Taking a rest from working out?

Darth Pooh

Darth Pooh

New member
I wasn't sure where I would have posted this but I wanted some thoughts from people.

I have been working out for 5 weeks straight (5 days a week, rest on the weekend) and I've read in several different articles and publications that I should take a rest every 4th to 5th week.

A) Is there truth to this?

B) I was going to start today but damned if I don't feel guilty about it already.


I'd appreciate anything helpful in the way of comments or suggestions.

Cheers!

-Keith
 
It's really dependent on how you feel, your strength, etc. There's no blanket advice that fits every circumstance.

Typically one can continue to progress for months. I've seen people ride out programs for 8 months before needing a break. But novices can do that. As your strength continues to improve, it becomes evident that more frequent breaks are needed to allow for sufficient recovery.

More strength = more stress = more damage/fatigue = more needed recovery

So again, as you get stronger, you need to work more periodization into the mix.

Compare me to a raw novice:

A raw novice is going to spend the first month preparing the body and mind for a balanced strength training program. This will consist of flexibility and corrective exercises to work out imbalances, etc. It will also consist of a lot of technical instruction on proper execution of the various exercises they'll be doing in the upcoming program. Just the bar alone will be sufficient in most cases. Once the novices proves his/her proficiency in the lifts.... the program starts.

How they will progress is by adding weight to the various lifts incrementally each week. This is one of the benefits of being a novice..... they can progress weekly without much trouble for quite a long time. It will vary from person to person..... but nonetheless, it's a long time in relative terms.

Basically they are capable of applying an 'overloading stimulus' weekly.

When you compare this to a more advanced lifter such as myself.... you can't provide an overloading stimulus weekly. Personally, I do so about monthly. For instance, suppose my 1 max rep is 350 lbs in the bench press.

Well, I might progress throughout the month toward an overloading stimulus. Something like this:

Week 1 - 85%
Week 2 - 90%
Week 3 - 95%
Week 4 - 100%
Week 5 - 105%

In this example, overload is not applied until the 5th week of the cycle. There are multiple reasons for this, but the primary is due to the reasons I mentioned above. B/c I'm able to lift a lot more weight, it causes more disruption that requires less frequent loading and more rest between overloads. Basically, one must become more economical with their intensity.

Rambling a lot here, it's early on Monday morning the day after the super bowl.... I'm tired, so let me know if this doesn't make sense.
 
Heh, great explaination...

However, I am not a novice nor an expert. Will my body tell me to rest or should I say ok, this is my set period of time to rest. That is my concern. I have been training for about a year now.

Basically, I have a fear of losing out on possible weight loss, because its my obsession.

I guess thats my only issue... I know I won't lose what I've achieved in the past year but I think by not working out (which my knee has been asking for ever so politely the past week) I will somehow set myself back.

Sorry, thinking aloud with this thread.

-Keith
 
Darth Pooh said:
Heh, great explaination...

However, I am not a novice nor an expert. Will my body tell me to rest or should I say ok, this is my set period of time to rest. That is my concern. I have been training for about a year now.

Basically, I have a fear of losing out on possible weight loss, because its my obsession.

I guess thats my only issue... I know I won't lose what I've achieved in the past year but I think by not working out (which my knee has been asking for ever so politely the past week) I will somehow set myself back.

Sorry, thinking aloud with this thread.

-Keith
Click to expand...

I use a few metrics to decide what course of action I need to take. For instance, when I'm really pushing it, minor pains will pop up primarily in my joints. I'll also feel rundown and tired and have a lack of desire to train. My strength will also diminish a bit.

That's how I know it's time.

What I do depends on how I feel though.

Sometimes I'll simply shuffle things around training with a reduced volume, intensity, or combo of the both. This is known as a deload.

Other times I'll take a week or so off completely. Anymore, this has been the common option for me.

Since you aren't a novice or advanced, this simply means you'll have more frequent breaks/deloads than a novice but won't need the periodization complexity of someone such as myself. Follow me?

Anyhow, a week off isn't going to cause any sort of 'damage.' AT ALL. Keep your nutrition smart during the break and chances are you'll come back feeling completely rejuvenated and possibly even stronger.

Breaks are not only good for physiological reasons, but also psychological.
 
Steve said:
I use a few metrics to decide what course of action I need to take. For instance, when I'm really pushing it, minor pains will pop up primarily in my joints. I'll also feel rundown and tired and have a lack of desire to train. My strength will also diminish a bit.

That's how I know it's time.

