The summer is supposed to be a time for us to add a little fun, a little rest and reset ahead of the busy back to school season.
So why add guilt and stress over a week off?
I am all for routine, and love to stay active on my own breaks, but trust me, you will not find me in the hotel weights room! Here is 5 reasons why not doing your usual workout on your week off might actually be exactly what your body needs.
Why Recovery (Or De-Load) Weeks Are Important
Does the thought of taking a break from workouts make your heart race? All your time and dedication to getting fitter is about to go down the toilet in a week. Stop right there. Before we go any further, we want to be clear that taking a rest week isn’t about losing your gains—it’s about supporting and strengthening them.
While lounging on the couch all week eating takeout might be a quick way to pack on the pounds, a de-load week isn’t about avoiding all activity. It’s about hitting the reset button and giving your body a chance to rest, relax, and rejuvenate; an opportunity to catch up and support and repair.
Heavy lifting might stimulate muscle growth, but if you want to get the most out of your training program, you also need to give your muscles ample rest because the recovery is where the growth happens.
During a de-load week, you want to avoid lifting and cardiovascular exercise completely. The idea here is to reduce stress on the body and provide the proper foundation to support growth—sleep, vitamins, minerals, and low-impact activity.
Our bodies can recover and respond to workouts between training sessions. Still, heavy or intense resistance workouts put a tremendous amount of stress on your body—and it’s not just the musculoskeletal system that’s affected. The entire neuromuscular and immune systems take a hit from weight training. When you gift yourself a break from the intensity, you allow these systems to get back in balance and support optimal functioning.
Additionally, if you lack motivation, stepping away for a week is a great way to pick up that vigor and motivation back up, which leads to greater drive, intensity, and results.
Plus, when you break up your training every 8 to 10 weeks, you can set more manageable goals and reassess after each block for greater improvement.
Three Facts About Taking A Week Off You’ll Want To Know
- Levels of testosterone and growth hormone increase during the recovery period
- A study published in the Journal of Applied Physiology found that maximal oxygen uptake (VO2 max) declines by 7% after three weeks of inactivity
- A few rest days up to a week can have a beneficial effect on enhancing maximal strength
Five Reasons To Take A Week Off Workouts
1. It can address stress levels
Intense training is a form of stress on the body, which can lead to elevated stress hormones—cortisol, epinephrine, and norepinephrine.
Studies show that moderate to high-intensity exercise (60-80% VO2max) causes increases in circulating cortisol levels, likely due to a combination of hemoconcentration and HPA axis stimulus (ACTH). In contrast, low-intensity exercise (40%) does not increase cortisol levels to the same degree.
Chronically high cortisol levels will not only be detrimental to your performance and recovery but can also result in serious hormonal imbalances that can lead to a slew of nasty symptoms. Use a de-load week to catch up on sleep, errands, housework, and anything else you’ve been neglecting, and use it as a time to reset your cortisol and reduce stress.
2. Get more sleep
Does your alarm go off daily at 5 AM for your workout? Take this week to catch some extra shut-eye. Sleep depravation impairs cognitive performance and has significant implications for growth and recovery.
As such, sleep debt impairs the activity of protein synthesis pathways and increases the activity of degradation pathways, leading to loss of muscle mass and hindering recovery. Give yourself this time to get back on track with your sleep schedule and get 7-9 hours per night. And once you get back to training, figure out how to maintain the sleep you need.
3. Avoid burnout
Are your adrenals working overtime, and you’re constantly tired and not seeing the results you want? Too much activity can undermine your efforts.
Going hard and pushing yourself is great, but your body can only sustain so much pressure until it eventually needs a break—and if you don’t give it one, you risk burnout and long-term damage. If you’re not keen on stepping away for weeks because of burnout or injury, stop it before it starts.
4. Boost strength and muscle growth
Want to maximize muscle growth? Take time off training. Most lifters are under the impression that you get strong by lifting weights, but you get stronger by allowing your body to recover from the damage induced by weight lifting. Your body needs that time off of training to rebuild muscle tissue and let training adaptations occur. Don’t be surprised if you return after a week only to feel stronger and better equipped for higher intensities.
You’d be surprised how much more efficient your body is when it’s not constantly trying to recover but actually does recover.
5. Re-motivate
Are your workouts not feeling the same as they were? Do you find yourself struggling to drag yourself into the gym?
A motivation hump happens, and irritability and mood changes are one of the first signs. Giving yourself a week from the gym may not entirely reverse overtraining, but it can help to reset your motivation levels and get you back to the peppy, hyped, I’m ready to kill this workout frame of mind you were previously in.
Hopefully you see the benefits and embrace the holiday! And we are always glad to see you back and feeling your best x
