Post: #1

I've been weight training for a few years, with greater intensity over the past year or so.

The past year, I might have had a couple full weeks off from training. Besides that, a few times I did go 5-7 days without training.

But for the most part, the whole year I trained consistently at least twice, but mostly in between 3-4 times a week.

I'm currently on vacation for 4 weeks. I planned over the past few months so that if I did take a break from lifting it would be now.

This is the first time since I started training consistently that I will be taking more than 2 weeks away from the gym.

Do you guys take breaks?

I've been browsing and there seems to be many who encourage routine breaks from lifting for at least 1-2 weeks every few months or so from heavy lifting.

Hopefully one month won't have much of an affect on me due to my recent training history, and I can recover my gains in the shortest amount of time.

I'm itching to do some barbell squats and overhead presses.

At the same time, I'm interested in seeing how a month break will benefit me and how my body will react once I start training again.

Post: #2

I take weeks off from weights when I feel my body needs it.

The only time I've been off for more than a week is because of illness.

Even if I have a week off I still do body weight stuff or keep it light and go to the gym to practice my technique on some lifts.

The way I figure is if you've got a decent level of testosterone you're going to want to exercise anyway. I've never understood guys who 'took a few months off.' They were never serious about the gym in the first place.

Post: #3

I was doing pretty good until a damn shin splint in my legs.

The pain in my leg made doing anything absolutely annoying.

I've basically taken almost a month off from lifting. The mixture of the summer heat and humidity with the annoying pain of a splint was enough to break my motivation. It's hard though going from 4-5 days a week of training to nothing. What is hilarious is that I get a strange extreme desire to go back and lift again. My energy and life just feels so lame than when i used to go.

I would take s break every now and then. Over training is a real problem if you go hard. At best though, you can take a week or two off. Just take a normal vacation and enjoy the fruits of your working out labor. Nothing too crazy in terms of breaks.

Post: #4

A day here or there but nothing extended...even injured athletes work other areas, pool running etc...no reason to do nothing at all. I will take a month off from cardio here and there but i try not to go too far without weights

Post: #5

Nascimento -

Why don't you try something else when you take a break from lifting ie swimming, boxing, surfing, MMA, yoga, bodyweight etc? Hell, even something like Tango or Salsa.

Learn new skills, stay fresh, keep your body guessing and confused.

I think moving forward, I am going to change my focus every 2 months.

Post: #6

I'm on a 1+ year break and never felt better. There's some dumbells in the garage that I have to pickup and move now and again. Does that count as workout?

Post: #7

Its hard to substitute weights....the cardio gets tedious. I switch from running to biking, basketball, tennis, etc...but if you skip weights your upper body will shrink, at the minimum keep up some calistenics.

Post: #8

I second G on dancing, never seen an overweight dancer and a good improvement to game....

Post: #9

During this break I don't mind changing things up.

Most things are not accessible to me, though. Classes and anything that requires gym equipment really.

What comes to mind is running and bodyweight training.

I might do a run once or twice a week.

I'm going to look into some bodyweight training. All I can think of at the moment though is pushups and some basic crunches, planks and other ab work though.

Post: #10

If you take a break from heavy lifting do something else. If you're a serious gym guy it will be hell trying to just sit around and take a long break. The lack of adrenaline rush will make you feel like crap.

Get another hobby where you can still feel a work out like rush while on breaks. I wouldn't break for longer than a week though ever unless serious injury occurs.

Post: #11

I took two weeks off and I feel great now. I lift the same amount as I did two weeks ago but I don't feel as tired now. My body needed a break.

Post: #12

Run your normal workouts with all weights at 50-60%. Do this every 4-8 weeks. I believe this has kept me healthy. I have never felt taking a week completely off was productive.

Post: #13

Good point doctor.

My gym membership ran up, work is really busy and I've been lacking motivation.

I start a New work schedule next week and my awesome belt should be delivered by then. I've been doing some bodyweight stuff and tons of walking.

I think it's good to take some time off to mentally and physically recoup. If something hasn't felt right when lifting just take a week or two off to get right.

Post: #14

I also take time off but every 4-6 weeks and then for about 4 days or so. I just feel that my body asks for it to recover, always much better after short rest.

Post: #15

(07-24-2013 11:54 AM)thegmanifesto Wrote:  Why don't you try something else when you take a break from lifting ie swimming, boxing, surfing, MMA, yoga, bodyweight etc? Hell, even something like Tango or Salsa.

Learn new skills, stay fresh, keep your body guessing and confused.

I never liked the idea of spending all of one's physical time in the controlled environment of the conventional gym.

Post: #16

Only when I get out of my routine.

It can take weeks to get back into a groove.


This last break helped a lot though.

I could barely chest press 85lb dumbells 8 times before I got in a funk. I got back into the gym a couplefdays ago and my partner was up to 100s.

I got on the bench and pumped out 3 sets of 5 before dropping to 90s.

Post: #17

You could do a deload week, but I don't think it's necessary. The body will adapt to increasing weight. If you feel you're body is getting weary it's more likely that you're not eating or sleeping enough to aid recoverery.

Post: #18

Cool has a pretty good idea here. Taking a complete break from lifting might be good for eliminating staleness but it can also be wise to just reduce everything to 60-70% regular intensity and volume.

Post: #19

Yeah i have taken a week off every few months or so just to give the joints and muscles a break. I`m into my 40`s and find this is great to keep my longevity in weight training and avoiding injuries. But in that week off i will just do extra walking and plenty of stretching as well.

Post: #20

Upon further experimentation I'm gonna have to go suggest a deload week doing your normal routine fast at warm-up weights.

Some guys aren't like this but if I don't lift for 4+ days I get insane DOMS.

I tested out the new belt yesterday and squat prd with 365lbs. Tried to deadlift but the belt was too tight for that and I hadn't deadlifted in well over a month.

I started getting sore that night. Today at work I was walking like I shit my pants all day. When I got home I basically slid on my ass down the stairs because I was in so much pain.

All I gotta say is thank god for those handicap washrooms with the handles beside the toilet.

Post: #21

I periodically take a week or two off from lifting, depending on my body's stresses. Usually when I feel like I'm just sick of the gym and I'm discouraged, I tend to take a week, clear my head. But I do a lot of low-rep/high weight lifting, and I sometimes will lift 2 days in a row, always full body.

Post: #22

I only workout 3 times a week so I dont really take breaks.
If you do it 5-6 days a week its propably neccessary once in a while.

Post: #23

There is a complete science on how taking breaks is actually more beneficial than training all the time. Conclusion is that you should take 7-10 days off every two months and a month off once per year.

When taking breaks, your hormonal levels catch up to you a bit later. So even though you're not lifting, your body acts as if you do for a couple of weeks later, my biceps get to their max on breaks. Unfortunately it works the other way too, so when you start training again it takes a while for the body to catch up.

Been lifting for 20 years, the biggest break was 8 months long.

Post: #24

I try to go as long as I can with incremental weight jumps until I get injured. Have a disc bulge that pops up a few times a year, it takes a few weeks to recover from. So I will do other stuff, like run, jump rope, body weight, play golf, etc. Basically I try to take an active break from it.

Post: #25

you should cycle your weights and take some time off, it's called periodization otherwise you ll end up with an injury.

check out books by tudor bompa.