SHould I take a break?

becalee26

for the past two months I've been working out 5x a week includng spinning, zumba, and interval strength with elliptical. I've also been at a plateau for those two months. Was thinking about a week or two off from excercise and sticking to my calories. Anyone done this and has it helped? I am still considered 12lbs overweight and really would love to loose those by summer!

When I start back up again, I do plan on switching things up a bit.

ilovedeadlifts

A week off or a week at reduced frequence/intensity can make a huge difference.
I've found that if I can scale back for a couple days and fully recover, I'm ready to hit things harder when I come back.

I take a deload week once a month where I drop my weights down a bit and allow myself to recover

jshaps7

Out of curiosity, are you eating your workout calories? Or do you have a cheat meal once a week? I actually found eating a little more regularly or having a cheat meal helped break through one of my plateaus. Especially since you're working out so much and burning so much extra, your body might need a little extra food.

Switching things up could definitely help too. All those fitness gurus talk about muscle memory etc so a new routine might shock your body into losing weight again. I also like the idea of a week off.

Good luck!

EBFNP

Honestly, I see nothing wrong with taking a break from working out or slowing it down. Sometimes in the long run it helps to yourself harder and breath mentally from working out and re-focus.