Learning how to deload regularly is an important habit for any lifter. You see, success in the gym rests upon three major pillars.
Once your nutrition and training are in check, there is one tiny little thing left: recovery.
Today, we are going to discuss how to deload and why it is crucial for best results. We'll also go over recovery weeks and how to pick the right option for yourself.
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Why is Taking a Week off From The Gym Important?
Although taking a week off from the gym might sound nuts, it’s an important element of long-term progress.
Lifting weights puts a lot of stress on your nervous system, muscles, joints, and connective tissues. Over time, that stress builds up and your performance starts to decline. You start feeling achy, weak, de-motivated to lift, and so on.
But we don’t want that. We want to hammer at the weights without all these negative symptoms of overtraining. Enter: the recovery week. The purpose of a recovery week is to give you time off the gym to recover physically and mentally. Once the week is about over, you will be itching to get back and crush your workouts.
And the funny thing?
You’ll most likely feel rested, motivated, and even stronger than before. And I know the skeptical part of your brain is like,“Yeah, like not training is going to make me stronger.” But think about it:
If you haven’t taken time off the gym lately, you’re likely starting to feel overtrained. And piling on more stress on top won’t make you jump over the fence and feel better.
Of course, there are individuals who won’t benefit from a recovery week. Then again, they aren’t getting much from the training they are doing, either.
Those are the individuals who give priority to going out on Friday night over lifting; to sleeping in over having that morning cardio session; to socializing with their bros instead of training; to eating junk over whole foods that nourish the body; to.. you get it.
Those are the people who don’t feel tired or accomplished after a workout. And they look exactly the same as last year. They don’t need a recovery week. They don’t even need recovery days.
But not you. You’re determined and hungry for progress; you push yourself hard every workout; you follow a decent training program that delivers results. You most definitely need to be taking a week off from working out every once in a while.
How Often Should I Be Taking a Week Off From the Gym?
Much like other aspects of training, recovery is also individual. But there are certain guidelines you can follow to ease the process of figuring stuff out for yourself.
Recovery needs depend on different factors such as:
- How old you are
- What type of work you do
- How hard you train
- What your work capacity is
- How you eat
Based on all these factors, there are 3 main ways to schedule recovery weeks:
Option #1: Predetermined training breaks
Those are the scheduled breaks you have. For example, I used to follow the Beyond 5/3/1 by Jim Wendler. It calls for a deload week (which we’ll cover below) every 7th week.
Most decent strength programs out there have some sort of recovery week scheduled. They are there to help you manage fatigue and feel motivated to lift year-round.
The idea is, decide how long you will train and schedule a recovery week every so often.
Option #2: When you start feeling tired
The second scenario is based on feel. You start feeling tired, so you take a recovery week.
Symptoms of overtraining could include body aches, loss of sleep, lack of motivation, and weakness when training. There are others, but you get the idea. Once the symptoms start piling on top of each other, there’s no doubt - you need rest.
For some, it could take three or four full months of training before the symptoms begin to surface. For others, it might be after the second month.
My two caveats with this option are:
1. Most people don’t have the experience to tell if they need to back off for a while. This kind of intuition comes with time and being able to tell a bad workout from a state of overtraining is important.
2. Recovery weeks should serve as a preventive action. Use them to avoid overtraining, rather than recover after the fact. Think of it this way:
A recovery week should help steer you away from crashing into overtraining. Being in that state is not beneficial and it can affect other aspects of your life.
Option #3: Unexpected life events & vacations
Sometimes, life tends to creep up on us and our plans. Did you plan that 405 squat for Monday? Too bad, man. That stomach virus making its way in your body right now doesn’t care.
When life happens and you’re unable to get to the gym (read: unable, not unwilling), treat it as recovery time and don’t beat yourself up.
Other times, you might have to skip the gym for something more pleasurable. Like a trip to Fiji.
I often get asked whether taking a break from lifting during a vacation is alright. My answer is yes. If there’s no gym where you are, you haven’t taken time off recently, and you want to have a good time and take a break from the iron, by all means, do it.
But, if there is a gym near you, and you’re itching to go hit some weights, don’t let the fact that you’re on a vacation stop you.
The Method I Prefer
I used to follow the option of a scheduled de-load week when I followed the Beyond 5/3/1 program and it worked well. I still use this method today.
