Wondering peoples thoughts on the need of a week off from hard training. Currently 19 years old ,train 5 day split, 5 day lit ATM too, training for two years. Don’t think vie taken a week off for about 10 months
If you feel the need to then do it. If you dont then carry on
I dont really see the need for deloading. The longest I’ve taken off in the last 3 years is one week when i was on vacation. but i was still putting in 10-15 km walking. Unless your putting in 10+ hours a week, then I dont see the need, but thats just me. I have one to two days off a week and that seems to be enough recovery for me.
Progression isn’t linear. I’m not a fan of scheduled ‘deloading/active rest’, but see no issue with backing off a bit if I’m feeling run down.
I am also not a fan of scheduled deloading. Ive tried the 3 weeks on 1 week off approach and it didnt seem to do a thing for me, other than delay my progress for a week every month. I have never felt overtrained and just thought it was time for a deloading week either. However, i do think every few months it is a good idea to let your body fully recover any aches or pains you may have from lifting. A muscle strain, some tightness, chronic soreness or tendonitis, things like that usually get to the point where they impede your training if not rested/taken care of every once in a while.
I would try doing a week of light weight for a couple times in a row, doesn’t have to be 3 weeks but train for about 1-3 months and 1 week of deload lifting. Then try a few times with almost a week completely off (some people like this so its worth a try). I think everyone should do both of those and make the decision on their own. If your serious about training you’ll be doing it for a good part of your life so it helps to know the answers to these little questions on your own and not what random people tell you on the internet.
likewise, i think it’s more important to know thyself than to take programed deloading
[quote]BlueCollarTr8n wrote:
Progression isn’t linear. I’m not a fan of scheduled ‘deloading/active rest’, but see no issue with backing off a bit if I’m feeling run down. [/quote]
This is what I do. I’m taking off this week, well, wednesday-sunday. I’ve been going hard for 3 months, and my workouts monday and tuesday this week were complete shit, warmups felt heavy. After you’ve been working out for a while you’ll know what’s just a bad day vs. something more.
I like to deload every 8-10 weeks with a 5-way split. For me personally, it’s easy to schedule a deload week with a 5-way split.
With something like a 3-way split, I do 3 cycles on, 1 cycle off (keep in mind a cycle is only 4-5 days).
For deload I’ll either do active recovery or just some high rep stuff. Be sure to eat a lot and take advantage of the recovery time. With 3-ways, deload cycles are easy because they are only a few days, but with 5-ways I have a hell of a time taking a whole week off. But it’s usually for the best. I always come off of a deload week bigger and stronger.