You know, ive always debated this with myself. I honestly believe ive argued it both ways, but im thinking now that i have this site at my disposal, i might finally be able to put the debate to rest. Now, im not a huge fan of off weeks, but i know that they are necessary, and i am just about to take one.
The question is: How should one eat during an Off week? Is it an opportunity to eat more for recuperative purposes? Or Can the off week coincide with the beginning of a cutting diet? Or should one just eat regularly, cleanly, and smart (IE P/C earlier in the day, P/F later in the day, no junk, etc etc)
just eating whatever the hell i want mostly… esp the 1st two weeks
gained about 4 pounds
it was mainly in the 1st week, so i think it was growth… before that i had been lifting and doing MMA about 10 times a week and was pretty exhausted
so if youve been going hard, i think it’s prob effective to go all out and get calories
…you’ll also remember how crappy that lifestyle is and thank yourself for going back to a healthier diet the next week haha
My personal experience is that as long as you keep your meal cadence (every few hours you’re getting a decent amount of protein), you can relax a little bit. It’s great for your sanity, and you will come back to training with renewed enthusiasm.
Personally, I try to eat more during off weeks. I believe the goal of taking a week off is supercompensation and to fully recover. So I may increase may calorie intake by up to 50%!
But I agree with Stu. You can relax a bit. Taking a week off from time to time might be important for your body, but also for mental sanity.
Personally, I still eat my regular meals during off-weeks. I still take all my supplements. I treat myself with some additional goodies on top of that. Such as a couple of pieces of cake one day, or a pizza on another.
I wouldn’t recommend to start a cutting diet during your off week. This, IMHO, would interfere with the process of recuperation and supercompensation.
I just went on vacation for eight days and ate whatever I wanted, and drank loads and loads of tequila and didn’t really work out (did some pushups and BW pullups one two days). My first day back I set a PRs in bench and curls and I gained a pound so I say have at it!