What I do depends on how I feel though.

Sometimes I'll simply shuffle things around training with a reduced volume, intensity, or combo of the both. This is known as a deload.

Other times I'll take a week or so off completely. Anymore, this has been the common option for me.

Since you aren't a novice or advanced, this simply means you'll have more frequent breaks/deloads than a novice but won't need the periodization complexity of someone such as myself. Follow me?

Anyhow, a week off isn't going to cause any sort of 'damage.' AT ALL. Keep your nutrition smart during the break and chances are you'll come back feeling completely rejuvenated and possibly even stronger.

Breaks are not only good for physiological reasons, but also psychological.
Click to expand...

That's exactly what I have been reading in several articles, I guess I needed to make sure it was true from someone I trusted.

Thanks again Steve.

-Keith
 
You're welcome Keith....

A lot of articles do talk about switching things up and taking breaks frequently.... but it's a lot of blanket advice and many of the ones I've read don't really know why they're recommending such a thing.

It's really a touch & feel process and the more you go along consistently, the more fluent you'll become in the language of your body.

Consistency is always key, but don't ever fret over taking a week off here and there.

Personally, I've been mid-cycle in a program, not having a planned break due in weeks..... and I've taken off due to some of the reasons mentioned above.

Where many people go wrong is they view a week off from the gym as a ticket to eat whatever they want. This can cause a little trouble considering caloric intake is increasing while caloric output is decreasing. But there's only so much damage one can do so in a worst-case-scenario deal you're only looking at a couple of lbs of fat gained.

I like to look at it from the point of view that this week off is strictly for a psychological break as well as a critical time for repair/recovery from the stress I've been imposing on my body. B/c of said repair/recovery.... nutrition is of primary importance during this time.
 
maleficent said:
Ma'am? how rude...

hey -when'd you make it into the 100s :) well done..
Click to expand...

Oh :) last week! I have a new monthly goal now. 193 by March 1st. :)

Monthly challenges rock! Thanks for noticing btw... I think 15-20 more lbs and I should be ready to show off the body shot comparisons. The reason I say think is... I have no clue how I will look at 185 :)

There is quite a bit of pudge still around and I can't even imagine it being gone by 185.
 
Steve said:
You're welcome Keith....

A lot of articles do talk about switching things up and taking breaks frequently.... but it's a lot of blanket advice and many of the ones I've read don't really know why they're recommending such a thing.

It's really a touch & feel process and the more you go along consistently, the more fluent you'll become in the language of your body.

Consistency is always key, but don't ever fret over taking a week off here and there.

Personally, I've been mid-cycle in a program, not having a planned break due in weeks..... and I've taken off due to some of the reasons mentioned above.

Where many people go wrong is they view a week off from the gym as a ticket to eat whatever they want. This can cause a little trouble considering caloric intake is increasing while caloric output is decreasing. But there's only so much damage one can do so in a worst-case-scenario deal you're only looking at a couple of lbs of fat gained.

I like to look at it from the point of view that this week off is strictly for a psychological break as well as a critical time for repair/recovery from the stress I've been imposing on my body. B/c of said repair/recovery.... nutrition is of primary importance during this time.
Click to expand...

Oh, that is why I am looking at it too, the 50 minutes of cardio / HIIT sessions take a toll on my joints. So, like I said, my knee has been kindly asking to ease up.

Also, I am going to stay in the 1800 range for calories, so I won't be going overboard, as a matter of fact, I will still be in a nice deficit for the day (600 x 7 = 4200, in theory, still a weight loss, maybe a bit more if my body realizes I changed something up).
 
Apparently he didn't. :)

The only time it's necessary to take a rest is when your body tells you it's time to take a rest.

"It's really a touch & feel process and the more you go along consistently, the more fluent you'll become in the language of your body."

Which I agree with.

I also believe your body runs on natural biorhythm cycles, sometimes your energy is up, sometimes it's down.

If you feel lethargic, then knock off for the day.

The concept of a "week" is a man made invention to tell time. It's a foreign concept to your body.

If somebody tells you that you must do an upper and a lower split twice a week and your body says no, listen to your body.

You'll be further ahead.
 
Morning,

You know, all I saw in the title was

Taking a rest from working

and I immediately shrieked YES YES YES!

I've been up since 4am either working or exercising or working or programming or editing or exercising or .... and I am soooo fried I could double as a potato chip. Sigh. Sometimes being an entrepreneur makes you want 28 hour days.....

Back to reality,

Barbara
 
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