Most, if not all decent strength programs out there have a scheduled period of taking it easy. This, in and of itself, should tell you how important recovery is. But you might be thinking, “Well I don’t need to take an easy week after only six weeks of lifting!”
I hear you. But, again, think of such a week as a preventive mechanism in your training to help you stay energized and motivated year-round.
But Wait, Won’t I Lose My Gains If I Don’t Lift For a Week?
As a quick side note, Dr. Mike Zourdos wrote an article on the exact same topic MASS (Monthly Applications in Strength Sports):
Strength and Size Are Resistant to Decline Following 2 Weeks of Detraining
MASS is a research review for strength/physique athletes and coaches.
Eric Helms, Greg Nuckols and Dr. Mike Zourdos are doing an excellent job at reviewing the current literature and putting out the monthly issues.
You can get access to that article and many more articles, videos, audios, and PDFs.
You can read my full review of MASS here.
This is the most common concern people have with taking a week off from working out and I get it.
When I was first introduced to the concept of “not lifting,” I was skeptical. I thought if I took a week off from training, my gains would evaporate, and I would need at least two to three weeks of solid training to get back to where I left off.
Boy, was I wrong.
I read enough materials to convince myself that a week off was what I needed. (At that point, I was pretty overtrained, too.) So, I took a week off, feeling like a slob the entire time. Once I came back, I was thunderstruck.
I had forgotten what it feels like to feel energized and motivated to lift. I crushed all my personal records and I felt stronger on each accessory exercise. And I felt good after my workout, instead of the usual boiled turd.
Ever since then, I’ve taken my recovery weeks without worrying that I’d lose my gains. I always get impatient to return and see what I can do after each break.
If you still feel skeptical about this whole recovery week thing, I get it - I was too. If you’re not on board not to lift for an entire seven-day period, you can take two-three days and see how it affects you. Then, after some weeks, take a whole week off.
I’ll admit, I know folks who feel a bit weaker after a recovery week. But, that could be due to not treating a recovery week well. You should focus on getting quality sleep and keep your nutrition in check. Just because it’s time off the gym, doesn’t mean it’s time to forget it all.
Yet, it could also be due to factors not in your control. You may find yourself weaker after a recovery week despite keeping everything in check. For you, there's another option I mentioned above – deloading.
How to Deload And Is It Right For Me?
A deload week:
“The week where you’re supposed to go light. You enter the gym, do some warm-up and feel the most energetic you’ve ever felt in your entire life. Too bad you can’t do anything with it, though!”
But in all seriousness. I’m joking because this has happened to me once or twice before.
A deload week, unlike the recovery week, is one where you don’t take time off the gym. Instead, you keep training but you keep your workouts light and unchallenging.
There are three main ways to plan out your deload week:
- Reduce training sets and reps for each workout.
- Reduce training intensity for each workout.
- Reduce both for each workout.
Deloading Your Training Sets and Reps
With this method, your goal is to maintain the weights you lift and instead cut the number of sets and reps you do in half. For example:
- If you normally do 4 sets with 225 pounds on the bench for 5 reps, now you would do 2 sets with 225 for 3 reps
- If you normally do a total of 14 working sets for your chest, now you would do 7
Cut back your repetitions a bit for each set to further reduce volume, and don’t take sets to failure.
Deloading Your Training Intensity
When deloading intensity, your goal is to maintain the number of sets you do in favor of lifting less weight. You can go as light half of what you usually lift. For example:
- If you squat 4 sets with 315 pounds for 5 reps, now you would squat 4 sets with 160-170 pounds for 5 reps
- If you usually deadlift 375 pounds for 3 reps on each set, now you would do 185 for 3 reps
Deloading Intensity and Sets
With this option, you reduce the weight you lift and the number of sets you do by about 50 percent. For example:
- If you deadlift 4 sets with 385 pounds for 5 reps each, now you would deadlift 2 sets with 180-200 pounds
- Barbell curls with 90 pounds for 4 sets – 45 pounds for 2 sets
A quick note on the sets, reps, and weight I used as an example:
I realize that your sets likely aren’t static as the examples above and that’s okay. I presented the examples in a simplified way to make things easier to understand. It doesn’t matter how you usually train that much. Don’t overthink your deload workouts too much.
