I was wondering how many of you really take a complete rest week after a 12wk training session. If not what do you guys do on the those weeks? I personally do rest completely from weights with the exception of cardio 3-4x a week for 20min. I also stretch my entire body for an hour every other day, get a 2hour massage and just relax. What do you guys do?
I usually take one week off about 3 times a year. It is a week off wts. or cardio, but not both at the same time–when I tried both I went through withdrawal! After the wt. break, I generally have an across the board sight increase in all my poundages. It is refreshing to see someone else ,besides me, who looks at the big fitness picture with cardio and stretching included. Seems like you see that it is more than biceps and bench pressing. MORE POWER TO YA! TRAIN HARD AND SMART!
I’ve always responded best to high volume (can’t stand the splits where you rest two consecutive days), so I’m not really keen on taking entire weeks off. Instead, I’ll take four day off every 2-3 months. Essentially, it means I skip one workout for each bodypart. I find that this works best for me mostly because I also listen to my body, and take unplanned rest days if I’m sore. One man’s trash is another man’s treasure, though.
I had never planned a rest week, but I’ve taken way too many of these over my training career. For the first time, I planned out my complete training schedule for the whole year. My basic plan is 6 weeks on/ 1 week off. I chose this set-up out of my own experience and based on some of Ian King’s recommendations. My first cycle this year will last 9 weeks, so I won’t be taking a rest week until March. I figure that if I plan my rest weeks, I won’t be tempted to take an unplanned break. I plan to lay off the weights during this break, hit some light cardio, stretch, swim a little and enjoy the sauna and steam room at the gym. I may also do some things that I don’t get the chance to do when I’m sticking to a strict training schedule like rock-climbing, mountain biking, hiking, etc. I’m looking forward to rewarding myself with those weeks after 6 weeks of hard training. I also plan to not be real strict with the diet. This is a week to refresh and renew, rather than worry about the details.