time off from strength training

[abingdon janet]

Cathe - I've been weight training an average of 5 days per week for about 5 weeks being sure to give each body part at least 48 hour rest period. I've also been doing cardio workouts 4-5 times per week. However, I just feel achy all the time lately. How do you feel about the idea of laying off wt training for a week and focusing only on cardio. Cardio rarely makes me achy like this. Thanks for any advice.

 

[maddiesmum]

Janet:

definitely, if you are feeling sore, tired, bored, unmotivated, these are all signs of over-training and guess what! A week off is the best cure! You won't lose anything with a week off and will gain loads: energy, motivation and the drive to go harder and heavier and get back into it when you are properly rested. You might try subbing some yoga and intense stretching in the time you usually weight train, to ease out those muscles and work out the kinks. Can't hurt.

Clare

 

[Cathe Friedrich]

Hi Janet! Clare is 100% correct. Sounds like you are experiencing the early signs of overtraining. Rest and stretching is the answer and when you come back, cut back a bit on either the frequency, duration, or intensity of your weight workouts. Gradually add things back if needed. You may find that you didn't even need to train that often/long to get the same results.

Good Luck!