Choose a weight light enough and do the sets.
How Often Should I Deload?
The answer to this question is individual and I’m afraid I can’t give an answer that will fit everyone. There are questions you need to answer, like:
- How many days a week do you lift?
- How much effort do you put into your workouts? (Pushing for progress or kind of cruising?)
- What is your day job like, if you have one? (Physical labor or desk job?)
- What is your current goal? (Build muscle or lose fat?)
- How many hours a night do you sleep? (Are you getting your recommended eight?)
- How old are you? (A 22-year old dude could cope with fewer deloads compared to a 44-year old one.)
These are all questions that can help you determine how often you need to take a deload week. What I recommend is to deload every six to ten weeks. Experiment with the frequency of your deload and see which works best for you.
Remember:
Treat your deload week as a preventive mechanism to steer clear from overtraining.
The Proper Mindset for a Deload Week
I’d like to address this issue because many people feel that a deload isn’t doing them any good. The problem is, they can't see the benefit in training with less effort.
“I’m lifting the bare minimum of my ability!”
“I feel like I’m going through the motion.”
“Why don’t I take a recovery week? This is useless.”
If you feel this way towards your deload weeks, I’d like to help you change your perspective.
First off, don’t think of a deload workout as useless because you’re lifting less weight. Think of it like a reset point. Also, consider the fact that after each of these reset points, you’ll be better than you were before.
Second, focus on proper form and explosiveness. Also, address any nagging pains you might have had in the past, but never got around to fixing. It could be that your left shoulder feels kind of uncomfortable. Or one of your hips. It doesn’t matter. Do extra long warm-ups, focus on mobility work, and perform your compound lifts with mindfulness.
Finally, on the accessory lifts. Instead of yawning because you’re lifting baby weights, focus on each individual repetition. Are you lifting the weights properly? Are you feeling the right muscles activate? Maybe your form is a little off and you never noticed until now. Fix that.
What’s the bottom line?
Many people approach their deload weeks negatively and feel miserable until they are over. I urge you to shift your mindset and focus on the positive things your deload can bring. Instead of thinking about what you can't do, focus on what you can improve.
Once you do that, you can reap the benefits from the deload and get back into your normal training, feeling stronger and more determined.
How About Nutrition During a Deload/Week Off?
Since nutrition is such a critical element of proper recovery, you should pay as much attention to it as you would during any other week. Your body is in a state of rebuilding and nourishing itself, and it’s your duty to supply it with the building blocks it needs.
When Building Muscle and Increasing Strength
During that period, you’d already be in a caloric surplus. And you need to maintain that surplus even during your deload or recovery week.
Since your body is working to recover and grow stronger, you cannot cut the energy supply short. Also, because of that, it’s not uncommon for you to build some muscle mass during the recovery week and come back stronger.
When Losing Fat
This is a tricky subject, so I’ll try to look at it as objectively as I can to help you make a good decision.
We all know that the main goal of fat loss is to maintain as much muscle mass as possible while leaning out. So, lifting heavy and eating enough protein are two crucial elements.
But what happens when you don’t lift heavy for a week and instead take a deload or recovery week, and keep that caloric deficit? That’s right - you’re likely to lose more muscle mass than if you were to keep training heavy.
I couldn’t find any studies that looked into the issue and this is more of a speculation.Until we have research, my advice would be to raise your calories to maintenance level until your recovery/deload week is over.
That way, you can supply your body with more energy to repair itself and also make sure you don’t lose any muscle mass. You won’t lose any fat during that short period but you will spare your muscle mass.
Once you finish your deload or recovery week, go back to a deficit and resume your fat loss.
Can I Do Cardio During a Deload/Week off?
If you feel like you must do something to keep your sanity, go for it. But keep in mind that the goal of the deload/recovery week is to reduce the stress on your body. You should avoid high impact cardio such as running and HIIT.
Aside from that, non-impact cardio like a stationary recumbent bike or a walk in the park can do some good for your recovery.
Back to You
Did you find this article helpful?
Have I missed anything you wanted to know?
Either way, leave a comment below and let me know what you think.
