This isn’t an issue I’m too worried about as we all have off days, but I’ve noticed that when I’m tired, if I take 3 days of, and eat way over normal calories, and get plenty of sleep 10 hours or so, that I’m actually weaker at the gym. It’s like my body is in sleep and rest mode and I can’t snap it back into action. Where as, on 7 hours and less food I feel fast and snappy.
Anybody else experience anything similar? I guess consistency in sleeping and food is the key.
What do you lift and how long have you been lifting? Do you have any flexibility issues?
Once your technique is consistent taking 3 days off isn’t going to break you.
Koing
I definitely don’t encounter the same thing with regards to food and sleep. If I eat a lot I lift well. I always get lots of sleep so the sleep thing doesn’t really apply to me, although I can lift well if I don’t get that much the night before, but only if it’s the odd night or so.
I do find that I lift better if I train more though. I’m fine with 1 day off (I train 4 times a week so that’s normal). But if I take 2-3 days off I generally won’t feel quite as strong. Although I did hit a snatch pb a short while ago after taking 2 days off, so maybe it’s just psychological?
I have the same problem. Can’t skip more than a day.
If I take a week off for vacation it takes me weeks to get my strength back to where I was.
I think it’s got something to do with CNS activation. Even heading into a competition, I don’t like taking the day before completely off, I’ll come in and do some super light power snatches and power cleans or something. Keep that motor pattern as familiar as possible, keep those neurons firing. I generally find it takes me longer to really get going when I’m training after a day off as opposed to when I’m training consecutive days.
I have a friend who went on a vaca for 10 days, came back and his body just would not lift anymore. been quite a while now and his lifts are still only like 95% of where they were.
I was kinda the opposite, I would go on a vaca for a week and just do some swimming and stay kinda active and come back and be back to normal and then some after only a few days.
[quote]seekonk wrote:
I have the same problem. Can’t skip more than a day.
If I take a week off for vacation it takes me weeks to get my strength back to where I was. [/quote]
Same here, althought not as long. If I take a week off:
1st week about 90%
2nd week about 80%
3rd week back to baseline
Also if I sleep in on say a Saturday and then training I’m weaker than when I normally train (weekdays around 5:30)
Some people are just weird…
[quote]The Ox Man wrote:
I definitely don’t encounter the same thing with regards to food and sleep. If I eat a lot I lift well. I always get lots of sleep so the sleep thing doesn’t really apply to me, although I can lift well if I don’t get that much the night before, but only if it’s the odd night or so.
I do find that I lift better if I train more though. I’m fine with 1 day off (I train 4 times a week so that’s normal). But if I take 2-3 days off I generally won’t feel quite as strong. Although I did hit a snatch pb a short while ago after taking 2 days off, so maybe it’s just psychological? [/quote]
You eat a lot, not if you eat a lot 
I took 3 weeks off holiday and came back to hit a PB Clean…
I think my sweet spot is no more than 3 weeks off
Koing
[quote]Koing wrote:
[quote]The Ox Man wrote:
I definitely don’t encounter the same thing with regards to food and sleep. If I eat a lot I lift well. I always get lots of sleep so the sleep thing doesn’t really apply to me, although I can lift well if I don’t get that much the night before, but only if it’s the odd night or so.
I do find that I lift better if I train more though. I’m fine with 1 day off (I train 4 times a week so that’s normal). But if I take 2-3 days off I generally won’t feel quite as strong. Although I did hit a snatch pb a short while ago after taking 2 days off, so maybe it’s just psychological? [/quote]
You eat a lot, not if you eat a lot
I took 3 weeks off holiday and came back to hit a PB Clean…
I think my sweet spot is no more than 3 weeks off
Koing[/quote]
Haha, I suppose I do eat pretty well all the time! But if I have a proper binge the evening before, the next day I will feel strong… although it might just be because my belt is tighter!
[quote]The Ox Man wrote:
[quote]Koing wrote:
[quote]The Ox Man wrote:
I definitely don’t encounter the same thing with regards to food and sleep. If I eat a lot I lift well. I always get lots of sleep so the sleep thing doesn’t really apply to me, although I can lift well if I don’t get that much the night before, but only if it’s the odd night or so.
I do find that I lift better if I train more though. I’m fine with 1 day off (I train 4 times a week so that’s normal). But if I take 2-3 days off I generally won’t feel quite as strong. Although I did hit a snatch pb a short while ago after taking 2 days off, so maybe it’s just psychological? [/quote]
You eat a lot, not if you eat a lot
I took 3 weeks off holiday and came back to hit a PB Clean…
I think my sweet spot is no more than 3 weeks off
Koing[/quote]
Haha, I suppose I do eat pretty well all the time! But if I have a proper binge the evening before, the next day I will feel strong… although it might just be because my belt is tighter![/quote]
I’m refeeding today. Hopefully Sn well tomorrow!
Koing