Had a 3 week rest, LIFTING BETTER THEN BEFORE

[JaKob]

hello, i had a 3 week break... no weights at all... then i went back to the Gym expecting to struggle, and i was lifting with more ease then previous? is this normal or what?

 

[Madmick]

It's happened to me twice (in the time frame of 2-3 weeks).

 

[ballhawkdawk]

That's great news for me. I'm currently in my third week of not doing fuck all just because I've been a mopey pussy lately. Once I hit the weights again, maybe I'll set some new PRs.

 

[Woob]

Probably fits with the theory that most poeple are over training. The big rest just fixes all ur muscles up nice and good

 

[yomon]

i'm currently allowing myself some time to heal up, i have had shin splints for 2 weeks now and i've had enough of it.

 

[D3thr0n3d K1ng]

Yeah thats generally what happens, when you lift wieghts you are tearing your muscles and creating a callousing effect. Then it is rest and nutrition which rebuilds them. If you lift for 6 weeks intensely , then back off but continue to consume adequate amounts of protein, your muscles will grow stronger in reaction to the callousing effect since they have more time to recuperate. Its also a good technique for people who have reached a plateau in a series of lifts.

 

[Grady]

Rest is good. Just don't overdo it

 

[SmashiusClay]

I'm coming to the end of an nijury imposed break right now and i'm praying that I have'nt gone backwards too far. Will be 4 weeks this saturday, I'm thinking i'm going to have to push back the goals I set for new years.

 

[Conrete]

I've stopped seeing any major improvements after 14 weeks of consistent weight training. I want to take a break also, but once I stop going I may not start up again . . .

 

[Urban]

I've stopped seeing any major improvements after 14 weeks of consistent weight training. I want to take a break also, but once I stop going I may not start up again . . .

then quit.

All in all, I wouldn't attribute the gains most people get from a short break to overtraining, but your central nervous system can only take so much for so long. Breaks are an important part of training in general.

 

[anvar]

The rule of thumb I use is 1 week off every 3-4 weeks, two weeks off a year...

 

[Grady]

then quit.

All in all, I wouldn't attribute the gains most people get from a short break to overtraining, but your central nervous system can only take so much for so long. Breaks are an important part of training in general.

Urban, how often to you take a break and for how long?

I'm doing 1 week off for every two months or so, which works well for me. I feel like a lazy bum during the break (heh), but it does reinvigorate.

 

[Urban]

I take a break whenever I can't make it to the gym. Right now I workout 4 days a week, and for the last couple weeks due to the holiday, and time constraints I have only made it twice a week. So I'll probably keep up with 4x a week until the end of the semester, take a week off for the holiday and go from there. I don't schedule my breaks, they just happen.

 

[Lusst]

Yar, this is normal. Coming back from a week break myself, and pulled 410 like I was doing a heavy warmup. Time to increase!