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Nice post and you are so correct. I have never read an article going this much in depth as to rest or deloading. I have no regular schedule to recover. I tend to listen to my body and the recovery week can consistent of lighter workouts, active stretching, doing an activity I don’t regularly do, such as swimming, or nothing at all. Thanks for the info.
Taking breaks based on feel can work, but people who are inexperienced are better off taking scheduled breaks. 🙂
Hi there,
If I’m overweight and trying to lose weight using a healthy diet but I am injured, should I still use BCAAs or other forms of supplements?
What is your injury? Can you lift weights?
So I have been training for going on 15 weeks and had no clue as to why my numbers weren’t jumping like they really were around month 2 to 3. Did some research and I am so glad I found this post. My lower back was tight, arms would be tighter than hell after 3-4 biceps/triceps exercises, and was generally having limited to no energy during the work day. I am going to still be taking a protein shake every day to aid in the recovery process but thank you for doing this discussion for us dedicated lifters.
Glad to be of help, David! Sometimes taking a step back is all we need.
I have decided to take a recovery week. I returned to weightlifting after several years of not exercising due to several surgeries and attention to managing a chronic health challenge of having epilepsy. I’m a busy mother and wife. When I returned to weightlifting, I was enthusiastic and have worked very hard. I had a rotator cuff surgery and my shoulder flares up a lot. I began to feel weak and lacking motivation. I’m in the process of making some dietary changes which are also leaving me a bit depleted. I caught a mild virus going around, so I decided..it was time. I’m excited to have a week off after such hard training. I plan to do some rotator cuff exercises, maybe a little treadmill or just fun but non stressing cardio, keep tweaking my diet, and to do somethings I have just been to tired to do..gardening, hobbies, extra family time.. I felt concerned at first..about loosing gains, fear I’d give up. I told myself to keep pushing but now I feel relieved and I believe when I go back it will with zest and enthusiasm. The point is to be fit and healthy and if I’m undermining that and forcing myself, then what’s the point.. I’m leaving the gym with sub par input due to overload getting more discouraged. A mental break, long relaxing baths, stretching and mind rejuvenating light yoga, doing a little very light loads of practing some exercises that form has been challenging, finding some ways to incorporate exercises that alleviate the shoulder discomfort. I’m excited to engage in something other than lifting. I put 110% in and I work with a trainer so I have let go of the guilt and worries, relish this opportunity to rejuvenate and regain my focus, with a body that has had time to really recover. I’m 48, I had put on some unwanted weight plus I was extremely weak going back in..my recoveries naturally take a bit longer and my CNS is feeling that overload of intense focus and high intensity which I usually am excited about. My time off isn’t eating cheetos and TV binging. It’s still focused on other health aspects of remaining fit but it is now a welcome decompression time after 3 months of hard work. This article helps support my decision and blow away the negativity and guilt about taking a break because it’s not throwing in the towel. It will keep my motivation to get back into the swing because I’m still focusing on maintaining and perhaps improving some other aspects of mental and physical health. Time to reassess my routine some and adjust. I think it will improve my performance. I’ve signed up for an aerial yoga workshop so I’m remaining active. If I loose gains, I know they will quickly return. I’ve experienced this because after 3 years of inactivity, although not where I was before, muscle memory kicked in to make quicker strides. Listen to your body before full burnout, adrenal fatigue, and risk of injury is not only needed but a wise choice that I know will keep me on track. Thank you!
Whoa, Julie. Thanks for that amazing comment!
I completely agree with everything you said and I’m glad that you have productive activities planned.
Yes, taking a week off to binge-watch TV and eat Cheetos is probably not going to optimize recovery. Haha.
And if you’re having a more difficult time recovering from lifting, you can consider taking a recovery week more frequently. Once every 6-8 weeks where you focus on mobility, yoga and shoulder health.
Take care and keep me posted. 🙂
Very informative, thanks for the great post!
Glad you found it helpful! 🙂
Hi Philip, I’m just starting my recovery week. I’ve built mine into a 3/1 ratio. I know it’s a short rotation but I did it this way because I had chronic fatigue a few years ago from overtraining & took many many months to come back from it. It was very scary. I thought I’d never recover. In fact now, I listen to my body very carefully & when I start getting the telltale signs I back down & take a brake whether I want one or not. It’s about long term gains & goals so that’s where I’m looking. Thanks for the well thought out article. Btw, I’m a 49 year old working woman with 2 kids, who loves mtb/cycling/hiking & working out . Your article reaches many
Hey Cath, thanks for the comment. Since you’ve found what works for you, do it this way. You can occasionally experiment with training a bit more when you feel up to it before taking a break. 🙂
Nice piece, most wont get it at all and face the injury later.
