ExRx.net

I went on a 2week vacation. There I managed to fit in only two workouts. One hotel only had machines. Another hotel actually had a barbell rack.

When I returned home, I was tired, jetlagged, etc so I skipped another two weeks. So effectively I hadn't worked out in one month.

Then when I got back on the first day I continued with the same weights as I left before the vacation. Squats, Deadlift and Benchpress. Real sore for two days. Then on the third day, I did it again but the soreness afterwards pretty well disappeared.

On my next session I noticed that I was able to push and do complete sets where I could not before the vacation.

For example on bench press previously I could do only 2 reps with 50lb of plates on each end of an olympic bar. Now I can do four reps. On the deadlift, previously my grip was struggling on the fourth rep with 90lb on each end. Now I can complete all five reps.

So does taking a long break give your muscles time to recover and when you return you can break through a ceiling? Or is it just my imagination and I'm somehow doing something differently?

It's not your imagination. You were overtrained prior to your vacation. Overtrained mucsles stall at plateus -or even slip backwards in the worse cases. Taking the break helped

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Thanks, TimD

you lift one side of the bar at a time?

that seems quite a leap in assumption

Maybe. But the rest did tostig's training good.

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Thanks, TimD

Hell, you can't build maximal strength week in week out. Your nervous system will fatique, your progress will stall and strength levels will fall. That's why you
A) Add deload weeks
B) Add Dynamic Work instead of ME work
C) Change Exercises

Westside methods in example use all of these three. The professionals understand these things and use them efficiently. I use deload weeks. I think it would be silly to say that maximal effort work week in and week out doesn't tire you. There was a huge super compensation from all the overreaching.

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Prove the impossible!

Why do we make presumptions?
Its like we have something to share so we set up a scenario and that gives us the rationale we need for our platform.

Yes, rest seems to have benefitted our OP.

Maybe we can ask first what he was doing for the 3 months leading up to the break before presuming. Based on the weights lifted, he may not be in the stage of needing delaods. SS ond SL both dont use deload for example.

You're in a strange mood today Oscar.

His body clearly just needed some time to rest and supercompensate. Jeez.

I've been a bit out of sorts since Friday

In light of what we do know, I cannot accept this answer without more information. Thank you for your contribution.

Bingo. If there's another explanation for tostig blowing through a training plateau after taking time off I would love to hear it.



I was answering tostig's question, not yours. Did he ask you to be his spokesman?

Thanks for your contribution- I think. Hopefully, a new week will find you in better spirits. It is the holiday season, after all.

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Thanks, TimD

I can't say about the overtraining idea, could be true, but the take home is numbers don't lie, rest is good.

Ate better the last few weeks
Got more sleep than usual
Had a better attitude since he has been away
Maybe work had been stresful, now, more relaxed
Dog may have ben sick, worried.

None of those are "overtraining"

my spokesman services are provided without request at no charge

Once again, I answered tostig's question, not yours. If he isn't satisfied with the answer, I would prefer if he told me so himself.

Hopefully, this thread hasn't been hijacked to the point that tostig won't bother to reply.

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Thanks, TimD

Well, I thought your answer was a good confirmation. I didn't mean to start WW3 here.

Prior to my vacation, I was doing the same exercises over and over again. I tried to add variation and other exercises but always migrated back to squats, deadlift and bench press.

The other day when someone else was hogging the racks, I did some dumbbell exercises: Lunges, rows and bench press. Boy, did my heart pump hard and I really felt muscle soreness the next couple of days.

So now I'm glad I have an alternate set of exercises that I like to do. Hopefully, that would give me the variation and the rest from the same ol , same ol.

Thanks again.

Not your fault -and certainly nothing worth feeling guilty or concerned about. Oscar was just being Oscar.

Glad to hear that you're now dancing on those pesky pre-vacation ceilings. Full speed ahead with your training in the New Year. Keep up the good work.

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Thanks, TimD