[Nascimento]

This article isn't new, but I've find myself referring to it several times now. Thought I'd share for those who haven't seen it.

It's a long one. So click the link above if you want to give it a read, which I recommend when you have downtime. In the meantime I'll copy and paste some of my favorite takeaways.

Quote:

This study showed that alternating 6 weeks of training with 3 weeks off for 24 weeks (train 6, off 3, train 6, off 3, train 6) produced the same strength and mass gains as training for 24 weeks straight.

Quote:

This study (by the same authors) found basically the same thing, over 15 weeks, with one group training for 15 weeks straight, and one group taking 3 weeks off in between two 6-week training blocks.

Quote:

This study shows that it only takes 12 days without resistance training to restore mTOR (the primary hypertrophy pathway) signaling to newbie levels.

[CleanSlate]

Very interesting.

When I started lifting 6 months ago, my muscles got really big in the first 2 months.

In the last 4 months though, I would take weekly breaks every 3 weeks of heavy lifting. During those breaks, I would skip a couple of gym days here and there, and when I do go to the gym, I switch to high rep and low weight and do different exercises to change things up.

Right now, my muscles are a little smaller (or more lean?) than before, but I can lift far more than I did before.

My question is, do you have to take breaks of at least 12 days for this to work? Or would smaller breaks of less than a week work just as well?

[Nascimento]

I'm obviously not an expert so I can only speculate. But to maximize size, strength, and overall performance the idea is to be going to the gym hard for at least 6 weeks consistently, ideally more. But if you have to take a break you shouldn't sweat it.

At some point however you should regardless, because it gives your body time to "reset" in simple terms and be forced to adapt to stress again. The ideal period seems to be at least 12 days, and no longer than 3 weeks.

Taking regular breaks when you're not going at it hard in the gym probably isn't effective at all because you wouldn't be pushing your body to the limits to begin with.

[not_dead_yet]

I don't follow how this works. I'm doing MadCow 5x5 now. If I take a week off, I'm supposed to deload by 10%. That's roughly four weeks of progress.

Is the idea that you just take time off and restart where you left off without deloading?

[Steelex]

Deloading is the last thing most people need.

[crudeloyalist]

(09-08-2017 10:27 AM)Steelex Wrote:  

Deloading is the last thing most people need.

Agreed. My experience of taking time off after several months of continuous lifting is a significant reduction of size and strength. This is then followed by several weeks of hard work to try and get back to where I was.

[realologist]

Interesting study but it sounds like bullshit. Not enough answered variables.

How long have they been lifting?
What type of exercises and sets/rep scheme?
How much weight are they at?
Participant information?

I understand a deload week if you are not recovering/resting properly but anything outside of that you should be good to go. I personally take a light week about once every 6 weeks but about 5 days in I'm usually ready to go and it's an issue of slight deficiencies in rest finally catching up.

[randomA]

well, the "novice effect" is a real thing and well documented.
see also article here: https://startingstrength.com/articles/no...ppetoe.pdf

i doubt you can trigger the same effect later on in one's lifting career, though.
for example, if you stop lifting and resume years later, it will be much faster to reach the same strength levels from before your hiatus, but that is because of the dormant muscle cells' set of processes known as "muscle memory" rather than a brand new "novice effect".

i also believe the point of greg nuckols' article above is to demonstrate that different stimuli can produce results that are similar to the "novice effect" simply because those are relatively new movements and different variations so your body will respond better to those; and once you stop doing those and go back to your normal exercises, your body will have been desensitized and thus will respond better to a yet (pseudo)new stimulus.

[Fortis]

I'm not a fan of breaks longer than 1 week. I recently got a respiratory infection and started back on the tail end of it. I was keeping a pretty strong diet but those 14 days off really messed up my mojo. I'm not much smaller than I was 2 weeks ago but I feel like all that drive I built up got sapped. I regularly take a week off here and there, but I think deloading is mostly newbie stuff. when I do 5/3/1 i often skip the deload phase and push through. Doing a week of pussy weight just seems unnecessary if you got your diet and sleep dialed in.

[ScrapperTL]

As a seasoned fitness enthusiast (I've been exercising consistently for over 18 years), I find that variety is a great way to stay consistent and Consistency = Gains.

There are so many muscles in the human body and there is more than just size when it comes to improving your aesthetic.
Real mature Muscle Density is hard to build when you are inconsistent.
A really dense thick muscle looks, feels and functions amazingly.

To build these super full, dense and mature muscles - you really need to be consistent day in and day out for years on end.

To stay this consistent and to stave off boredom, I like to add a lot of variety to my training.
Weightlifting, Calisthenics, Gymnastics, Martial Arts (Striking & Grappling), Yoga and Playing Sports.

Yes, Weightlifting is the Top Dog but it is not the the end all be all when it comes to developing muscles and strength throughout your entire body.

Be athletic, exercise every single day in some way shape or form.

There are way too many young Weightlifters with garbage mobility, flexibility and movement, if your stiff now in your 20's and 30's - imagine how tight you'll be in your 40's and 50's.