Thread: When is it time to take a week off?

I deload once a month (three weeks of training followed by a week long deload) and I'd recommend that frequency.

Originally Posted by Marat

I deload once a month (three weeks of training followed by a week long deload) and I'd recommend that frequency.

thanks....guess next week is gonna be my deload week

Weeks of are for pussies and people with AIDS... just put a band aid on your vagina and keep pumping!!

As a Personal Trainer I advise my clients to listen to their own bodies because everyone is different and their training intensities differ. If your energy is down or you are having trouble sleeping or your eating habits change you should probably take a break. Hope that helps

I listen to my body and whatever my daily schedule allows. If I'm nursing an injury then I'm prone to take days or a full week off. But I'm a gym rat so it bugs the heck out of me not to be lifting.

Originally Posted by Jeff H

As a Personal Trainer I advise my clients to listen to their own bodies because everyone is different and their training intensities differ.

I certainly do not know your client demographics however I do know that the majority of lifters are not experienced lifters. Inexperienced lifters don't know what to 'listen' for.

Originally Posted by Jeff H

If your energy is down or you are having trouble sleeping or your eating habits change you should probably take a break.

That's fine advice. However, training up to the point of being in an overtrained state does not facilitate efficient maximization of potential. By the time symptoms of overtraining noticeably manifest, the lifter has already been in a suboptimal state for a substantial period of time. The period of time is not only time wasted, but it is time spent going in the opposite direction of the goal. The body simply will not 'positively' react to the training stimulus during the interval of time preceding the manifestation of those overtraining symptoms. Instead, the body will take the opposite reaction to the training and 'break down'. Once the body is 'breaking down', the overtraining symptoms present themselves.

This can be avoided by implementing scheduled deloads.

A note: one does not need to incorporate deloads to get strong -- plenty of guys have gotten strong without them. However, insufficient deloads invariably come with the cost of an increase in injury rate as well as a serving as an overall inefficiency in programming.

Originally Posted by Jeff H

As a Personal Trainer I advise my clients to listen to their own bodies because everyone is different and their training intensities differ. If your energy is down or you are having trouble sleeping or your eating habits change you should probably take a break. Hope that helps

LOL at the capitalization of personal trainer....the majority of people you'll train as a personal trainer dont know jack about "listening to their own bodies". You're better off telling them what signs to look for.

Originally Posted by Hutchym8

Weeks of are for pussies and people with AIDS... just put a band aid on your vagina and keep pumping!!

lol indeed....well actually I read and heard from several people that it is good to take a week off so your body fully recovers and when you hit the gym again you make new growth. Its like what they say for beginners they get rapid results, same goes for people who take a week off they will attain more growth, so it's not that im tired or anything just looking for the best results but thank you friend for your advice.

Originally Posted by Marat

I certainly do not know your client demographics however I do know that the majority of lifters are not experienced lifters. Inexperienced lifters don't know what to 'listen' for.



That's fine advice. However, training up to the point of being in an overtrained state does not facilitate efficient maximization of potential. By the time symptoms of overtraining noticeably manifest, the lifter has already been in a suboptimal state for a substantial period of time. The period of time is not only time wasted, but it is time spent going in the opposite direction of the goal. The body simply will not 'positively' react to the training stimulus during the interval of time preceding the manifestation of those overtraining symptoms. Instead, the body will take the opposite reaction to the training and 'break down'. Once the body is 'breaking down', the overtraining symptoms present themselves.

This can be avoided by implementing scheduled deloads.

A note: one does not need to incorporate deloads to get strong -- plenty of guys have gotten strong without them. However, insufficient deloads invariably come with the cost of an increase in injury rate as well as a serving as an overall inefficiency in programming.

Quoted Due to Golden-ness

Amen

Originally Posted by Jeff H

As a Personal Trainer I advise my clients to listen to their own bodies because everyone is different and their training intensities differ. If your energy is down or you are having trouble sleeping or your eating habits change you should probably take a break. Hope that helps

Exactly what I was going to say. Listen to your body and dont workout if you are sick.

Originally Posted by Hutchym8

Weeks of are for pussies and people with AIDS... just put a band aid on your vagina and keep pumping!!

Your probably not very strong.

The best thing to do, IMO, is to plan things out so that a) you're not training to the point that you can't recover and b) you allow yourself a de-load week about once every month. It doesn't have to be a complete week off, but you need to drop total volume and/or intensity significantly and give your body a chance to recover a bit.

I know Jim Wendler always says that the best way to get strong is to leave a little bit in the tank. I tend to agree with that statement.

