By Lee Hayward
Working out and keeping fit is one the best things you can do for yourself. When your body is in shape you feel 100% better about yourself both physically and mentally. You will have a lot more energy, it’s a fantastic stress relief, and the list of benefits just goes on and on.
However, despite all the benefits of working out you CAN get “too much” of a good thing. Some people are so obsessed with working out and bragging about how they “Workout Everyday” that it takes over their life.
I know people who actually get stressed out if something comes up and they can’t workout for a few days. They fear that they’ll become fat out of shape slobs and have their muscles melt away just like ice cream on a hot summers day.
I’ve even gotten e-mails from guys who were afraid to go on a family vacation because it would take away from their gym time. In my opinion that’s going too far and borderline obsession. We workout and keep fit to enhance our life, not to have working out consume our life.
The Different Phases Of Training
| I remember several years back reading an article written by 3 time Mr. Olympia, Frank Zane. In the article Frank was talking about how no body can grow and make gains nonstop forever. He went on to say that there will always be phases where you are growing, other phases where you are just maintaining, and even phases where you just need to take a break and rest. He compared bodybuilding training to the seasons in nature. The spring and summer is the peak growing phase. The fall is the harvesting phase (reap the rewards), and the winter is the rest phase.Your workouts need to go through similar types of phases. No body can push it 100% and grow nonstop 365 days a year. And if you try to force it, your body will fight back and you’ll experience things like overtraining, plateaus, and maybe even get sick or injured. |  |
With my own training I don’t always have things planned out and structured perfectly, but I do cycle though different types of training phases.
For example;
During the months leading up to a bodybuilding competition I’m in serious training and will push myself 100% and be very consistent with my training, nutrition, etc. This is when I’ll put on my blinders so to speak and have tunnel vision focusing my full attention on achieving my training goals. During this phase I’ll make my best progress.
However, right after the contest I’ll usually take a few days or even a week off from working out completely to give my mind and body a rest. Then when I resume training I’ll just take it easy in the gym, mainly doing active recovery type of training. This down time is a much welcomed break especially after months of strict dieting and hard training.
After about a month of taking it easy I’ll usually start to get into a more serious off season “power bodybuilding” workouts. During this phase I’ll focus my training around basic hardcore workouts in effort to gain muscular bodyweight and size.
For most bodybuilders this off season “power-bodybuilding” phase is where they’ll spend most of their training time. But even within this phase there will be ups and downs in your training. Again, no one can give it 100% and make nonstop gains forever.
| Most advanced guys will find that they can push it hard and make really good gains for about 6 weeks or so. After that they’ll start to plateau. When this happens the best thing to do is switch to less intense workout program for a couple weeks, also known as a “cruising phase”. This will allow your mind and body to get some active recovery before you crank up the intensity again for another 6 week hardcore training phase. |
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After a few months of consistent training I even recommend taking a full week off from the gym entirely. Just like I did with my mini-vacation to Niagara Falls. This will benefit you both mentally and physically.
First off, it will allow your body to fully rest and recover from your workouts. Any little aches and pains that you may have from training usually ease up within a week off from the gym. It also gives your mind a break and will make you hungry to train even harder when you resume working out again.
In my case I usually travel away from home 3-4 times each year (usually for a week at a time) and I’ll use these trips as my mini-breaks away from the gym. But even if you don’t travel that often, you can purposely schedule a week off from the gym every few months.
I like to compare it to how our school system is scheduled. School starts off fresh each September, then after a few months they have a winter break (usually over the Christmas holidays), after another few months they have spring break, and then they finish off with a summer vacation before repeating the entire cycle again. No body would ever want to go though 52 weeks a year of nonstop schooling without a break. And the same applies to your workouts as well.
Even though it may seem like you’ll lose muscle from taking a break, trust me you won’t. Muscle isn’t that fragile, it isn’t going to disappear if you take a week away from the gym. In fact that mini-break maybe just the thing you need to rejuvenate your body, renew your training motivation, and help take your physique to the next level of muscular development.
About the Author:
 Lee Hayward |
Lee Hayward is a competitive bodybuilder, powerlifter, and muscle building coach who is committed to helping aspiring bodybuilders and fitness enthusiasts gain muscle, burn body fat, and develop a strong muscular body.Lee is also the author of the Blast Your Bench program, which teaches you how to increase your max bench press by as much as 50 pounds in as little as 3 weeks, regardless of your previous weight training experience. To learn more about how you can quickly increase your strength and gain lean muscular bodyweight, just visit Lee’s website at: http://www.blastyourbench.com |