I take a week off every 7 to 8 weeks.
I see gains when I return as well.
Far as I’m concerned this is solid gold.
Yes, sometimes taking a step back allows us to get back stronger. Nothing wrong with the occasional break. Glad this resonated with you, Phil. 🙂 And thanks.
Hi, I found this article to be very informative. As of right now I am forced to take a recovery week maybe a few due to tendonitis from lifting. I am using this time to do more low intensity/longer cardio. ( i can’t do HIIT training due to issue with my heart) i am not lifting in order to recover but if I don’t get in the gym to do something then I feel like I will never get back in there. I am a very routine based person. I wanted to get your opinion on 2 things about this. Will getting the 1g of protein per lb of body weight every day help to prevent excessive muscle loss? Also will the cardio help to cut or define the muscle i already have while i recover? My diet is on point and I am losing about 1lb every 3 days since doing the cardio but I want to make sure that I don’t just turn into a skinny guy with low body fat but also no muscle to show for it. Any thoughts on this or any help on maintaining while injured would be a appreciated. Thanks!
Hey Brian, thanks for the comment. Keep your protein intake at 1g per lb of body weight and look into blood flow restriction training. Layne Norton has written about it and I believe he’s made some videos on Youtube. Here’s the post: https://www.biolayne.com/articles/training/blood-flow-restriction-training-the-next-generation-of-anabolic-exercise/
I highly recommend some type of resistance training if your goal is to maintain your muscle mass. I don’t believe that you can achieve that with cardio.
And, in any case, consult with your doctor about training. 🙂
Hi.
Thank you for an awesome informative article.
I follow a 3-split program, which I complete 2 times a week, so 6 days in the gym. Usually 1.5-2 hour workouts.
My goal is to maintain/build muscle, and as mainfocus, losing fat.
A run a low carb OMAD diet, and it is very effective. But due to how much I workout and how hard it is to eat all those calories in one go, I have a very large deficit.
I chose to take a recovery week after 12 weeks of training, because getting to the gym became very hard.. Not that the intensity got lower, but I had to push myself much harder, and motivation was lacking.
I also had a suspicion, that I was starting to get pretty low on leptin, so my guess was, that increasing carbs and decreasing my deficit during the recovery week, could also kind of restart my fat-burn when I start again.
Looking forward to see if it had an effekt..
I’m just now starting up again after the recovery week.
And I can actually both see, and feel the difference.
Can psysically see a difference i muscle density, and power in the gym has for sure increased a lot!
How do you recomment getting started with traing again following the recovery week?
I’ve read some where, that you should take it easy when getting back in the gym.
How do you feel about that, when is it okay to maximise the intensity again?
/Martin Hansen, Denmark
Hi Martin, thanks for your comment. 🙂
From what you’ve written, I think you’re pushing it a bit too hard in the gym, especially with a low carb OMAD diet. First off, try reducing the volume a bit and see how it goes for a few weeks. Chances are, you’ll feel better and make more progress by doing less.
Also, regarding your question – it’s up to you, really. I’ve jumped straight back into my training after a recovery week in the past and have never had any issues. If you want, you can do a lighter first week to ease yourself in. For example, fewer total sets with 10% less weight. 🙂
Cheers!
Exactly what I was looking for! Great, in-depth, research-backed article. Thanks a lot 🙂
Thank you, Tomas. I’m glad you found it helpful! 🙂
I’ve been doing abs for more than 3x times a week on a 6 day active workout plan for 12 weeks how should I deload for abs
Hey Yokesh,
Sounds like you should deload your entire training if you’ve been training hard for 12 weeks. 🙂
Nice column Phil! Ive just completed a 6 week twice a day rigours lifting program. I just started my week of recovery and speakin from past experiences with recovery weekz not only are they much needed but the strength i have once i resume lifting is off the charts. Im a 39 years combat veteran ( US ARMY) and i feel better now then when i was on active duty. Thanks for the tips dude
Thanks for your comment, Scott. 🙂
I’m glad you found this helpful. We all need a break from time to time.
