Life is unpredictable, and even the most consistent supporters of a healthy lifestyle and physical education are sometimes forced to take multi-day breaks in training. Travel and business trips, holidays, work rush, health problems - will they really put an end to our long-term efforts to lead an active and healthy lifestyle?
How many days of training can you skip without compromising your fitness?
How not to lose shape and return to it? What does it depend on? We at Bemorepanda have collected the opinions and advice of successful and effective trainers. Spoiler: not a single day of stable intensive training is wasted, this is all a reserve for the future. And yes, any movement is better than none.
It can take a lot of time and effort to get into a familiar workout routine. However, if you stick to this rhythm, you will start to feel stronger, faster, and your muscles will get more support as a result. You'll run fast and easy, do cardio on the 12-3-30 treadmill, and lift 10kg dumbbells with ease. But, let's say, there was a need to skip training for a couple of days, or even for a few weeks or months. Will you lose your work and return to the starting point?
As with anything that involves exercise, how much momentum you lose by skipping a workout depends on your fitness level. Leading trainers recommend: to develop and maintain strength and endurance, you need to exercise at least three days a week. This type of regular physical activity helps build muscle over time and improves overall health and fitness.
Stick to a structured weekly regimen of cardio and full-body strength training, and you'll notice a difference in fitness levels in about eight to twelve weeks. During this time, the body gradually adapts to new physical loads, muscle fibers will become stronger. Consider how many days you can skip without compromising progress if you need to take a break.
How many days of training, according to professionals, you can skip?
Of course, you will have to miss a workout if you are sick, physically or mentally tired, on vacation, or too busy to go to the gym. You might just decide to take a break for no reason, and that's okay too. It's always better to take breaks and listen to your body instead of forcing yourself to train when you're not in shape: this can lead to fatigue, injury, and burnout.
However, won't this break sabotage your entire fitness project? Luckily, even if you want to skip a couple of days, experts say you won't see any change in your strength or endurance. According to leading coaches, just a pause of three to four weeks can lead to the fact that you will see a difference in your condition and well-being with and without training.
When you take a long break from training, a process called muscle atrophy begins in your muscles. This usually results in a decrease in muscle mass, strength and power, as well as an overall decrease in physical performance.
This means that the next workout after a break may feel harder than usual or more tiring because you've lost muscle mass. At the same time, the degree of muscle atrophy depends on the level of your general physical fitness. If you had a solid regimen and were fairly strong, it would likely take a full year of no training before you fully return to your original no-sport state. However, if you have just started to practice, the negative process will go faster.
How long does it take for muscle recovery?
How long it takes to get back to your previous level of fitness depends on how many years of training you have behind you. Some people may need three months, and others - 12. In this case, the muscles will return to their best performance, if they are worked on correctly.
Of course, if you are not an athlete or do not set a specific goal, such as running a half marathon, you can take your time to return your achievements. It is possible that you will recover quickly as soon as you start training again: many people who have been involved in sports for a long time develop muscle memory.
How to maintain your fitness regime
It is perfectly normal (and even encouraged) to take breaks from training when you need them. Life challenges us, and we shouldn't expect to be able to stick to our routine all the time. However, there are ways to bridge the gaps in the classroom. For example, you can conduct shorter, but intense and effective workouts. It can look like a five-minute yoga stretch, a 10-minute walk, or a 15-minute HIIT workout with varying intensity. After all, any movement is better than none.
Deload Workouts: Sometimes it pays to lift a little less weight to give your body a break
The alternation of training and rest is an important part of both the physical and psychological work of the body. A conscious approach to the training process includes rational ways to increase loads and separate cycles of fasting days.
What is unloading
There are different opinions about unloading. For some, unloading is like a vacation, a complete break in training. The athlete takes a break for a week and fully rests. For others, deloading is less intense than the usual training session. The athlete performs the same number of sets and repetitions, but alternates weights from heavy to light. On the other hand, when unloading, you can do fewer reps and sets, but leave the weights as heavy as usual.
The type of unloading depends on the type of work you have done up to this point. The reasons for unloading are dictated by your philosophy or the views of your trainer.
When to unload
Strength athletes and amateur athletes practice the following methods of unloading:
- Prepare for the competition. For the highest achievements in competitions, you need to reduce fatigue in advance and not fade away. The heat of a workout usually involves decreasing reps and sets while maintaining a high amount of weight.
- Set new goals gradually. If you are doing something new and intense, then you are more likely to get sick. So introduce new exercises or workout types throughout the week in combination with easier workouts. This is sometimes referred to as "core week".
- Recover after a hard training block. Some programs include a built-in deload week. If necessary, take additional days after the end of the program and before starting the next one.
- Outline a long-term plan to combat fatigue. Even if your workouts haven't been particularly hard, deload every few weeks from time to time to prevent overworking.
- React to stress. Some programs do not include deloading, and the athlete himself decides when he needs a break.
How to know if you are doing the right thing
If you are working with a trainer, discuss future training and shared goals. Unloading or lack thereof should be part of the program with justification of the reasons.
If you are training on the Internet or from books, consider whether the program needs to unload. Some include unloading, while others do not. If you are making a training plan for yourself, take inspiration from other programs, but use common sense and well-being.
Unloading is a common, but not the only tool for combating fatigue. Your program may wax or wane from week to week, depending on how you feel. In this case, unloading may not be necessary.
Even if you are preparing for a competition, deloading is a common technique to reduce fatigue and ensure good performance, but this does not mean that you always need to unload. For example, in competitions, low-impact training is common practice.
The unload is a simple training tool, so make sure your choice of unloads fits your body's needs. An excellent option is to think over programs with unloading with a trainer and achieve goals effectively, without loss of health and time.
