Overtraining - Taking a Week OFF Poll

Time OFF from the GYM?

  • I work out hard all the time

    Votes: 16 5.9%
  • No time off, I just reduce my workout intensity occasionally

    Votes: 27 9.9%
  • A few days rest once in awhile is all I need

    Votes: 91 33.3%
  • I take a full week off occasionally

    Votes: 139 50.9%

  • Total voters
    273
Hank Vangut

Hank Vangut

Well-known member
Awards
1
  • Established
read a lot about overtraining and taking a break from workout routine. a lot of advocates recommend taking 5 days to a week off all excercise all together every few months.

i know i seem to respond well to time off. if i give myself a week off i come back stronger than before. and often times bigger.

i'd like to hear what everyone else here does. is a week long break a good thing once in awhile and how many of you do it?
 
Rodja

Rodja

Board Sponsor
Awards
3
  • RockStar
  • Legend!
  • Established
I routinely take a week off after training for about 12 weeks. I use this time to recharge mentally and physically.
 
dlew308

dlew308

Well-known member
Awards
1
  • Established
Take a week off if you're feeling overtrained. Not worth risk hurting yourself :)
 

joecski

Board Supporter
Awards
1
  • Established
I think age plays a big part in this equation. I need more time off now at 39 than ever before. I used to go all out for six months before taking a week off, then it was three months with a week off, since this past fall I have been doing 8 weeks with a week off. I think the rest has made me feel better all around and hasn't negatively impacted performance.
 
Sunder

Sunder

Active member
Awards
1
  • Established
Looks like I should be taking more time off than what I do.
When I feel like a bag of wet hammers, and have a hard time walking up the stairs - I know my workout is going to suck, and I either take a break that day, or I just do light cardio.

As weird as it may sound, I almost don't know what to do with myself for a full week during my routine workout time, lol. Maybe I'll just stretch or something or go for a walk.
 
tunnelrat

tunnelrat

Member
Awards
1
  • Established
i don't schedule deloads. i know it's time when i start missing lifts and my joints start balking.
 
bioman

bioman

Well-known member
Awards
1
  • Established
I take a week or even 10 days off all the time..like every other month and it does not impact my performance negatively. Quite the opposite really, I recover better and maintain mass easier.
 
MaDmaN

MaDmaN

Board Supporter
Awards
1
  • Established
This is a huge one...I went 3 years with no time off and paid the price,no gains,muscle loss,no pump lethargic ect..

I force myself to take 4 or 5 days off every 6 months or so and wow what a difference..
 
SteelEntity

SteelEntity

Active member
Awards
1
  • Established
i take 1 week off every 8 weeks. Come back feeling stronger and more mentally focused. But usually I get a minor injury that prevents me from working out for a week or longer so it works out haha.
 
thesinner

thesinner

Recovering AXoholic
Awards
2
  • Legend!
  • Established
I tend to take a week or so off 1-3 times per year. I don't take time off as much as I should because....well....I love training!

Some protocols (like the HST method) suggest taking 1-2 weeks off every 6-8 weeks.
 
billm311

billm311

Member
Awards
1
  • Established
it is beneficial to take time off from time to time to allow your body to reset and recover from the fatigue, as fitness will last 3x longer than fatigue. The fatigue is good for adaptation and muscle/cns stimulation, but too much is detrimental. That is why programs are meant to balance over-reaching and underreaching.

and there is a distinct difference between overtraining and over reaching

over-reaching: training into fatigue, whereby performance is quickly recovered after short rest period, often to a point above its previous level.:thumbsup:

overtraining: chronic overreaching buils up, causing a regression in performance:nono:


here is a good article on the topic, and smart planning
http://www.higher-faster-sports.com/PlannedOvertraining.html
 
Rodja

Rodja

Board Sponsor
Awards
3
  • RockStar
  • Legend!
  • Established
I started taking time off when I was training Max-OT a few years back. While I do not train the same now, I still use many of the principles, including frequent breaks.
 

smiththrs03

New member
Awards
0
I take some weekend off never more than that though
 
TeamSavage

TeamSavage

Registered User
Awards
1
  • Established
I travel a lot (usually 1-2x per month), sometimes just a long weekend (which means I don't workout for 3-4 days) and sometimes a full week. I just use these as my breaks. If you're overtraining then you'll know it, if you're paying attention. Gains slow or stop, you're tired, no motivation...
 
