Is missing a few work outs or not staying with your diet occasionally an issue?

[JerryB]

I think if you look at weight training as a long term activity missing a few work outs or not staying with the diet for a few occasions may not be detrimental to your goals.

Is missing a few work outs or not staying with your diet occasionally an issue if you are not training for a photo shoot as a model , for a bodybuilding contest, a major body transformation program, or for a special event? These are events you may need to be anal to get the desired results.

It would be ridiculous to think if I didn’t work out for a week or for a month, ate too much or too little for similar time frames it would significantly set back the years of weight training. I have done it in the past with no dreadful effects. I’m enjoying the holiday season this year with my first serious contest scheduled for July of next year. My body fat has gone from under 5% to 9% since my last contest during the summer. I’m on cruise control at 9% and enjoying caloric treats offered for the holiday season. It’s giving me more energy for my workouts which is a boost to my training effort. I’m old school, not into clean bulking, whatever that is. Getting back on track will not be an issue.

[cowboybiker]

Thanks for posting

[JerryB]

Thanks for posting

I'm discovering some think it's a major issue if they go off track for a short period.

[marinevet63031]

You speak good logic. The problem is that discipline relaxed is way different than reckless abandon like chugging cheese whiz and cool whip from a can.

[PowerChica]

I'd say it's certainly alright. No one needs to be perfect- we all deserve a break! In fact, taking the occasional break can be a really healthy move, especially if you do so when you're tired or sore, by giving your overworked or underrested body a little more time for recovery. Sure, if you want to be miss fitness 2012, you're probably going to be taking an axe to your chances, but for just getting in good shape and looking and feeling good, a break is fine and probably even wise Not to mention risk of mental burnout!

[dancer924]

You speak good logic. The problem is that discipline relaxed is way different than reckless abandon like chugging cheese whiz and cool whip from a can.

Although, been there done that! Well, hey, then again if it's fat free cool whip, you could down the whole can with only 200 calories Now when are they going to come out with some fat free, low cal cheese whiz?

[chodan9]

good points OP
people freak out and beat themselves up for consuming an extra 200 calories on Christmas day.
I try to look at this in terms of years and not days or weeks. I rarely take breaks in training so if I have to miss a few days it wont kill me.
We just need to make sure our "breaks" aren't more plentiful than our training days

[Brackneyc]

good points OP
people freak out and beat themselves up for consuming an extra 200 calories on Christmas day.
I try to look at this in terms of years and not days or weeks. I rarely take breaks in training so if I have to miss a few days it wont kill me.
We just need to make sure our "breaks" aren't more plentiful than our training days

200 cals? If only.

[Corbi]

good points OP
people freak out and beat themselves up for consuming an extra 200 calories on Christmas day.
I try to look at this in terms of years and not days or weeks. I rarely take breaks in training so if I have to miss a few days it wont kill me.
We just need to make sure our "breaks" aren't more plentiful than our training days

This^^^. Far too many people freak out and have the attitude "OMG I ate a qtr pounder at McDonalds and now 6 months of working out is ruined". I have been at this for 20 months now and when I started told myself it was going to take years and years to get where I want to be. A few days here and there of eating what I want and taking a break isn't going to do any harm.

[flat6nut]

The diet part for me is very bendable, but the workouts are not. I do a one body part per week routine. Thats only 52 workouts per body part per year. In my mind they can not be missed.

[-=FLEX=-]

I'm discovering some think it's a major issue if they go off track for a short period.

When I was in my 20's I was like that; an absolute fanatic. Nothing got between me and a workout, and I carrried around a mini-cooler just about everywhere so I was always eating.

20 years later and I've learned to relax a bit.

Lisa was stressedout and very upset this week, and didn't want to train. The old me would have gone to the gym without her. Instead I told her a few days off would be no big deal, and we just did exactly that.

[bbsitum]

My sport I adjust to my life not another way. Anything else would be case for psychiatry. Unless you are pro.

[discdoggie]

I personally feel better when I stick to a routine. The more I "relax" the more I want to relax.

[Lishnik]

Jerry's a mind reader. I was just thinking about this very subject a couple days ago but from a slightly different angle...there have been many threads about cheat meals, cheat days, etc. but I have days when I am just sick of eating and need to take a break from stuffing my pie hole. Basically dialing my calories back in half or the horror...my protein intake.

I'm chowing down today obviously but a few days back I was feeling I needed a break from eating of all things. I've been on a surplus since late summer and am up 15 pounds from my summer low. Pushing 200 and change at the moment. Plan to maintain the surplus to early March and then dial it back but there are days when I just need a break from the surplus. LOL.

Bodybuilding is a journey and I am just enjoying the ride.

Merry Christmas everyone and good training in the New Year!

[muttytwist]

200 cals? If only.

I plan on having more 200 calories just in pie

[MecGen]

Well my calorie counting stopped last night when I almost hit my daily intake with one meal (not quite).

The way it was told to me is the occasional cheat meal/day/week is a good thing to start your metabolism rolling, like adding lighter fluid to a fire. Hows that for broscience Anyways counting calories is such a big part of health nowadays that I suspect that the added stress of it (counting calories) is not very healthy.

