Hi I have been bulking and made some pretty nice gains in my bench, deadlifts and squats. Currently I bulked from 68kg to 74kg (from september onwards) and have improved the following main lifts mostly although I train heavy lower body, light upper body etc. and do not split train like bodybuilding style.
Squat 90kg to 135kg
Deadlift 95kg to 130kg
Bench 70kg to 85kg
Now I am planning to take a week off in my christmas holidays. I have read an article somewhere to over train the last week before stopping so then the week I take off will be used to recuperate and continue to gain muscle. Can anyone suggest a workout plan for that week and do I change my diet or not? thanks
Just throw in some sets working down in weight after your main lifts. Could be a good time to try out any “intensity” methods you’ve wanted to give a go, rest-pause, drop sets, partials etc. I wouldn’t worry too much about diet. Just stick to your usual program but really kill it in the gym for that final week.
You could probably change your light upper and lower days for extra heavy days as well to make sure you get the most out of your week off. In the long run of course, one week off isn’t much to worry about.
What I would say if your squat has overtaken your deadlift this early on, is to watch your depth. You may find that to keep the bar weight increases coming you’ve gradually shaved a few inches off the lift. Maybe you’re just built differently to me but my deadlift is always light-years ahead of my squat and I can’t imagine it ever being the other way around.
thanks for the reply. no i think the main problem is that i squat in a sumo style and also deadlift in a sumo style. cant do these exercises with normal stance as I seem to have a condition called ankle equinus and it is bony so no amount of stretching is going to fix it. So with a low ankle range of motion I have to stick in doing them like that to keep proper form or else my back starts to bend a lot.
I wouldn’t worry about it. It seems like you’ve made some AMAZING progress in just a couple of months. Just keep doing what you’ve been doing, and pick up where you leave off after your week off.