-Phil
Great article. My former trainer mentioned over training and rest weeks and never realized how important they were until I literally “hit the wall” during my last training day last week after 12 weeks solid weight training, walking and swimming.
My body was telling me that it needed a rest but I was torn as after weeks of hard work I was finally seeing muscle gains.
Your article reinforced that my body needed and would benefit from a recovery break – thank you.
Hi Val, glad you found my article helpful. It all comes down to stimulus > recovery > adaptation. Without recovery, we can’t positively adapt to training stress both in the short and long term. 🙂
Love your posts! They are awesome. I’ll buy for sure your book if you’ll write one 🙂
Thank you for the kind words, Eli! Who knows, maybe there’s a book in me somewhere. Haha. 🙂
This article was very helpful. I new to weight training and am doing it to gain strength and improve bone density. My coach is on vacation and I’ve been panicked about missing my session with her. So, thank you for this.
Glad you liked the article, Tracy! It’s all about longevity. What you do most of the time matters much more than what you do occasionally. Plus, taking a break from time to time is vital.
Cheers 🙂
Hello Philip,
i’m needing some sound advice on the load and frequency levels when returning back from the deload week.
Where, how many and how heavy do i start the nect microcycle of mesocycle 2?
Jp
Hi JP,
Typically, you should pace yourself and start a bit more conservatively after the deload. How much and how often, specifically, depends on numerous factors, including what your training has been so far and what your goals in the gym are.
I hope this helps.
-Philip
Hi Philip, awesome content!
I please need an advice, as I feel I have a problem with such rest periods: after going through your article, I tried to do my first intentional (not due to a holiday week) rest week in March, but actually incorporated some basic yoga, stationary bike and walks. Although I really enjoy these activities, I didn’t get the feeling of a recover: my legs were actually as sore as they would be on a normal week of trainings. This current week I’m back at it and decided to keep things even lighter: it’s currently Monday and I just went for an easy 1 h walk this morning, while in the afternoon I did 40 min of gentle stretching. My legs are so freaking sore after it!! My problem indeed is that my quads and legs in general are quite sensible, so every activity (even a light walk) ends up making them very fatigued. On a typical week I would workout (weightlifting) 4x week + stationary bike and mountain bike the other days and walk on Sundays, which works ok. My legs are a bit fatigued but nothing abnormal. The issue is with rest weeks, I really don’t know what to do! I mean isn’t the whole purpose to feel your legs and whole body way fresher and with close to 0 soreness? I don’t want to just stay at home (since I currently don’t have places to go throughout the day) but it seems that every light activity I do worsens the situation and I feel I’m wasting my rest week and might as well have worked out. At the same time, I really do not fancy the idea of a deload week but I thought maybe that’s what I need? Is that enough to give my muscles a break as a long term strategy?
Thanks for your time in replying!
Have a great day.
Agnese
Hey Agnese,
Well, that’s an interesting question. You should feel recovered and DOMS-free by the end of the recovery week. If you don’t, then you either:
1) Need more time to recover from your training (which is plausible, but unlikely).
2) Need to take it easier during your recovery week.
Consider only taking walks in your next recovery week but avoid going overboard. Aim for about 10,000 steps per day and otherwise avoid lifting weights or doing anything that can cause fatigue.
Let me know if that helps. 🙂
-Philip
Hey Philip
My week went pretty weird. My legs ended up being SO sore, I just winged it day after day as I was not sure how I would feel the next day. After the light walk + 40 min of gentle stretch on Monday my quads were exhausted so I had to take Tuesday and Wednesday “off”, meaning I would just move around the house. On Thursday I did 45 min of very low impact stationary bike and then had to take Friday off again (always basic things like packing my suitcase and moving around the house) as my quads were always super sore. Saturday I went to the lake and had a chilled walk there (12k steps) + very low impact swimming. Sunday was lake + light walk again (10k steps). Now it’s Sunday evening and my legs are super fatigued as they have been throughout the whole week, especially my quads, and my arms are fatigued as well from that truly light swim. I really cannot understand it. I literally don’t know what to do, as I was telling you either I move or not is always gonna result in my legs (esp. quads) being extremely fatigued. Not only that, my lower back, buttocks and some other small areas would hurt too. I don’t even believe 1 entire week of just moving a little around the house (as I was planning to try for my next rest week) is healthy for my muscles, that are basically put in complete standby for a week. I guess they should be kept active a bit. What I‘m asking you, a part from some suggestions, is if you think that this period away from the weights has done some good to my body or if I can’t be said to have properly recovered considered my weird condition.
