11 signs you need a break from training
1. The programme you are running tells you it is time to take a break for a week or whatever (obvious, but you’d be surprised how many don’t do this – including Yours Baldly, once upon a time), 2. You feel as though you can’t relax until your training for the day is done, 3. […]
Hazards of the improper use of rest weeks
For as long as I can remember, I’ve taught that one ought to take a full rest week for every eight to twelve weeks of hard training. A couple to a few weeks either side of that can be fine for certain individuals under certain circumstances, but eight to twelve weeks is what produces best […]
Lessons from an enforced break
Couple weeks back, I was forced into taking a break from training. It was the culmination of trying (and spectacularly failing) to balance an uptick in my working hours alongside an especially demanding training regime that resulted in, among other gribbly things: * My first shoulder injury ever, * Re-aggravating a longstanding issue I’ve had […]
How to rest well
“Two steps forward, one step backward” roughly summarises my attitude towards taking time off from training. By that I mean, I’m quite happy to let my progress stall or even regress a little bit because I know it’ll allow me to achieve even greater things in the long run. The catch is, results are slower […]
Idea for when you need a break but don’t want a break
Since forever, I have taken a full week’s rest from training every 8-12 weeks or thereabouts. This approach has worked very well, not only allowing for deeper recovery but also maintaining my enthusiasm for training. (Anyone who has been training consistently for more than five minutes will get what I mean when I say it […]
How to avoid chest injuries
Injuries to the chest (specifically to the pec major tendon) are one of, if not the, most common among lifters barring stuff like non-specific lower back pain that basically everyone gets from time to time. Trouble is, the vast majority are avoidable had the lifter made better decisions. Like, for example: * Not abusing anabolic […]
Tip for when you’re having a bad day
Train hard enough for long enough, and you will happen upon a day when things do not go your way. Often these come out of nowhere, as in you can literally feel fine right up until you execute your first warmup set, start running, or whatever only for your muscles to feel like lead and […]
How much damage can a week off do?
Many earnest and hardworking people worry greatly about taking a week off from training for fear of losing strength and muscle, getting fat, etc. They are shooting themselves in the foot, in my humbly correct opinion. Why? ‘Cuz this worry causes them to train too hard, for too long. A commendable attitude, for sure – […]
Parasite lawyers will love this
Did you know that there is a strange monster-virus going around? Darn thing struck me down a couple of weeks ago, albeit only badly for a couple of days. But alas, it lingered – placing me in a training-related conundrum. How so? I wasn’t so sick I couldn’t train at all. Indeed, I actually wanted […]
Yours Baldly diagnoses himself with leukaemia
I completed my first “proper” year and a bit of training without taking a single week off. Contrary to appearances, this is not a brag. It was just what I chose to do at the time. Why? Fear, mainly. Truth be told, I was terrified that if I took a week off I wouldn’t return. […]