Like I said... a break from your routine - yes. A complete break, no, I don't think you
need one. Lightweight stuff, bodyweight stuff - squats, pushups, etc.
valid advice, differing opinion
If that's the case, then how do college or college and pro athletes able to continue functioning at the level they do for as long as they do? This is bordering on broscience!
They don't function at the same level as the season gets longer, the playing field is just level. Every week they are more and more susceptible to injury and recovery isn't complete. Almost every athelete at these levels plays closer to 80% at best near the end of the season. Depending on the sport. Professional baseball has rotation in playing schedules to give those players the needed rest, and you are talking about people that are receiving top tier recover facilities and medical/conditioning staff. These are just a few reasons why there is a bye week built into the NFL and two weeks between the last playoff game and the super-bowl. This is an area I am intimately familiar with and no-where near broscience or the border thereof. The training for these atheletes is different in the off-season with an expectation of there to be loss of muscle during the season because training cannot be as intense during that time. Not to mention the youth factor/testosterone production level of high school/college/professional atheletes, not even an apples to apples question.
Quote:
If you were to do any activity during this de-load/re-feed phase I would recommend swimming. And it also gets our bodies thinking it's okay to relax, not be tense with the expectation of hard training, so when we come back with the training it catches our bodies off guard and jump starts growth all over again.
Changing ones routine and/or a week of light weight activity would do the same... without allowing the individual to become complacent and lazy.
valid advice, differing opinion
TB man... I can't believe you're recommending this. I know we're friends, but I have to be objective and call it like I see it... and imo this is terrible advice. Don't take this as a personal attack - but I haven't seen you come close to single digit bodyfat - maybe it's your approach - so I don't understand advising others.
Eating anything and everything? Man, we frown on a cheat
day ; and you're recommending a week? This can ruin a person, especially somebody with a history of poor eating habits, like 405 or myself. Our bodies are lazy by nature; they want to do the least amount of work possible. Indulging in that for too long isn't a good idea imo. I've done it myself; taken a complete week off... and you know what? I didn't feel more motivated at all... I was annoyed to start back up... I missed NOT having to do it!
I apologize, anything and everything was an extreme exaggeration and I shouldn't have used it. I was trying to suggest that to stress about taking a break would discount all of the positive benefits from taking the break. How could I possibly not take that as personal? I am fine with it being personal, it is certainly accurate, well except up to my mid twenties, but that was just because of my youth(like college atheletes)! The OP is not you. Although my bodyfat hasn't been low I have taken weekly breaks from training every couple of months for years and always come back stronger and feel noticably different in my muscles/joints ability to handle the training again. My reommendation would only be for someone who has been consistently and intensely training, not a recreational exerciser.
Bingo
Again, I apologize for the extreme "eating whatever you want" comment.
So could eating a planned healthy diet. TB... you've been advising 405 in his thread, and he came here for I assume another opinion. Now you're here debating that opinion. No, I don't mind debating - but you may be driving the OP crazy. Sorry, my .02