Take some time off to make some gains....

[incrediblehawk]

Train hard, eat right, fuel the beast, grow...

all things we do all year. then we hit a mental block. A wall of sorts...

I feel that sometimes I have to miss it all to enjoy and appreciate it all again. I am mid-cycle and with real life issues, etc.. felt like the gym was the last place I wanted to be. Yeah I pushed my ass to the gym, but I lacked the intensity and drive I needed to really accomplish anything. I love the full muscle pumps, I love training, so what in the fuck???

SO, I took 2 weeks off from the gym. kept on cycling...

Voila! Back to being an animal! Drive is back. muscles sore and full and I feel like my sessions are more worthwhile. I am truly an advocate for resting the body for maximum potential. the mind is what gets us where we need, clean slate, fresh brain, sore muscles. I am growing and look very fwd to the training and eat so its worth it again.

SO, in the midst of it all, i felt a little worse. I felt down on myself for the way i looked, acted and felt. I needed the good hard swift kick in the ass to get back on the horse.

How often do you guys take time off?

 

[tlane]

I hear ya man, I take 7 days off every 12-14 weeks

 

[BikerTrash]

Ahhhh,The dreaded time off from gym time .
Your definalty right IH , the body and mind need its rest"break" period to recoop the system . I hate the time off and find myself forcing the break upon myself .
Theres several reasons I hit the gym 1 is to get bigger ,fuller and thicker but one of the biggest reasons I hit the gym so hard is it is a stress relief for me ,I find I can take my anger aggervation and force it upon the weights and vent that way .
I try and take a week off every 10 or 12 weeks ,sometimes its harder mentally to not lift than it would be to just go and do it but mind over matter I guess.
Most the time I push myself to the point where I get sick , via flu or just flat ass worn down physically and mentally where the break is needed so its usually at that time im sick anyway so I use that time to stay out of the gym and rest .
I hear ya about the muscle soreness and the fullpumps, Its the best feeling walking out of the gym after a hard chest and arm day and everything is puffy .Shirts fit tighter ,snugger and the guns ,traps and etc are buldging.

 

[Freezerdude]

I'll take a CNS break (7 days) about every 10 to 12 weeks and like you said when I come back I feel like a new man! Doing those heavy compounds will burn you out really quick without a break! before I started taking those breaks I would catch myself trying to make excuses as why I couldn't make it to the gym and a lot of time I would just say fuck it and not go clearly getting burnt out but after I started that I never feel like that anymore..

 

[A.B]

I'm among the rest for now, a week off every 10 weeks or so. When I go on vacation to. Nothing better then taking a week off and hitting those body parts and not being able to move the next day, great feeling

 

[Dawgpound_Hank]

Good post. I take time off whenever I need it. I never hit the gym if not ready to go 110%. I'll take a day or two off and miss that workout to recover before becoming one to say "I never miss a workout!". Pfttt, fuck that - easy way to get injured when trying to push when it ain't there. Then again, some guys go at it easy every now and then to give the body a break. I've never been one to do so, all or nothing here.

 

[D]

I take 1-2 weeks off every 4 months.

 

[JayC]

Great post.. In the exact same boat right now..lol I actually went from a 15 week contest prep, to competing THEN 48 hours after being on stage I hit an 8 week German Volume Training cycle to start putting mass on for my next contest. should've taken a break after the contest cuz a few week ago I hit a huge wall mentally, physically, and emotionally and I'm now ending my 2nd week of FULL and complete rest (training wise). And I'm starting to feel that itch coming back and I'm ready to hit it hard again first thing tomorrow morning.

 

[incrediblehawk]

Great post.. In the exact same boat right now..lol I actually went from a 15 week contest prep, to competing THEN 48 hours after being on stage I hit an 8 week German Volume Training cycle to start putting mass on for my next contest. should've taken a break after the contest cuz a few week ago I hit a huge wall mentally, physically, and emotionally and I'm now ending my 2nd week of FULL and complete rest (training wise). And I'm starting to feel that itch coming back and I'm ready to hit it hard again first thing tomorrow morning.

Thanks, good to know I wasn't alone. There's a fine line between being lazy and aloting rest time. 2 weeks is def my magic number. Labor day and no fkn way I was missing the gym.

 

[Guest]

Thanks, good to know I wasn't alone. There's a fine line between being lazy and aloting rest time. 2 weeks is def my magic number. Labor day and no fkn way I was missing the gym.

I hear you on this one... 1 week off and I am dying to get back in and feel good. 2 weeks for me I start to get lazy and have to fight to get back in. So I can't take more than 1 week here.

 

[incrediblehawk]

update. people say i was an asshole for 2 weeks. so be prepared to consider that it may be you and not them.

 

[jrod]

Take too much time and before you know it you're like me and get so F'n sidetracked with BS that you lose years. Of course, I was in some F'd up shit and in no position to train. I wish I never let that time get passed me.
Cant't get that time back so I do the best with the time I have now!!