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I am finishing my 2nd BB which concludes a year of consistent TB training. I am thinking of taking few weeks off the training due to the fact that my scheduled week off mixes in to some family related things on top of the issues with my shoulder...

Has any of you guys taken regular long periods off the training? I am talking something like a month long or so. Do you find it beneficial or causing problems to your training? Assuming you are training year around with some weeks off here and there..

There is chance that family things will disappear and my shoulder heals miraculously. But.. you know..

Thanks!

Bark, I have found in the past that a month off won't kill you. Of course, you'll need to drop your 1RM's when you get back. I'm not sure I'd test after a month off, could get ugly (and dangerous). Just guess, get in a block, then test if you want.

If you could keep up some conditioning, that would certainly be helpful.

Good luck!

WallBilly wrote:Bark, I have found in the past that a month off won't kill you. Of course, you'll need to drop your 1RM's when you get back. I'm not sure I'd test after a month off, could get ugly (and dangerous). Just guess, get in a block, then test if you want.

If you could keep up some conditioning, that would certainly be helpful.

Good luck!

Sounds good and reasonable! I should be able to keep some LSS around I think
Thanks WB!

I highly recommend taking 2-4 weeks off after long periods of consistent training. It'll add to your training longevity and give your body a chance to thoroughly heal up. Personally I would time it right before a Base block - but that's not a big deal.

K.B. wrote:I highly recommend taking 2-4 weeks off after long periods of consistent training. It'll add to your training longevity and give your body a chance to thoroughly heal up. Personally I would time it right before a Base block - but that's not a big deal.

Thank you KB!

Barkadion wrote:

K.B. wrote:I highly recommend taking 2-4 weeks off after long periods of consistent training. It'll add to your training longevity and give your body a chance to thoroughly heal up. Personally I would time it right before a Base block - but that's not a big deal.

Thank you KB!

Taking multiple weeks off might be the most beneficial thing you can do for yourself, but it will also take a great deal of discipline to pull it off! Remember that this doesn't mean you can't be active (sports, hiking, cycling, etc.). Just no working out.

I'm going to offer a different perspective than everybody else has so far. I used to take a 3-4 week break once a year. Came back carefully but was always able to improve. I don't recall the exact age it became noticeable, but the older I have gotten the harder and longer it is to come back. 55 was considerable worse than 50, which was a bit worse than 45. Now granted I am on the downhill slope anyway and would be no matter what. I've got a colleague my age who has only lifted a couple of years and he is able to get back up to where he left off well enough, but he hasn't reached his hilltop yet. But there are definitely differences in how the body responds, and the differences between 45 and 35 are much less than the differences between 55 and 45.

If you shoulder is giving you grief it might need you to quit loading it in some way, and that may even need more than a month. But I'd still keep it moving at least. If there is something in your training irritating your shoulder it would really suck to take the break, get feeble like me, and then come back to find your shoulder gets irritated before you even reach your current levels.

J-Madd wrote:

Barkadion wrote:

K.B. wrote:I highly recommend taking 2-4 weeks off after long periods of consistent training. It'll add to your training longevity and give your body a chance to thoroughly heal up. Personally I would time it right before a Base block - but that's not a big deal.

Thank you KB!

Taking multiple weeks off might be the most beneficial thing you can do for yourself, but it will also take a great deal of discipline to pull it off! Remember that this doesn't mean you can't be active (sports, hiking, cycling, etc.). Just no working out.

Thank you!

TBPenguin wrote:I'm going to offer a different perspective than everybody else has so far. I used to take a 3-4 week break once a year. Came back carefully but was always able to improve. I don't recall the exact age it became noticeable, but the older I have gotten the harder and longer it is to come back. 55 was considerable worse than 50, which was a bit worse than 45. Now granted I am on the downhill slope anyway and would be no matter what. I've got a colleague my age who has only lifted a couple of years and he is able to get back up to where he left off well enough, but he hasn't reached his hilltop yet. But there are definitely differences in how the body responds, and the differences between 45 and 35 are much less than the differences between 55 and 45.

If you shoulder is giving you grief it might need you to quit loading it in some way, and that may even need more than a month. But I'd still keep it moving at least. If there is something in your training irritating your shoulder it would really suck to take the break, get feeble like me, and then come back to find your shoulder gets irritated before you even reach your current levels.

I hear you! Getting old is not a joke. I will try to stay active, to listen my body and will do my best. shoulder is tricky. Old shoulder gets mor tricky. No way around it..

Actual data!

https://www.t-nation.com/training/tip-w ... -your-body

But it's college kids.

And, I agree with TBPenguin's observations about aging making it harder to bounce back.