all warm up sets is to prepare you for your top set. That means the less energy you expend with warm up sets, the more you have for your top set.
Too many individual preform too many reps and warm up sets. They turn their warm up set into an intensive workout.
Thus, their top end load is never as heavy as it could/should be.
Kenny Croxdale