Taking a BREAK!

Sometimes, if you have been training seriously for a considerable amount of time, it's a very good idea to take some scheduled time off. Most people, unfortunately, don't actually schedule this. What happens is that people often just stop working out and slip back into old habits. However, if you plan a break ahead of time, it may give you just enough time to recuperate, rejuvenate and remotivate yourself to keep going!

I often find that when I train (myself and others) that if training is steady for a long period of time (3+ months at a time), exhaustion and boredom soon settle in. Sometimes, just changing the workout routine is all that is needed to keep the training spark alive, but often a scheduled time off is what your body is actually crying for!

Our body, mind and spirit need time to refresh. Having some time to get away from the hectic workout, work and stressful life situations can allow yourself the recovery your body needs to keep yourself on the path to true health and peace.

What happens with no breaks:

Athletes:
For the athletes who are constantly looking for progress, it's important to allow a certain amount of time off. Some physicians believe that the adrenal glands can become over-stimulated and create nervous system disorders if athletes don't take some good scheduled down-time. Anxiety and depression can result if the hardcore trainer doesn't take some time to relax. In addition to that, stress fractures and other strains and sprains can occur more often for the athletes who don't allow their body to recover.

General Public:
For the general public who does not train as hard as the athlete (5-6+ days/week), if you train 2-3x's week and consistently do that, it's also a good idea to have some scheduled time off. However, for most people, it's hard enough to develop the habit of working out regularly so you should be very careful with doing this. It's best to make sure there is a very specific start and end time of your break. However, after the break is over, it's very important to get right back on your training plan to make sure the habit is still there.

It is very important to make sure the time-off is "scheduled" because what often happens is that a person follows their plan for awhile until they start to notice boredom, lack of results, or fatigue and then they skip a day one week and then they'll skip 2 days the next week and then before you know it, it's been 6 months of vacation from the gym! It's important to give your body a break ahead of time, before it steals them from you and you end up off course!


How much time-off?
There really isn't a clear answer to this question. The best answer is a nice scheduled break with specific start and end times that allows yourself enough time to relax and recover. Everyone is different.

5% Time
However, for those math nerds out there like myself, I have noticed that if I take about 5% of the time off that I put into working out, I usually can keep myself going pretty steadily. For example, if I follow a very strict 12-week program that has me working out 6 days/week, that would be 72 days of working out. 5% of that time is 3.5 days (let's round up to 4 days, shall we?). So, after a hard 12-week training routine, I take 4 training days off (I make sure to schedule it). If I want a full week off from training (6 days off from any exercise), I usually will have just completed a 5-month training program (fairly typical for prep for a bodybuilding competition). In some ways, I kind of look at it like "earned time off" kind of like many employees get for their vacation time from work. :)


It's important to allow your body the time it needs to recover ahead of time instead of trying to steal time away from it. This way, you don't break your training discipline, you allow your body time to recover and you keep a bit of your sanity! :)

"Then Jesus said, 'Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.'" Matthew 11:28 NLT