When to take a Break

I thought I had written about this before, but it seems I haven't (or haven't touched on it enough, i talked about it a bit in Myths part 3 http://megamarty.blogspot.com/2010/08/nutrition-training-myths-part-3.html)

currently right now I am taking a one week break from lifting weights. and if i do lift weights, its going to be about half the weight, just getting some blood flow and keep my head around the gym. or i might not lift weights at all.

huh?

not lifting weights? at all? but but but Marty that's MADNESS!!!!

right.

so, to repost what I talked about in an earlier post, here is what the common signs of needing to take a break are
a) poor mood outside/inside the gym
b) sleep is lacking, either in length, or disturbances
c) weights are down (how much they're lifting, and general stamina)
d) progression has ceased. in most cases, a long time ago.

so personally, I'll tell you how I know.

1) i was starting to yawn last week. for no good reason. my sleep was great, i was getting my 8ish hours,
2) wasn't quite pumping up the same, blood wasn't filling up so much
3) starting to yawn even during the workouts/after pre workout. usually my preworkout has me twitching for quite some time.

so as i touched on earlier about overtraining/overreaching, you NEED to pay attention to your body/mood.

if someone is telling you things, as in you're a bit more pissed off than usual, mood down, etc anything.


so, once you've been lifting for a bit any everything is in place, when do you take a break?

well, I've been learning that proactive "cruises" are better than waiting to be overtrained. and this time, i even got a little carried away and wanted to train legs. big mistake. i got CRUSHED by the weights, and had to sulk out of the gym knowing that i should've been taking a break.

when is this for me? 2-3 months.


for a new trainee? not going to be for a while. for women? that is very, very individual, and i haven't been able to put my finger on a time frame for them, seeing as most women don't train with intensity let alone correctly and in a regimen.

but yes they can still suffer from overtraining/overreaching.

biggest thing is listen to your body.

do NOT think it is smart to "push through" it. you will only suffer in the end.