John Smeton

John Smeton

Legend
Awards
4
  • RockStar
  • Legend!
  • Established
  • First Up Vote
Thats where I got this from Rodja. Max-ot. Ive been doing Max-ot for a couple years now. I used to not take breaks and since I started taking them strength and everything is soo much better. I take a week break once every eight weeks or when I feel my body needs it. Many times I think we take a break when its not time, when what we really need is a day, two break or three break. Right now I feel like taking a break but I know my body can handle it for another two weeks and than im done my training protocol , then Ill take a break. You've got to know when to fold them, and when to roll.
 
heavyduty

heavyduty

Member
Awards
0
I deffinitky don't take off as much as I should be, but then again im young and very stubborn :)
 
SteelEntity

SteelEntity

Active member
Awards
1
  • Established
Yeah it is hard to intentionally take a week off because between minor injuries, sickness or going away, I have that time to recover.
 
greenwing7

greenwing7

Member
Awards
0
I did my scheduled week off after 10 weeks this summer and then hit it hard for another 2 weeks then had to go on vacation, here I sit now and after both breaks came back stronger and ready to hit it hard, I am a little more sore this time around post workout, but I think I have a little more energy so I'v hit it harder the past 2 days
 
RoboGiblets

RoboGiblets

Member
Awards
0
I just like to take 3 or 4 days off in a row every three weeks. I feel that by doing that, I can train pretty much full throttle all the time and not have to take a whole week off to recoup. A week without gymtime drives me insane :D
 
Hank Vangut

Hank Vangut

Well-known member
Awards
1
  • Established
i've actually changed my routine recently and now feel that i don't need to take a full week off any longer to rest.

i used to take every set to failure for months on end and found my strenght actually start to decline a little unless i took a week off. it appears that i was probably severly wearing down my CNS.

since i've started incorporating only one week each month where i take sets to failure, i seem to be getting better results and don't ever feel like i need a full week off.

i still think it is good to take a few days off from all lifting from time to time.
 
Australian made

Australian made

Well-known member
Awards
1
  • Established
Does anyone change their diet aroudn in their week off? more food, less food etc?
 
SteelEntity

SteelEntity

Active member
Awards
1
  • Established
I keep my diet consistent, depending on what I am trying to achieve (bulk, cut) If anything eat more on your week off because thats when you are resting the most, thus promoting maximum growth.
 
MasterFlexx

MasterFlexx

Member
Awards
0
I take a week off when I feel like i'm not gaining anything in lifts, weight, and size. usually every 3 months or so. Then when I come back I hit it hard and comletely shock my mucles back into it and start the gaining process all over again.
 
smoundzou

smoundzou

New member
Awards
0
I also take a full week off every 12 weeks or so, whether my body tells me to or not..
 
celc5

celc5

Well-known member
Awards
3
  • Established
  • First Up Vote
  • RockStar
Does anyone change their diet aroudn in their week off? more food, less food etc?
I have more time to cook without the training so I tend to ease off on the shakes. For example, two 1-scoop shakes per day instead of three 2-scoop shakes per day.

I take 7 days off every 10 weeks. The first week of returning to the gym is rough, but I see a lot of enhanced response from weeks 2 on.
 
Rodja

Rodja

Board Sponsor
Awards
3
  • RockStar
  • Legend!
  • Established
Does anyone change their diet aroudn in their week off? more food, less food etc?
I tend to have a cheat every day practically just to recharge myself mentally. If I was to look at the numbers, I would probably be in kcal surplus of about 300-500 kcals/day.
 
thesinner

thesinner

Recovering AXoholic
Awards
2
  • Legend!
  • Established
Does anyone change their diet aroudn in their week off? more food, less food etc?
When my belly says "Feed Me!" That's when I eat. When it says "I'm about full." That's when I stop eating. That's how it goes regardless of how I'm training that day.

