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I'm just curious,

I've hit week 7 of Basebuilding, and I had been feeling fine up until recent. I am INCREDIBLY run down and tired this week for some reason.

It could be because I hit my HIC too hard this week, which was the fast 5. Instead of following the recommended guidelines I really pushed myself, which had me spending more time around 90% - 95% of my max heart rate. I've been waking up feeling incredibly hungry, overall feel out of it, and sluggish.

I'm currently eating about 2500-3000 clean calories a day at 5'8 169 lbs. 180G from Protein, about 60-70G from Fats, and the rest from Carbs.

Anyone experience this?

Is it recommended to take a breather week after Basebuilding, or to keep on trucking? I know KB mentioned deloading and rest weeks quite a bit through the literature.

You usually will come out of base building feeling a bit fatigued. If you have added HIC for some reason you definitely will be tired.

I don't know exactly what you have done during your basebuild, but what I usually do is take a couple of days off and restest my lifts during it.

If I chose to take a week off I would do some easy walks or runs and then test mid week. A couple more days off after testing and then into whatever continuation protocol I was planning on doing. I still do some training but I drop it right down to something easy in the 50% zone.
if you do this over a week it will be enough of a reset most times.

If this is your first basebuild or you are coming back after some time off training you will definitely be feeling it a bit more.

Thanks for the response!

I'm following the template as laid out in the book with the last 3 weeks switching over to Max Strength and HIC work utilizing HICs 1-10. For my purposes I chose the Fast 5 and 600M Resets. Yesterday was a recovery today, and with the snow our gym is closed, so it's a forced rest day, but perhaps that's needed.

This is definitely my first base build, and even in Judo/Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu I tend to take a more relaxed approach, so to say I've never aggressively pushed myself cardio wise in a routine manner is an understatement.

I've come to TB after taking years off from lifting and time off from any sort of athletic pursuit, so it is almost like starting fresh again.

Thanks again!

JudoRob wrote:Thanks for the response!

I'm following the template as laid out in the book with the last 3 weeks switching over to Max Strength and HIC work utilizing HICs 1-10. For my purposes I chose the Fast 5 and 600M Resets. Yesterday was a recovery today, and with the snow our gym is closed, so it's a forced rest day, but perhaps that's needed.

This is definitely my first base build, and even in Judo/Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu I tend to take a more relaxed approach, so to say I've never aggressively pushed myself cardio wise in a routine manner is an understatement.

I've come to TB after taking years off from lifting and time off from any sort of athletic pursuit, so it is almost like starting fresh again.

Thanks again!

Yeah mate. Do not stress it is normal.

Just take rest days as needed and get your food and sleep squared away. Extra calories is always a good option, but from memory you struggle a bit to get them in as is.

It is just you adjusting to the change of conditioning and volume, provided you aren't doing anything crazy like 10 different exercises on MS day.

I usually keep my strength days lighter and my HIC around 85-90% after a base build to readjust. That works for me while i transition from the easier LSS stuff.

@ Rob

I'd say that the main thing to keep in mind is that in the books he says (more than once), basically, if you think you need to back off, do so. Stick to the minimums for your E, do the 'for babies' versions of the HICs, use a 90% of your 1RM for strength training, etc. It's fine. If you feel worn down, you probably are. (Obviously this depends on knowing the difference between newbies' 'I'm overtrained!' and really being in need of a break.) And yes, take some days off after base building and eat some peanut butter sandwiches (or whatever).

I say this as someone who's better at giving advice than taking it!

VenomousCoffee wrote:@ Rob

I'd say that the main thing to keep in mind is that in the books he says (more than once), basically, if you think you need to back off, do so. Stick to the minimums for your E, do the 'for babies' versions of the HICs, use a 90% of your 1RM for strength training, etc. It's fine. If you feel worn down, you probably are. (Obviously this depends on knowing the difference between newbies' 'I'm overtrained!' and really being in need of a break.) And yes, take some days off after base building and eat some peanut butter sandwiches (or whatever).

I say this as someone who's better at giving advice than taking it!

Thank you, I appreciate it!

I ended up stacking a shorter HIC on top of my Strength work to give myself an extra day of rest, which REALLY helped and gave me an epiphany. It was good to stay inside with the snow on the ground, spend some time with my Fiancee, and relax for a change.

As I move forward with my continuation protocol I'm planning on limiting myself to 5 days a week, but if a 6th day is called for I'll be splitting up E into shorter sessions or stacking HIC/SE onto my strength days. I posted another option in my log with SE split in half with one half performed on each strength day, but the other option I may consider is below. I like this format as I'll be fresh from a day of rest for my strength and HIC sessions, and if I'm feeling antsy, I'll add in an LSS day, but if I do, I'll be sticking to the minimums. With this schedule I'd most likely be using Fobbit Intervals, Resets, or Meat Eater since they're relatively short.

Monday - Strength + HIC
Tuesday - E x 30-60
Wednesday - Rest
Thursday Strength + HIC
Friday - SE
Saturday - E x 30-60 (Optional)
Sunday - Rest