Recovery/Rest for Lifters

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for_ever_young66
for_ever_young66 Posts: 2,881 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Fellow lifters, I wanted to get your input on rest and recovery. Besides your typical one (maybe 2) rest days per week, do any of you take a week (or perhaps longer) off to fully recover. Just from talking to other guys at the gym, one tells me that if you've been hitting hard for several months in a row, it would do a body good to just shut it down for a week to 10 days so that the muscles can rest and recover. Any of you ever do that? I'm wondering if I should shut it down for a little while to make sure I don't pull anything. At 50 years old, that's a serious concern of mine.

Thanks, in advance, for your input. Feel free to add me.

Jason

Replies

  • jjpptt2
    jjpptt2 Posts: 5,650 Member
    edited February 2017
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    When I'm lifting regularly, I'll take periodic deload weeks. That's usually enough to prevent me from needing full-on rest breaks. Some good strength programs actually program in deload weeks for this reason. Jim Wendler's 5/3/1 program, which most of my lifting is based off of, programs deloads every 4th week.
  • DopeItUp
    DopeItUp Posts: 18,771 Member
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    Depending on the intensity of your program, taking a rest week every 4-12 weeks is a pretty decent guideline. At 50 I would probably err on the side of more rest, especially if you are only taking 1-2 rest days a week from lifting (which is an extremely low amount of rest to begin with).
  • AgentFlex
    AgentFlex Posts: 211 Member
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    I also follow 5/3/1 and love that the deload weeks tend to be enough "rest" to keep me going without major breaks. That said, when I am really sick I will actually take time off to recover instead of trying to just push through. To me the only downfall of time off is getting horrific DOMS as if I am a newb anytime I take more than a few days off.
  • AllOutof_Bubblegum
    AllOutof_Bubblegum Posts: 3,646 Member
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    Every day I work a different muscle group. For example, today I did chest and back, and tomorrow will be legs. That way I get the benefit of working out every day, while still allowing enough time to pass to allow muscles to rest until I rotate out. I take one full day off a week from the gym for general rest.
  • jemhh
    jemhh Posts: 14,261 Member
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    I have taken a 7-10 days off twice a year for the past few years. They've been either vacation weeks (planned) or weeks when I've been ill (unplanned.) I would likely benefit from having more planned recover weeks, though I do include deload weeks when I am just doing less in general.

    Bottom line, don't be afraid of rest/recovery weeks. You will not lose your fitness that quickly and will likely find that you feel better, maybe even stronger, when you get back to the gym.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,874 Member
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    Every 6 weeks
  • for_ever_young66
    for_ever_young66 Posts: 2,881 Member
    edited February 2017
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    jemhh wrote: »
    I have taken a 7-10 days off twice a year for the past few years. They've been either vacation weeks (planned) or weeks when I've been ill (unplanned.) I would likely benefit from having more planned recover weeks, though I do include deload weeks when I am just doing less in general.

    Bottom line, don't be afraid of rest/recovery weeks. You will not lose your fitness that quickly and will likely find that you feel better, maybe even stronger, when you get back to the gym.

    I do like the idea of deloading or as one of the other posters said, perhaps sitting out for a week or so. My body is feeling pretty good right now but it has not had a rest week since the New Year. Perhaps I should wait another few weeks and then rest for about 7 days. My wife is gonna love that. :smile:
  • SezxyStef
    SezxyStef Posts: 15,268 Member
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    AgentFlex wrote: »
    I also follow 5/3/1 and love that the deload weeks tend to be enough "rest" to keep me going without major breaks. That said, when I am really sick I will actually take time off to recover instead of trying to just push through. To me the only downfall of time off is getting horrific DOMS as if I am a newb anytime I take more than a few days off.

    this for me too...

    it's nice too that on this cycle my deload week is the week I am south and didn't plan on lifting...

    The only time i have ever taken time off longer than 1 week was this past summer suggested by a physiotherapist to help get an injury under control...so from june-aug I didn't lift at all...didn't seem to impact much tho.
  • kaizaku
    kaizaku Posts: 1,039 Member
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    Take time off gym, it will help you recover, growth etc. Rest is very important. I'm not referring to just 1-2 days off per week but longer. Some take a month off training.
  • not_a_runner
    not_a_runner Posts: 1,343 Member
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    Programmed deloads are usually enough for me. I find I get enough days off between vacation, illness, etc throughout the year that I don't really need to commit to having 7-10 days off when I'm feeling good. If I'm not feeling good I'll take it easy or have an extra rest day or two.
  • LolBroScience
    LolBroScience Posts: 4,537 Member
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    Lift 4x a week with a deload every 6 weeks. Running 5/3/1 currently.
  • Chieflrg
    Chieflrg Posts: 9,097 Member
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    I wrote a bastardizing program from 5/3/1 where I did a deload where i would lift 40% of my routine after every three weeks. I lifted nearly every day for a little over two years.

    I'm 47 years old and deal with a joint disease that I have stay active was the reasoning behind it.

    We as lifters especially older ones need to pay more attention to our bodies as we simply don't recover as quick as when we were 20.

    Deloads can be anything from taking the whole week off, a lower percentage of working weight, less volume with same intensity. Many more ways than I list. Point is find one that works for you and your program. Think of it as maintenance. Perhaps even have a massage or the like :).
  • for_ever_young66
    for_ever_young66 Posts: 2,881 Member
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    Chieflrg wrote: »
    I wrote a bastardizing program from 5/3/1 where I did a deload where i would lift 40% of my routine after every three weeks. I lifted nearly every day for a little over two years.

    I'm 47 years old and deal with a joint disease that I have stay active was the reasoning behind it.

    We as lifters especially older ones need to pay more attention to our bodies as we simply don't recover as quick as when we were 20.

    Deloads can be anything from taking the whole week off, a lower percentage of working weight, less volume with same intensity. Many more ways than I list. Point is find one that works for you and your program. Think of it as maintenance. Perhaps even have a massage or the like :).

    Good stuff, especially the part about the massage. I'll admit that my biggest fear is that if I take a week off, I will somehow get lulled into a sense of laziness and get used to being a couch potato. But that part is all mental. I do have my MFP pals that keep me motivated.
  • for_ever_young66
    for_ever_young66 Posts: 2,881 Member
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    kaizaku wrote: »
    Take time off gym, it will help you recover, growth etc. Rest is very important. I'm not referring to just 1-2 days off per week but longer. Some take a month off training.

    Yeah, that's kind of where I'm leaning. I'm taking a long road trip with my wife in a few weeks. I figure I can just take off that particular week.

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