Forcing more food down the hatch has only shown to add more fat than muscle for me.
 
Fisha7487

Fisha7487

New member
Awards
0
i try to take a week off after about every 3 months before switching to a new routine. If im feeling fatigued and overtrained, i take off 2 weeks. It tends to help a lot breaking through before unbreakable plateaus
 
beebab

beebab

Member
Awards
1
  • Established
on a typical structured week i only train 4 / 7 days.. which means that i regularly have 3 days of rest incorporated into my regimen. however, if i just don't feel like lifting i will not lift, b/c i know that my workout will be counterproductive. if i don't sleep well the night before, i will not lift for the same reason. for me, it really depends upon my mood each day.

i always feel like **** tho whenever i take a number of days off continually. i "deflate" and feel soft. so i try to stay in the gym, though i may not be lifting heavily.

i believe in the concept of progressively over and under reaching. training heavy for a wihle then intentionally training light should naturally help your muscles adapt while not becoming overly fatigued. this combined w a few regular off days works pretty nicely i've found
 
LiftNDestroy

LiftNDestroy

Member
Awards
1
  • Established
I voted in the "no time off lower training intensity" Simply because I train as a way to relieve stress, but now I'm going to take more time off more frequently after reading this thread. My body is worn out and I need the breaks anyways.
 

kw1k

New member
Awards
0
thank you for that article. I think im going to take a week off myself
 
bkoguy07

bkoguy07

Member
Awards
1
  • Established
hit it hard 7 days a weeekek fooo shooo


(haha only 5 days a week, i only need the weekend to recover...i use this time to play ball)
 
ich1ban

ich1ban

Member
Awards
0
i trained hard for about 3 weeks straight and felt very exhausted the rest of the day. so i had to take 5 days off.

tomorrow is my last day and ill come back to see if i lost any strength
 

Down By Law

New member
Awards
0
im thinkin about changing up my recovery a little bit and trying out what Layne Norton does. Deload and workout at 70% intensity for 2 weeks. I think i might find a happy medium here in that, I minimize the risk of any atrophy however minimal by taking one week off and by deloading for 2 weeks instead of one I get more rest than if I would deload for only 1 week.
 
Neil5585

Neil5585

Member
Awards
1
  • Established
Right now I take about a week off every 3 weeks. It works great.
 

remeizo

New member
Awards
0
At one point in my life I was going to the gym for an hour each day and playing volleyball for 6 hours per day on the beach for one year straight without a break trying to go pro. I got big and ripped and had a 40 inch vertical. Then out of nowhere I suddenly could not play volleyball. I lost all of the fundamentals and was losing to some of the worst players. I was totally over trained on volleyball if you could believe it!! After two weeks of playing like a newbie instead of a semi pro I took two weeks off. I came back playing the best of my life. I guess over training can happen in many different ways.

I do have to listen to my body and if I am always feeling like hell during and after workouts then I do have to take time off.
 
Force of Green

Force of Green

Well-known member
Awards
1
  • Established
Most people on these boards over-train as opposed to not getting enough. I really don't understand the amount of people that follow workout splits that are almost verbatim to the bodybuilder routines in Flex. Doing that crap will inevitably lead to burnout much faster than the big roided freaks.

Doing a sensible and limited amount of volume with high intensity and a dose of extended release common sense will do you right.

You can be a sprinter and do 15 minutes of ball busting (each to his/her own limits) sprint intervals 2-3 times per week and perform a full-body resistance training regimen 2 times per week for 30-40 minutes and with a wholesome diet (not talking about some idiotic CKD or whatever) you can stay ripped and get huge all year round.
 