I agree, a de-load for me is not always a week off for me, but I will definitely back off on the weight. Like 50-60% of max, low intensity. Then, the next week I am eager to get back in to it.

Originally Posted by gtbmed

The best thing to do, IMO, is to plan things out so that a) you're not training to the point that you can't recover and b) you allow yourself a de-load week about once every month. It doesn't have to be a complete week off, but you need to drop total volume and/or intensity significantly and give your body a chance to recover a bit.

I know Jim Wendler always says that the best way to get strong is to leave a little bit in the tank. I tend to agree with that statement.

thanks bro appreciate the advice, and ya looks like that's what I'm going to be doing next week, just tuesdays and thursday cardio and swim friday but im going to lay off the weights for next week.

Originally Posted by gtbmed

The best thing to do, IMO, is to plan things out so that a) you're not training to the point that you can't recover and b) you allow yourself a de-load week about once every month. It doesn't have to be a complete week off, but you need to drop total volume and/or intensity significantly and give your body a chance to recover a bit.

I know Jim Wendler always says that the best way to get strong is to leave a little bit in the tank. I tend to agree with that statement.

Same here. I always leave the gym on a deload saying "that's it??" I literally have to fight myself not to go back in and do more! However, when I do train, I give an insane intensity that leaves me bonked completely when I finish.

Originally Posted by Jeff H

As a Personal Trainer I advise my clients to listen to their own bodies because everyone is different and their training intensities differ. If your energy is down or you are having trouble sleeping or your eating habits change you should probably take a break. Hope that helps

Hey you fucking spammer, you forgot your link
Jeffrey7133.eliteweightlosspackage.com

every few months I will take a week off.Usually party hard for that week lot's booze maybe even some caine.Then when it's time to hit the gym again I feel stronger then b4 .

Originally Posted by PushAndPull

Hey you fucking spammer, you forgot your link
Jeffrey7133.eliteweightlosspackage.com

lulz

Dude get a life!

Originally Posted by midwest216

I listen to my body and whatever my daily schedule allows. If I'm nursing an injury then I'm prone to take days or a full week off. But I'm a gym rat so it bugs the heck out of me not to be lifting.

I know the feeling, but the rest will benefit in the long term

Originally Posted by Marat

I certainly do not know your client demographics however I do know that the majority of lifters are not experienced lifters. Inexperienced lifters don't know what to 'listen' for.



That's fine advice. However, training up to the point of being in an overtrained state does not facilitate efficient maximization of potential. By the time symptoms of overtraining noticeably manifest, the lifter has already been in a suboptimal state for a substantial period of time. The period of time is not only time wasted, but it is time spent going in the opposite direction of the goal. The body simply will not 'positively' react to the training stimulus during the interval of time preceding the manifestation of those overtraining symptoms. Instead, the body will take the opposite reaction to the training and 'break down'. Once the body is 'breaking down', the overtraining symptoms present themselves.

This can be avoided by implementing scheduled deloads.

A note: one does not need to incorporate deloads to get strong -- plenty of guys have gotten strong without them. However, insufficient deloads invariably come with the cost of an increase in injury rate as well as a serving as an overall inefficiency in programming.

Thank you for the intelligent response, you are definitely right. When I train I try to listen to what the client is telling me, so I can help them make the decision to take a break or not. When I take a break is when my progress starts slowing and I'm not as motivated as I usually am. I will definitely be incorporating your expertise in future interactions with my clients, Thanks

Originally Posted by Hutchym8

Weeks of are for pussies and people with AIDS... just put a band aid on your vagina and keep pumping!!

Where does one find a ban aid for a really big vagina?

Originally Posted by vortrit

Where does one find a ban aid for a really big vagina?

the big vagina band isle in PathMark.

right by the giant dousche

I urge those who associate deloading with taking a week off from lifting weights to learn more about the function and proper implementation of a deload. A deload is not a terribly complicated concept but it certainly is not simply defined by staying out of the gym for a week --- gtbmed's and cshea2's definitions are more accurate.

If one is not implementing regular, scheduled deloads into their routines, one should actively develop a conclusion regarding why they haven't done so.

Originally Posted by nova1970sb

right by the giant dousche

correct.

Originally Posted by Fernando300

Im curious forum...do I needto take a week off? say after lifting 6-8 weeks is it necessary to take a week off? appreciate all responses thanks

it depends on the level of intensity that you exercise at. varying training loads periodically helps greatly to reduce over-training. one of the first signs of over-tranining is a decrease in functional strength or performance in sports.