posted Thu, 07/19/2018 - 11:37
5817
how many days off training ?
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hey guys just wondering if any of you get any days off gym except holidays ? for example 1 week off every 3 months etc?I dont except holidays,I know I should cause some times even iam tired as hell I dont miss a day although that training day will probably sucks!! I still got that stupid belief that miss a day or week from gym will loose the gains lol,even its far from truth!what about you?
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jayiskI power lift so its every other day..,4 days a wk. Dead lift day, Bench day , Squat day, and an hypertrophy accessory day of BB exercises.
i'm 46 so i need recovery. the guys in their 20's can get away with doing those lifts several times a week..,in the same day..,and train 5 days. Actually works well with natty power lifters.
Being a husband and dad, I’ve been on a 5 day split offseason and 6 day if prepping for a show. Wednesday’s and Sunday’s being my off days. So two days in one day off then three in and one off again. I used to do 2 on 1 off but i don’t like the fact that some your days are always different with that.
Example right now my layout is
Mon back bi calves
Tues chest tri
Wed off
Thur legs calves
Fri back bi
Sat delts tri
Sun off
I never really take weeks off from the gym. Most i do is a few days after a show I’ll not train if the show is Saturday, fri- Wednesday then pic is up soft the rest of the week hen back to it hard next week. But ya randomly if your feeling really beat just take a couple days off.
Hope that helps.
nice one buddy! iam guessing tha you change the split every couple of weeks?? or the same ? I mean you hit back calves and arm 2times a week,do you change that?
I’ve been hitting back twice a week now for almost a year lol and calves. Calves i don’t go all out. Also back is split into a row and pull down day for the most part.
I don’t change every couple weeks to be honestly. I usually just change different types of movements etc. which now that you mention it maybe i should maybe once every month or so back of for a couple weeks lol i tend to be the “more is better” but trying to fix that
My workout splits usually have me scheduled in the gym for 5-6 days/wk. Some days I just feel tired and skip my workout, sometimes I'll skip 2 or 3 workouts until I get the itch to get back in the gym. Some weeks I'll hit 7 days in the gym for a couple weeks at a time. After doing this for over 30yrs I have come to realization that taking a few days off will not hinder progress and in fact usually improve gains.
I used to be so anal about training that it really started affecting my life in a negative way. Sorry I can't go camping this weekend because I will miss my workout. Can't go out to eat with you tonight because I'll miss my workout, can't go fishing with you tonight because I'll miss my workout and the list goes on and on. Were my gains any better because I wasn't missing any scheduled workouts, absolutely not. Taking 4-5 days off at a pop only improves the quality of my gains and also makes my life alot happier. I hate to say it but there is more to life than just lifting, so if you find yourself in the trap that I was once in dig yourself out now. Skip a workout or two or three and enjoy life and let your body and central nervous system recouperate. When prepping for show though, of course you need to stay more consistent but that is whole different beast in itself.
100% , don't miss out on life chasing gains!
Great advice that people should consider. To mimic Dorian Yates, the body does not operate off a calendar week. Sometimes we think increasing frequency of workouts is conducive to hypertrophy when, in fact, it is counterproductive to our goals. We must ensure that we have given our muscles adequate time out of the gym for total recuperation, as well as our central nervous system (CNS), which is often overlooked because of the hard work ethic mentality that many of us have. Hard work isn't a problem, but what we are after is results. If that means less frequency in the gym then that is what it takes. While it is good to maintain a consistent workout schedule, to a certain degree we should be instinctive, and we should listen to what our bodies are telling us.
nice reading buddy !!
couldn't tell it better mak, got my self in this fucking mindtrap ...I dig my self out as you say because iv seemed I missed the point of doing what l enjoy the most ! fuck me I pretty much did everything you wrote buddy ! I need to start over thanks for the wake up call !!
I train everyday until I feel run down, my sex drive decreases, or I have trouble sleeping properly. Could be two days in a row could be 5 days in a row. When one of those three things happens I know that my body is telling me I need a rest day. Sometimes two. For those of you think two days off is too much, that first workout back is fucking beast mode and often has PRs.
Bodybuilding is the sport where you listen to your body.
Who knows but you how you train, the intensity, & regularity ?
That being said, how would anyone else know how much rest is needed for you aside from yourself?
Listen to your body.
yes buddy I know ,I just wanted to hear what people do in general .what works for me doesn't me it work for anyone and the opposite!thanks!
I strength train 3 days in a row, followed by 1 day pure cardio/abs. Then 1 day off, rinse, repeat!
Depends on your goals really.
You gotta take days off though bro, days off are when you heal up all those muscle tares heal and grow .
In my opinion days off are as important as a good night sleep , your body is at one of its most anabolic points in your sleep and on days off.
That I agree with..
thats true bro we grow when we rest (sleep)
I work out 4 times a week.. Took a day off yesterday however to spend some extra time with my children. I’ll do this regularly.
family first bro !! so your regular is 4 times?
3 to 4 times with an extremely active job. In an ideal world I would follow the same as you, 6 on 1 off hittin all body parts twice but family, work etc..
iam pretty much the same buddy 9 hour work + a little pharm ,the only think that I dont have yet is kids !!
I train 4 days a week. RARELY hit a 5th day if I'm really feeling bored and well recovered. Once every 2-3 months I take a deload week where I do 3 full body high rep workouts.
how is that working for you buddy, 1 body part per week?or ?