LSU Gladiator

LSU Gladiator

Member
Awards
0
The occasional week off is good for 2 reasons:

1. It allows every last ounce of your body to recover from training.
2. It allows you to contrast life outside of the gym with your weekly work out habits. For me, I start thinking about working out on the 3rd or 4th day off... and by the time I go back to the gym I've built myself up psychologically by dwelling on the thought of working out. Then I go back to the gym and wreck shop.
 
cokeholio

cokeholio

Active member
Awards
1
  • Established
The occasional week off is good for 2 reasons:

1. It allows every last ounce of your body to recover from training.
2. It allows you to contrast life outside of the gym with your weekly work out habits. For me, I start thinking about working out on the 3rd or 4th day off... and by the time I go back to the gym I've built myself up psychologically by dwelling on the thought of working out. Then I go back to the gym and wreck shop.
no. 2 sounds about perfect, its funny cuz just yesterday i told myself to take a week off and then i come across this thread. im gonna use this week to play bball more, come monday im gonna wreck my body :squat:
 
SteelEntity

SteelEntity

Active member
Awards
1
  • Established
I think if you feel mentally tired and have no motivation to work out for more then a few days in a row then it's time to take some time off. Unless you hate working out all together, all the time, but if you do then you probably aren't reading this.
 
cokeholio

cokeholio

Active member
Awards
1
  • Established
i cheated and started over the weekend i feel alot better and stronger i think i actually gained some size over the off time...max went up like 5 lbs too or its a mental thing either way time off worked
 

atjnutrition2

Active member
Awards
1
  • Established
This is one thing I have a hard time doing as my schedule dictates my time off. In addition to owning ATJ Nutrition, I am still a career firefighter/medic. As a firefighter I work a 24 on/48 off schedule. I train on my two days off and use my shift day as a day off from training (I may do light cardio/abs at the station and still count it as a day off) Mentally I know I need to take longer breaks from training but have a hard time forcing myself to do it. I haven't had a chance to read that article yet, but I certainly will. In addition, I am preping for my first show which will be in July. Trying to get ready has made it even harder to take time off. I recently did a 5 day straight heavy cycle and my body really paid the price for it.

Once again, I know I need the time off but mentally it is tough to do it. I'm curious---anyone else have the same problem?
 
planetfuzz

planetfuzz

Active member
Awards
1
  • Established
Right now I take about a week off every 3 weeks. It works great.
I do the same thing. It works great. Usually during the week I'll go to the gym and maybe do some light circuit sets,nothing intense,just to get my heart rate up. I always grow the most in that week,it's crazy.

It's also a good idea because if you're training to failure or using drop sets,negatives, it takes your nervous system longer than your muscles to recover. This is what I have heard...but feel free to correct me.
 

Imeniaan

Active member
Awards
1
  • Established
read a lot about overtraining and taking a break from workout routine. a lot of advocates recommend taking 5 days to a week off all excercise all together every few months.

i know i seem to respond well to time off. if i give myself a week off i come back stronger than before. and often times bigger.

i'd like to hear what everyone else here does. is a week long break a good thing once in awhile and how many of you do it?
I am on the 5th day of my 14-day rest period and I can feel that the muscles within in me are getting bigger and fuller than ever before. Really amazing feeling. I haven't had a rest period in over 14 months, truly foolish of me.
 
Kristofer68SS

Kristofer68SS

Well-known member
Awards
1
  • Established
This is a huge one...I went 3 years with no time off and paid the price,no gains,muscle loss,no pump lethargic ect..

I force myself to take 4 or 5 days off every 6 months or so and wow what a difference..
i only go 3 days a week, so i do this....... take off a week twice a year.

i rotate days and mess with it bit..........so its not the same.......... does that count?
 

doggzj

Board Supporter
Awards
1
  • Established
I like traveling, so whenever I go on the road I allow myself to take that time off. It works out to a week off every few months, and when I come back from the break I am always accelerating through the weights and I'm also mentally ready for weeks of tough workouts.
 

Lunchbox_81

New member
Awards
0
Rest and Recuperation Leads to Muscle Growth

From an article in November 2008s issue of MuscularDevelopment on page 172


In a recent study when power athletes took two weeks off, there were no significant changes in free-weight bench press (-1.7percent), parallel squat (-. 9percent) isometric (-7percent) and concentric knee extension force (-2.3percent), however they had a small increase in vertical jumping (1.2percent) performance after the two-week rest period.
Interestingly, several anabolic hormones were increased in the two week rest period, levels of plasma growth hormone (58.3percent), testosterone (19.2percent) and the testosterone to cortisol ration (67.6percent) increased, where as plasma cortisol (-21.5percent) and creatine kinase enzyme levels (-82.3percent) decreased.

