• FreeTrainers.com Forums
• General Fitness & Exercise
• how does this happen?

Group: General Fitness & Exercise

how does this happen?

paulz Posts: 67 Joined: 2001/07/11	2001/08/29, 12:32 PM took a week off did not even do a crunch. {felt like i was burning out}. got the itch back after my week off and can lift more than before. my whole work out went better. is it good to take a week off every 3 or 4 months?
jbennett Posts: 1,558 Joined: 2001/02/28	2001/08/29, 09:08 PM It certainly doesn't hurt to give your muscles a break sometimes. I take 5 consecutive days off once every 4-5 months. Sometimes it can be hard to get back into the gym after a few days of rest, but it may yield great results, as you have seen. I bet you're glad to be working out again, huh? ;)
the_w8lifter Posts: 138 Joined: 2001/08/03	2001/08/30, 09:05 AM Rest periods between cycles of lifting are important. Generally, the muscles do not have time to completely heal themselves even if you lift each body part only once per week. This rest period gives your body extra rest. Also, your mental state may have as much or more to do with your post-rest period results. You admit you felt "burned out." Mental preparation and rest is a huge part of bodybuilding. Add this mental recuperation with the physical rest and you get a better workout. Some people schedule working rest periods every four to five weeks. This would be simply cutting back to one exercise per body part or circuit training or an upper body/lower body split. This can be used for two weeks if necessary. You don't get the same benefits as you do from complete rest, but it does help keep you in a routine. As jbennett days, it can be hard to get back into the gym after a lay off.
Spedward Posts: 101 Joined: 2001/04/16	2001/08/30, 09:01 PM muscle grow when you rest....... i rest for a week every 6 weeks...... when in dought.....take a rest
paulz Posts: 67 Joined: 2001/07/11	2001/09/05, 03:02 PM thank-you all for answering. i am going to start working in a rest week