I've always done it that way. I've always done a hybrid of powerlifting and bodybuilding. Works for me. I go back and forth between a few, but always hit everything twice a week. Right now i'm hitting everything hard once a week and as an assistance/secondary muscle the second time:
I actually outlined what i'm doing right now here: https://www.eroids.com/forum/training-nutrition-diet/workout-exercise/4-...
Sometimes I do a modified Upper/Lower though, where i hit everything twice, once heavy and once lighter like this:
This fall i'm going to start training more powerlifting with some strongman stuff thrown in though, and leave the bodybuilding stuff out for a while (aside from maybe some assistance work). That'll be 4 days a week too.
This is how it's done.
I do legs first on Monday
Tuesday it's Back, tri
Wednesday free
Thursday it's bench, bi
Friday it's time to deadlift and traps
Saturday sometimes cardio and abs,
Sunday free
And freaking repeat -
Lots of rest and proper food.
So it's 4-5 times a week for me.
Fuckin right! Good stuff man. I try to space my deads and squats so I don’t ever do them back to back, but I might have to try that. I dig it.
Yeah in time I have come to understand that space deads and squats are so important. For me this works the best and my body appreciates that too.
that looks interesting I will give it a go in my upcoming bulk !!
Nice. If you do let me know how you like it. I’m sure it’s not for everyone but I dig it. I have to get better at doing farmers walks on off days more often tho. I’ve been slackin and prolly only averaging once every week and a half instead of twice a week like I should be.
I think this one really depends on your goals.
I do a six on and one off a week. Body parts each hit twice, but with differnt lifts. This is my normal routine, but if I’m on vacation, I usually don’t lift, but I’ll do cardio and core work when I can.
iam doing them 3times per week but pretty much the same lifts ....hm you gave me food for thought buddy!!
I’ll usually keep one lift the same, but change the others. I also usually change the intensity as well. I try not to do two “heavy” days a week. Lots and lots of ways to change things up during the week. Makes things more interesting and I feel it allows me to recover better.
A lot of Old school body builders like Steve reeves did full body workouts 3 days a week. I’m thinking of switching to this soon myself. Like a lot of people said below rest and recovery is what builds the muscle 24-48 hours after your workout along with proper nutrition. And these old school body builders in my opponion were healthier very lean, asthetic and had function to go along with their great physiques that they were able to keep while they grew older. Definitely something I want as I’d love to be 60-70 and still be able to keep up with the young bucks or even out lift and have a better physique. That’s what I believe body building is all about. But to each their own ya know a lot of people want to be as big as they can and sacrifice function for mass which is cool if that’s what you want.
iam 3 weeks in to supposed arnies training program ,each body part 3times per week and its fucking brutal !! I cant complain it works like charm though!
That’s a good way to do it bro old school body builders had the right idea and you can’t go wrong following one of their programs. I bet you’ll make some awesome gains. Great forum man good way to get us all talking and get a bunch of helpful info from everyone. I’m gonna look for a Steve reeves program now.
If you are really into hitting your strength PR's then I found that training EOD is as good as it gets, it means each time you are going into the session healed and fully charged. The day after each session you can also get optimal recovery by really hammering the nutritional side of eating heavy and going at the supplements full attack etc . 2 days on / 1 off feels better but eventually I plateaued on this method so had to switch..
not in power lifting tbh buddy ..even my best big lifts just happened wirh time didnt train for strength at all.but yeah I heard its working that way!
I’ve been following a 2 on 1 off protocol. Hitting each muscle group twice within a week. Plan on continuing this into my upcoming bulk so we’ll see how it goes. It’s been great and I’ve been in a pretty significant cal deficit. Currently cutting down as much as I can to maximize my insulin sensitivity and gain potential for the next phase.
yeah its very common for bulking ,it works pretty well !
BeastintheeastI’ve done 6 days a week, even gone weeks without taking a rest day training like a madman for 2-3 hours at a time, or when I did take a rest day it would be me training calves forearms or abs for 30 mins. Then recently I tried 3 days on 1 off like the legend jay cutler swears by, lifting heavy for 1 hour to 1.5 tops then getting my ass back home and eating, and that has worked by far the best for me. Maybe because I am a hardgainer. I also do active recovery days, like some form of light exercise on my off days like trail walking, swimming etc.
I love working hard and doing 6-7 days a week but I could feel myself getting run down and was not growing as fast as I could have. One tip I got was that after a few days of hard training if you feel like your grip is severely weakened upon waking or in general that’s a good sign that your CNS is fatigued and you need a break.
I’d say expirement and find what’s best for your lifestyle and body brother. I also like the idea of taking a week off every few months.
got that before fatigue as fuck but iam a stubborn bastard and continue going lol...
I train5 days a week.. Monday thru Friday... every few months I take a week off during which i don't know what to do with myself lol
thats my problem aswell bro I might eventually take some time off but I will not have norhing to do with it !lol I should have put on title what to do when off gym..
U need time off especially for joints tendons etc... it's good for ya bro..
yes buddy it is ...eventually I will take some time off !
I make every year a full recovery , mostly at summer but this year in fall. Normally 3-4 weeks! I loose a lot of quality and fullness in this period but 2 weeks in the gym and I look like before again.
damn buddy 4 weeks off seems alot ...I imagine a bit partying and stuff that period....lol
I do this only once per year, no bro enjoying the time with my kids and wife
same thing partying with them
I take one day a week off. I train on holidays including Christmas. If I feel injured or over trained I occasionally take two days off but that's maybe twice a year. I usually just switch exercises up.
same here sam 6 days on 1off ! when I feel over trained I simply dont puss my self at all .I go but I train like a pussieboy ...