Clearly, there is a restoration of anabolic hormones from the intense training. What would happen if you decided to take some time off? Wouldn’t you lose all your size and strength? In a recent study in the JOURNAL OF STRENGTH AND CONDITIONING RESEARCH, researchers took well-trained shot putters and tracked their performance at the completion of 14 weeks of training; additionally they investigated changes in muscle size after four weeks off. No training at all...complete rest and recuperation.

At the end of the study after four weeks of not training, their shot put performance was not altered; additionally, there was no change in maximal strength after detraining. What about muscle size? The shot putters had a small decrease in Type II fibers (this was not a big decrease; it was relatively small), but they had an increase in Type IIx muscle fibers in their legs. Fast twitch muscle fibers are divided into two types: Type IIa and Type IIx. Type IIa fibers have a moderate resistance to fatigue and represent a transition between the two extremes of the slow twitch and Type IIx fibers. Functionally, they are used for prolonged anaerobic activities with a relatively high force output, such as racing 400 meters. Type IIx fibers are the most explosive, powerful fibers humans posses. Type IIxfibers exhibit the fast rate of contraction, and are very large in diameter, have lox oxidative capacities and low mitochondria, but contain the highest glycol tic content. These fibers are recruited for heavy resistance training protocols with maximal or near-maximal loads, in addition to other activities or sports requiring a fast rate of contraction such as sprinting, Olympic lifting, or polymeric work. Type IIx muscle fibers contract approximately twice as fast as type IIa and 9-10-fold faster than type I (aerobic) muscle fibers. The researchers concluded that although there was a small decrease in Type IIa fibers, the increase in Type IIx fibers maintained strength, which coincides with no reductions in performance. Additionally, during this period of rest and recuperation they had an increase in Type IIx fibers.

Ever notice that after a vacation, something strange happens when you go back to the gym...you're stronger! Interestingly, it has been reported that after three months of continuous training followed by a muscle being rested, the amount of Type IIx fibers will be greater than its previous resting levels. This overshoot of Type IIx fibers may be the very reason why many athletes who take some time off can indeed put on substantial increase in muscle size and power from a brief rest/recuperation period. Many strength and power coaches will have their athletes train for six to eight weeks of an intense training period followed by a week of complete rest to take advantage of this myosin IIx overshoot process. This is a valuable tip that all body builders can learn from.

Dr. Darden, who has adopted the training philosophy of the late Arthur Jones,truly believes that a majority of the bodybuilders are overtraining. In one of dr. Darden’s books, he spoke of a young bb who had reached a plateau in his career and wanted to put on mass and agreed to follow dr.darden's training philosophy exactly as it was written...no questions! The younger bb excitedly opened his training manual only to see the following: WEEK 1-NO TRAINING, FULL WEEK OF REST AND RECUPERATION. The bb freaked out, he was training with dr.darden to get bigger, so why did he need a week off? Later in the book, the bb admitted that he had never taken time off from the gym and admitted it was the best gains in size he had made in years. This may be due at an increase in Type IIx fibers and an increase in anabolic hormones from the recuperation period.

Many Olympic and power lifting athletes will train hard for several weeks leading to a competition, then take some time off for recuperation. Obviously, there is a diminishing time effect where taking too much time off will decrease muscle strength and muscle mass, however taking time off is good. Base on the advice of Dave Palumbo, Shaw Ray, Flex Wheeler, and Kevin Levrone, they emphasized the importance of rest and recoup for muscle growth. If you feel that you just can't take time off, then try doing a week of no weights and just low-intensity cardio or some other form of exercise that does not stress the nervous system. The research has suggested that taking time off leads to a restoration of anabolic hormones and an increase in type IIx muscle fibers. Sometimes, between given the choice of TRAIN HEAVY OR GO HOME, going home may be the best choice.
 

Similar threads


Top