Taking Days Off From Lifting

[Wyndru]

Do any of you drop your workout weight when you take breaks of say 5-14 days?

If so, do you have a rule of thumb how much weight you will drop?

I've heard some say that you come back after a ~5 day break stronger but if I take a full week or more, I have a really hard time matching the weight I stopped at.

Because of this, I've been dropping ~5 lbs for each workout day I miss, then working back up, but I don't know if this is necessary or not. It certainly slows my progress a lot, but it also puts me in the state of mind that I shouldn't be missing days if I want to progress, sort of a self punishment thing.

I was just wondering if there is any physical reason to drop the weights after a 5 day break or not. I assume muscle degradation happens at some point, but I'm not sure how much it affects what you can lift over the short term.

 

[Koing]

14 days off training?

I'm only training 2x a week now, Wed and Sun. I don't need to drop the weights. A 5 days break should be fine, you don't need to drop weights after 5 days.

Koing

 

[IHateMyJob2004]

Some take a week "off" and do the same workout but with lighter weights. This is called deloading. That is supposed to help with recovery a bit.

Many peopel set persoanl bests the week after the "off" week.

Not sure what lighter weights means. Might mean 20% less. Might mean 50%. I'm not sure exactly what the recomendation is.

But just not lifting for a week is not something I have read as being recomended.

Anecotally:
I've done 1-2 weeks off for various reasons and it always seems like I come back with less strength.

 

[ZOOYUKA]

Why wouldn't you just pick a weight for a set and adjust for the following sets if necessary? Basically the same approach you take when you're having a good/bad day at the gym.

 

[Wyndru]

Why wouldn't you just pick a weight for a set and adjust for the following sets if necessary? Basically the same approach you take when you're having a good/bad day at the gym.

That's probably what I'll do...just test the waters with small sets and adjust if it doesn't feel right. I'll have time to lift tonight, but it's been 6 days. Probably the most I've taken off in a row for about 6 months or so and only the 2nd "long" break since I started lifting a year ago. FOr shorter breaks I've been dropping 5 lbs per day missed, but I guess that isn't necessary.

I just didn't want to throw out my back doing squats or something, but I figure by the time I'm done with warm-up sets I should be able to gauge what I can put up.

 

[Whisper]

I'll take about a week away from the gym once or twice a year, with it usually timed to occur around major holidays if possible, since that's when gyms are typically closed anyway. Sometimes I'll also throw in a sporadic day or two off if I'm nursing some kind of nagging injury as well, like the annoying left forearm pain I've got going on at the moment.

I generally don't deload any weight upon my return, and if I notice a decrease in strength at all, it's mostly only in the form of being a rep or so off on some of my heaviest sets. The only time I've ever had a substantive reduction in strength is when the break lasted two weeks or longer (which has happened maybe twice in the past 10 years). I agree with Zooyuka--just go in, set the weight as normal, and adjust as necessary.

 

[Saint Nick]

My schedule is very hectic so I essentially just lift when I can or have time. If I take a week off, I will usually deload 10% to 20% and work my way back up. Probably not necessary but because of my hectic schedule, sometimes I do not eat well for a few days and that will throw me off. No big deal.

 

[OILFIELDTRASH]

My schedule is very hectic so I essentially just lift when I can or have time. If I take a week off, I will usually deload 10% to 20% and work my way back up. Probably not necessary but because of my hectic schedule, sometimes I do not eat well for a few days and that will throw me off. No big deal.

Buying my own equipment has been the best investment ever. Never again will I wait for equipment, pay membership fees, or drive to a gym.

 

[Saint Nick]

Buying my own equipment has been the best investment ever. Never again will I wait for equipment, pay membership fees, or drive to a gym.

Indeed...I love having my own rack, bar, and weights!!!

 

[Syborg1211]

Everyone's muscles atrophy at different rates. As others have said, gauge it yourself and see. If you go to the gym telling yourself you're weaker though, most likely you'll mentally stop yourself from lifting what you could. I just got sick for 2 weeks and went back lifting the same weight levels as I left off. I was maybe 1-2 reps weaker on my last set of each exercise, and I'm a little more sore than usual afterwards but nothing too bad.

 

[Sixguns]

I take a week or two off every 3 months. When I first started to lift, the week(s) off sucked but now they no longer bother me. I dont seem to have an issue when I come back either.

 

[Wyndru]

Yeah I was fine, it seems I was just worried about something I shouldn't be worried about. I didn't even have doms after going right back to my normal workout weight.

Maybe taking longer time off is all I need to be worried about (missing 7 or 8 workouts)

 

[Chocu1a]

I will take a week off about every 3-1/2 weeks. I usually go 3-4 times a week right now. It seems that when I resume, I can usually up the weight 5-10 lbs without any issue. No doms either.

 

[Lamont Burns]

I just took a longer than wanted hiatus, and while I didn't drop the weight, I could not complete the sets I had planned. I'm hoping in the next 3-4 workouts to be back at normal capacity.

This was due more to diet and lack of sleep during the break tho, I hope.