Appreciate your help.
Thank you.
Agnese
Hey Agnese,
Well, if your quads feel super fatigued and sore, then you should probably scale back your activity further and take more time to recover. Also, make sure that you’re getting enough calories, protein, and are eating a generally unprocessed diet.
Sleep is another crucial one, and so is good hydration.
In any case, 10 to 12k steps per day don’t seem like an ‘insignificant’ amount of activity on top of swimming.
As a whole, I feel that you’re still doing too much despite telling yourself that you’re resting. If you don’t feel good and you feel that your muscles are not recovered, you simply need more time for rest, and there isn’t much else you can do about it.
A week or two with little to no weight training won’t erase your progress, and you will quickly get back to where you left things off. But make sure that you’re recovered before getting back.
I hope that helps.
-Philip
Interesting article. Thanks for the info. I recently rekindled my love for weight training after a hiatus for many years. I got quite built when I went to Uni but with work I eventually stopped and after a few years at a sedentary desk job, managed to put on a lot of weight. For the past 4-5 months I’ve been hitting the cardio and weights hard. I do weight training in the morning. Quite intense, drop sets, progressive sets and force sets. I follow my weight training six hours later with an hour of skipping. 8 sets of 400 skips for roughly 4-5 minutes each.
I’ve noticed this week my body is beginning to tire more. Firstly I hurt my shoulder doing routine exercises. And now my legs are still aching four days later after squats and everything else for leg day, whereas last week they felt fine after two to three. Therefore I think my body is warning me that I need to take a brief rest. I remembered how I used to take breaks now and then for a week and so I decided to have a look about online as I do have one question I’m unsure about. Currently my goal is to lose weight. I’ve lost over three stone so far. For this week off should I avoid my skipping routine? Not sure if skipping is considered high intensity.
Thanks for your comment, Danny.
Well, it seems like you should take a break. If you feel like you absolutely have to do something during this week, then go ahead and do some rope skipping – but drop the volume.
Other than that, take it easy, bump your caloric intake for the week (to around maintenance), and get back to it in a fresh and recovered state. 🙂
I hope that helps.
-Philip
Thanks for the reply. I usually do two skipping workouts when I don’t weight train. So I skip for an hour in the morning to replace weights and then the same six hours later. However based on your article, advice and my own understanding I think for the first few days I will take a complete break from both weights and cardio. I have plenty of coding projects I can focus on, so I will look at it positively rather than as a negative. Then I might jump on some light skipping perhaps only once a day rather than twice and for half of my usual volume just to burn some calories.
However I was thinking of maintaining my current calorie deficit simply because without cardio my diet would likely go from deficit to maintenance anyways. I eat 2,380 calories (75% TDEE) with weights and cardio and I’m losing roughly 3lb a week. so without cardio and weights I reckon it’ll sustain my muscle mass for the week. I’ll use this as an experiment because I created my own TDEE calculator/algorithm which hasn’t proved me wrong so far. And as I haven’t exactly built loads of muscle yet considering I’ve only been at it for 4-5 months with a focus more to losing fat. I’d imagine it’s still okay to lose like 2lb this week? But if I lose more than this then I’ll know I’ve probably lost some muscle mass therefore I’ll up the calories for the next recovery week. I’ll weigh myself daily too and if I see drastic weight loss then I’ll up it this week. Kind regards, Danny.
Hello again, Danny.
Well, it seems like you’re on the right track. Don’t be afraid to take some time to recover here and there. The body doesn’t lose its adaptations as quickly as most people imagine. You won’t likely experience any adverse effects from taking even two full weeks to recover, so long as your nutrition and sleep are in check.
As for the calorie deficit, I always recommend folks to bump their calories to maintenance during a deload week to ensure optimal recovery. There is no harm in not losing weight for a week – look at the long-term trajectory instead.
Let me know if you have other questions.
-Philip