Common Sense Advice For Weight Training

Layoffs from Training

As a personal trainer and coach, I am often asked, “Should I occasionally take a short break from weight training?” This is an age-old question in weight training, and the answer is never easy because it varies from person to person. In my opinion, it depends on the intensity of your training. If you’re an experienced Olympic lifter, powerlifter, or bodybuilder who has already competed many times, you should know your body by now.

You should know what the right amount of intensity and volume is for you. Some lifters respond well to a short break, while others don’t. I am in the latter group. Taking time off from training has always adversely affected me. Whether it’s mental, physical, or both, it never helped me.

Listen to Your Body

If you are experiencing an unusual amount of soreness, aches, and pains, you are likely overtraining. Rather than taking time off, you probably just need to make some minor changes to your program.

It could be as simple as reducing your volume, with a few fewer sets, a few fewer reps, and a little less weight. If you find that taking a short break has a positive effect on your lifting, then by all means, take a break. But I don’t advise taking more than one week off.

The Non-Competitive Lifter

If you’re in the majority, meaning you’re not competing and are using weight training to stay in shape, build some muscle, and get stronger, my answer is no, you don’t need to take a break. If you’re not competing, your training volume and intensity are far lower than a competitor’s, or at least they should be. If not, why aren’t you competing?

Life Events

Of course, there can be many legitimate reasons for missing training time. A serious injury or illness could be one reason. A death in the family or relocating your family due to a change in your job or career could be another. Maybe the company you work for needs you to work more hours than you normally do, or maybe you’re a college student and have an important test you need to study extra hard for. Whatever the reason, I encourage you to try your best to get at least some training in.

You might not be able to do your normal routine, but some is better than none at all. When you stop to think of all the different things that can happen in your life to interrupt your training, why would you voluntarily take time off? It’s not just about maintaining your physical strength; the benefits of exercise for your mental well-being are equally important.

Some Advice to Athletes of Other Sports

Unlike in the past, when athletes were often discouraged from weight training, almost all of today’s top athletes use it to enhance their athletic prowess. But some athletes take it too far and end up overtraining.

An athlete’s main focus should be on their chosen sport. If you are a shot putter, you need to spend most of your training time on throwing the shot. While weightlifting should certainly be part of your training program, you need to be careful not to overdo it.

If I Stop Training for a While, Will I Lose Strength?

The easy answer is yes, you will, but how much strength you lose depends on how much training time you miss. If it’s only a matter of one week, the loss of strength should be minimal. The longer you stay away from training, the more strength you will lose.

If you are unfortunate enough to find yourself in a situation where you aren’t able to train at all, don’t panic. Our bodies have muscle memory, which means previously trained muscles can regain mass and strength even after a period of inactivity. How long will it take? It’s hard to say because that question raises other questions. How long had you been training before you took a break?

The longer your training period was, the easier it should be to regain it all. Another factor is your age. It’s almost always easier for a young person to regain it all than for someone in their later years. But don’t let that discourage you, older folks. It might take you longer to come back, but come back you will.

Training around Injuries

Know the difference between normal aches and pains and an injury. Anyone who has ever participated in athletics knows that you need at least some tolerance for discomfort. There is nothing comfortable about lifting weights, and sometimes it might even hurt a little.

If you’re not able to push past that, you won’t make much progress. But an injury is another matter entirely. You’re not going to have much success doing squats with a knee injury, deadlifts with a lower-back injury, or overhead presses with a shoulder injury. But an injury doesn’t mean you need to stop training altogether. We call this training around an injury.

If you can’t do deadlifts, try a different back exercise, such as lat pull downs or T-bar rows. If you can’t do squats, try focusing on leg extensions and leg curls. If overhead presses aren’t possible, try lateral raises or upright rows. Never accept that you must stop training altogether. Where there is a will, there’s a way.

My Own Experience

I have almost 50 years of experience with weight training, and I’m still able to deadlift over 500 lbs and front squat over 300 lbs at 64 years old. I don’t mention this to brag. The good Lord has blessed me with a strong, healthy body, and I’ve been fortunate to have had very few serious injuries.

If there is one reason, other than my faith in God, that has kept me strong over the years, it’s consistency. I generally train 3 or 4 times a week, and my workouts rarely exceed 1 hour, with most lasting about 45 minutes. I don’t skip workouts, and I don’t take any voluntary layoffs from training. It’s worked for me all these years, and I believe it will work for you, too. Keep training and stay strong in the Lord!

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Mark Morthier is the host of Yesterday’s Sports, a podcast dedicated to reliving memorable sports moments from his childhood days and beyond. He grew up in New Jersey just across from New York City, so many of his episodes revolve around the great sport’s teams of the 70s for the New York area.

He is also an author of No Nonsense, Old School Weight Training (Second Edition): A Guide for People with Limited Time and Running Wild: (Growing Up in the 1970s)