IMPORTANT - Exercise breaks and diet breaks needed?

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johnguitarman
johnguitarman Posts: 56 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I had a question I was wondering,

I read an article that said that after every 5-6 weeks you should stop exercising for one full week to allow your body rest. ALso you should eat at maintenance during that week as well. Is there any truth to this?

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  • tryskinni
    tryskinni Posts: 50 Member
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    I have no idea but I've regularly worked out for years and I've never had problems. I always take at least one day off a week usually timed when I'm exhausted. The only time I intentionally take a week off is after I run a marathon. Even then I'll take light walks for fresh air and to keep things moving.
  • Mock_Turtle
    Mock_Turtle Posts: 354 Member
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    a week break every 5-6 weeks seems excessive.

    I think the old bodybuilding books would say to do this like every 4-6 months ..... who knows what data they compiled to come up with that recommendation
  • lovemitch125
    lovemitch125 Posts: 257 Member
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    They aren't needed but they help. I would not take an entire week off, but maybe Ill cut my workouts to 3 times a week instead of 6 on busier weeks. I am currently at maintenance 14 lbs away from my goal weight due to finals and graduation and end of the semester parties, but we all need a break sometimes. I feel like I am teaching myself to be normal and drink with everyone else without gaining all of the weight back which is very satisfying because even tho I went over my cals everyday this weekend, I can go right back to my healthy ways this week and average the cals over the week with no damage. My eating choices (while over my cals) were still the healthiest choices I could think to make, it was really the drinking, but again, I didn't fail because today I ate at a huge deficit while staying full all day :)

    Breaks help, just don't fall off permanently.
  • whierd
    whierd Posts: 14,025 Member
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    Not in that short of intervals. There is wisdom in taking breaks to allow for more complete muscle recovery and to allow your hormonal balance to correct itself, but I would say every 2-3 months.
  • heybales
    heybales Posts: 18,842 Member
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    Depends on what your exercise is, and how frequent and intense it is.

    Being in a diet which is already stressful to your body means some exercise routines are even more stressful.

    You'll usually be able to tell when you start to feel like you are getting sick or do get sick. If no specific reason (like Dr office surrounded by coughing people), then you know the prior week might have been smart to take off before you got sick.

    But that's just exercise.

    Whenever I've done it every 7th week, I always come back stronger. Most people don't even realize how drained they are until they can compare. They'll never realize what performance could be if a tad more rested.
    While the week is off, still eat correctly for that new level of exercise, which is now just walking for that time.

    That's for good rest and recovery and removing some stress from your system related to exercise.

    Since diet is also a stress, that deserves a week off too for allowing the hormones to reset, and many have found great benefit.

    The best order is week off exercise, still eat at deficit but correct for new level of activity.
    Then the next week back stronger, take a diet break. What better time to be eating more food, then when body is stronger and you can really put the extra food to good use.
  • hiyomi
    hiyomi Posts: 906 Member
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    Hmmmm I think a week break every 5-6 weeks sounds like too much, too soon. I agree on breaks, but I would say maybe a week break every 3 months or so. I'd say if you worked out for 6 months straight, a good 3 week break is on the line for you. :D
  • Chriztii
    Chriztii Posts: 94
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    The only reason i would say no to that is because whenever i finally get into an exercising ruteen and take a break I struggle to get back into it, I think the longest i stayed active was 4 months then i took a break and stop for like 6 months haha Need to keep going!
  • Lyadeia
    Lyadeia Posts: 4,603 Member
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    The more overweight you are, the less frequent the breaks need to be. I think the more frequent breaks (such as every 5-6 weeks) works best for the very lean trying to get more lean, such as a male trying to get from 10% to 7% body fat or a female trying to go from 18% to 15% body fat. For those people who have more body fat than those lean individuals, diet and exercise breaks are still recommended, just not so frequent.

    I have found at my current range of body fat (24% around Christmas to 22% now) that every 8 weeks or so is great. During that week, I do not gain weight or fat, but I do gain strength and energy as I allow myself to recover from intense exercise and replenish my body of used up glycogen stores.
  • _Zardoz_
    _Zardoz_ Posts: 3,987 Member
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    I had a question I was wondering,

    I read an article that said that after every 5-6 weeks you should stop exercising for one full week to allow your body rest.
    See if you can find a professional athlete doing this. I very much doubt it. As much as they may have easier weeks or days they never totally stop.The idea of recovery is well documented but it never normally means to totally stop all forms of exercise.

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