[quote]Tiribulus wrote:
If you have to take regular off weeks within your first few years then you haven’t learned how to plan your training yet in my opinion.[/quote]
YES! There’s no reason for planned time off that early in training. After a few years of solid training, sure. But I still don’t think you need a full week completely off – deload, train two days, do only cardio, hi rep stuff. Just still do something.
We all have life throw stuff at us, but that’s life. I was living out of my car four years ago and still made it to the gym. I guarantee there are people on here working longer and harder and still getting to the gym.
On the other hand, it’s your life. If you would rather not deal with the gym on certain weeks, plan your training so a week of rest will benefit you. Then you don’t have to worry about coming back weaker and skinnier.
a week off wont make much difference. You should take a week off every 3 or 4 months to get a good recovery period. It will make you come back hungry, recovered and full of energy
[quote]irishpowerhouse wrote:
a week off wont make much difference. You should take a week off every 3 or 4 months to get a good recovery period.[/quote]
You don’t “need” to take a week off, but if you do choose to take one, don’t let it mentally defeat you. I know too many guys who take time off and when they pick it back up, beat themselves up because they think they have lost half of what they have been working for.
Keeping your consistency is primary, but intensity is a close second. Lift hard!
One week off for me does not noticibly change anything. I weigh the same and come back lifting what I left off with or more.
Two weeks off and I have a bit less stamina.
I’m done taking any time off. I hate it. I feel like crap and when I add up all the times I took off this summer it pisses me off. Once was due to injury and I couldn’t help it though.
I went to Riviera maya for a week earlier this summer. I came back at the same weight but slightly fatter. That said, I was actually stronger when I came back and it allowed me to break a couple of plateau’s.
I quickly lost the fat and even picked up a couple of pounds. It really helped me recover, mentally more than physically I’d say. Came back fresh and ready to lift my ass off.
As much as I love training, I’m convinced that taking some time off every once in a while benefits me. No doubt it doesn’t work for everyone though, and I think that all in all, it’s not such a big deal if you’re forced to take a week off.
If you need to strategicaly plan week off from training, maybe you don’t train adequatly ? I can see why people take deload week where the intensity is backed off a bit, but regular complete week of rest just doesn’t make sense to me.
[quote]krazykoukides wrote:
In Muscle Gaining Secrets, Jason Ferrugia recommends taking a week off every 8 weeks.
[/quote]
I happen to like Jason, but there are too many variables that make hard and fast rules like this too mechanical to me. Don’t forget were talking about beginners here. Even DoggCrapp has it’s cruises, but that is not for beginners. Ferrugia also advocates very brutal work too.
There’s a difference between being forced to take some time off for emergencies etc, which won’t hurt anybody and taking a week off just because it’s time.
If I’m in the middle of making some progress that is NEVER time for a week off and if I’m not making progress a whole group of things need to be examined which may or may not include time off.
A week off is not always a week of not doing anything.
Sometimes it is decreasing your volume by either lowering your weights or your sets for a week. If you are not calculating volume, you have no idea if your numbers are going up and down and if you are progressing.
Other ways to take a week “off” can mean focusing on training a different energy system (anaerobic glycolosis as an example)
The more you focus on the big movements (Squat Variations, DL, Heavy Pressing etc) The more you will need to take a break for CNS recovery.
Your muscles lag behind youe CNS in needeing a break, but if your CNS is fried, good luck getting your mucles to continue to operate at a high capacity. I take a break every 4-8 weeks and focus on increasing work capacity so I do metabolic work.
My PR’s always go up eventually. If you only measure the affect of a week off on the one week you get back you are not looking at the big picture. Take a week off every 4-8 weeks for a year and then measure your progress .
Every time I’ve tried to take a week off (besides injury, etc) I make it about 4 days…
I find this is enough.
It really is a matter of listening to your body. If you are dropping weight when trying to gain, Plateu, don’t recover as fast, get weaker, etc. you are then overtraining which probably is caused by something in your life outside of the gym. This may be a time to take a few days off.
I don’t know if I could do a full week if I wanted to, something would make me ‘have’ to take a week off.
A few years back, I was suffering from an injured shoulder and wrist, so I TRIED to take a week off, but instead, found myself in the gym doing calves every day for a week -lol.
[quote]APE. wrote:
I train almost constantly throughout the yr;
however come Dec 1st, I stop all weightlifting an cardio for the entire month of December an go back in the gym on Jan 1st. I usually keep my weight on or gain a cpl pounds of fat, but nothing horrible.Maybe 4 or 5 pounds the most.
When I also go back in I maybe have to start a about 10/15lbs lighter than my last workout, but nothing that can’t be gained back in a cpl weeks an then continue to progress throughout the yr.
I really beleive my month off helps in the long run.[/quote]
Wow, this is interesting, a whole month? Any special reason?
[quote]PHGN wrote:
If you need to strategicaly plan week off from training, maybe you don’t train adequatly ? I can see why people take deload week where the intensity is backed off a bit, but regular complete week of rest just doesn’t make sense to me.[/quote]
I plan the week off after completing back-to-back 3 or 4 week programs or 1 6 week program to avoid over-training. I’m usually pretty achy after some of the programs, and doing it just to recuperate between programs.
I love my week off, I take one every 7 weeks or so. Depending on what I am doing. I tend to workout to hard and have a hectic life when it comes to school and work, so I take my week off when I start feeling run down all the time. It helps gets me feeling like a million bucks, then I go back to working out.
My week off doesn’t mean a week off of eating clean though.
[quote]HunterKiller wrote:
I love my week off, I take one every 7 weeks or so. Depending on what I am doing. I tend to workout to hard and have a hectic life when it comes to school and work, so I take my week off when I start feeling run down all the time. It helps gets me feeling like a million bucks, then I go back to working out.
My week off doesn’t mean a week off of eating clean though. [/quote]
Is it a coincidence that many of the people who seem to LOVE their weeks off are under 180-185lbs yet over 6 feet tall?