Stage 1 to Stage 2 looking for advice

isa75

I may be getting ahead of myself but I tend to start planning way in advance and have a small dilemma.

I just finished Stage 1 workout A6 which means by my calculations I will be finishing my stage 1 in about 2 weeks (I lift 3x per week). If I skip the special exercise 9 then I will be finished sooner.

I go on vacation in 5 weeks (woopee!). While I am on vacation I will be getting a lot of physical activity so am not too worried about not getting enough exercise, but I do not expect to have any gym access so will not be able to do any formal weight training. I will be away for three weeks.

If we do the math, that means I have a ~3 week gap between end of Stage 1 and before I go on vacation.
So my question, where some advice would be nice, is do I linger in Stage 1 for an extra 2-3 weeks, just building strength and work on form? Or do I stop after A/B 8 or 9 take my 1 week rest period and then start up with Stage 2 knowing there will be a three week gap.
What would you do?

FYI my stats:
start>now
Ex. A end of A6
squats 10>65 lbs
step-ups 8>25 lbs each hand
seated row 20>65lbs
push ups - doing them at approx 40 degree incline
jack knifes - yes

Ex B end of B5
deadlift - 20>50 lbs
shoulder press - 10>17 lbs
lat pull down - 20>60 lbs
lunge - 10 > 20 lbs per hand
swiss ball crunch - yes (no additional weights)

isa75

Bueller?

AZKristi

I would take the one week break, start phase two, take the three week vacation then restart phase 2 when I got back from vacation. I think you would be fine with either plan you described.

samntha14

Skip the special workouts, and start stage2. Where ever you take a break, you take a break. He even says that he got out of the habit of planning breaks for himself, and just takes a breaks wherever they land in his family and business schedule. When you come back, continue stage 2 and go right into stage 3 without an additional break. The break after stage 1 would be optional in this case as well, but I would take it. Stage 1 is LONG. You need at least some time to recover. The other stages are SHORT. You may be surprised and finish stage 2 before you leave.

Martucha123

I would actually keep on going stage 1 untill vacation (adding extra workouts) and start stage 2 when i come back

bizco

I would skip the special workouts because your starting weights were so light. I would rest for 4 days instead of a full week then begin Stage 2. When you return from vacation 3 weeks later, repeat Stage 1 7A, 7B, 8A, 8B using the same weight as you did before. Start Stage 2 from the very beginning. You'll be surprised at how weak you are after only 3 weeks away.

isa75

Okay guys, thanks for the feedback, interesting variety of angles on it, I really appreciate it. I have some things to contemplate as I near the end of stage 1.

Happy for more opinions if there are any.

Natihilator

I was kind of in the same situation, although I'm only going away for a week lol. I finished my stage 1 8A/B workouts, and had 2 more weeks until going on vacation (which is now next week) At first I tried to do Spin and other cardio activites, but I got really bored and unmotivated, then did another stage 1 workout (9A) but I was just SO ready to be done with stage 1 so I ended up starting stage 2 last wednesday.

If I were you, I would just continue on with the schedule, take however long a break you feel you need between stage 1 and 2, and maybe look up some BW resistance workouts so your body is getting some form of strength training for 2/3 weeks that you're there, and take it easy on the third week.

isa75

Thanks cloudbustr!