Merry X-Mas

[chodan9]

200 cals? If only.

ok
maybe move the decimal to the right one space.
but common
its Christmas!!

[IronCharles]

It would be ridiculous to think if I didn’t work out for a week or for a month, ate too much or too little for similar time frames it would significantly set back the years of weight training. I have done it in the past with no dreadful effects.

Interesting that you speak such "taboo" words. Most serious (amateur) bodybuilders think if they stop training for even a short period of time, that they will lose most, if not all of their gains.

I stopped lifting for three months. Didn't even touch a weight. My shoulders were so worn out, I was in pain every day, it affected my sleep..... just a general annoyance that was really starting to diminish my enjoyment of training. So, I just stopped lifting. Stayed away from the gym.

My shoulders started feeling much better, with the time off. However, I found myself looking in the mirror every morning, waiting to see the muscle melt away from disuse. But I saw no changes. A month passed. Then two. And three. Finally, I had to break out the tape measure, because surely I was losing muscle, and I just didn't notice, because it had to be a gradual thing? Well, the tape measure confirmed that I had indeed lot a little bit, but not very much. I think I lost maybe a third of an inch off my biceps, and half an inch off my thighs. And, when I started lifting again, the numbers went right back to where they were when I stopped, within three weeks of training.

Overall, I believe the physical and mental benefits from the break outweighed any potential gains lost by not training. I'm able train more effectively and with much better intensity than I was with chronic pain from a few years of uninterrupted lifting. And I no longer have a fear of losing my gains, should the need to take time off in the future arise.

[bigtallox]

The problem is that discipline relaxed is way different than reckless abandon like chugging cheese whiz and cool whip from a can.

But if your training is good, the problem with chugging cheese whiz isn't the calories, it's all the crap and preservatives. I chug olive oil instead of cheese whiz. Well and cool whip just isn't high enough in calories.

[bigtallox]

my first serious contest scheduled for July of next year.

Good luck.

[-=FLEX=-]

I chug olive oil instead of cheese whiz.

SRS?

Like how much?

[bigtallox]

SRS?

Yes, when I'm focusing on gaining weight.

Like how much?

There's 500 calories in a quarter cup, a quarter cup is only 4 tablespoons. I usually don't measure it, probably 3 tablespoons at a time.

[DSUP]

I personally feel better when I stick to a routine. The more I "relax" the more I want to relax.

I've been thinking about this subject a lot lately too. I figure that, so long as my "routine" is eating right and excercising, breaking from that routine once in awhile (only in the off season) is not so bad. It's certainly much better than the other way around.

[machined]

I always feel better after a short break, but I've never experienced an increase in strength just from a lay off that some others experience. I come back well rested, well fed, not sore, super motivated and as strong as I've ever been, but not stronger. Assuming you are not over trained when you take a break, how do you get stronger simply by taking a break? I would love to experience this if possible.

[Corbi]

Assuming you are not over trained when you take a break, how do you get stronger simply by taking a break? I would love to experience this if possible.

Your muscles grow during breaks, they need time away from the weights and that's why you don't work the same body part 3-4-5-6 days in a row. I noticed that if I get a struggling point with a particular weight and I take a few days..ok maybe a week off from using the particular muscles required for that lift, when I try again a week later I almost always manage to get it.

[Brackneyc]

ok
maybe move the decimal to the right one space.
but common
its Christmas!!

I just got home from a carb fest which rivals any I have had in the past two years (srs). Stomach is killing me (in a good way). Had a good day. Back in the game tomorrow. Not sure how much I had, but it was fun.

[HoustonTXMuscle]

good points OP
people freak out and beat themselves up for consuming an extra 200 calories on Christmas day.
I try to look at this in terms of years and not days or weeks. I rarely take breaks in training so if I have to miss a few days it wont kill me.
We just need to make sure our "breaks" aren't more plentiful than our training days

This^^^, like Corbi stated above. Four of my closest friends are competitors in the Masters (3 guys) or Fitness (1 female) in Over 40 classes. We all have an occasional, tho rare, cheat day (not just a meal). Definitively, not during peak week or close to it. But several wks out or missing a training session (due to schedules or time commitments) isn't like we've ruined all our good intentions or damaged what we're working towards beyond repair. Couldn't resist that huge piece of pecan pie from Goode & Co. at the end of Christmas dinner today. Probably more sugar than I've had in 6 months. Big deal? Not to me. Will be at the gym tomorrow morning when it reopens and simply stretch my fasted cardio from 40 to 55 minutes.

[BillReilly]

This is such great advise from Jerry. Life is for living. Training should be something you enjoy. Even the best hobbies get stale from time to time. A break now and again can be the best thing for you. A piece of pie or a big dinner out is not going to kill you. A week off from the gym is not going to wipe out a year's progress.

That said, some people are like addicts. I don't mean addicted to training. They are addicted to not training. Like a drunk, a slip up can lead them right back into the life they lived before going to the gym. If that's you, then you're better off never taking a break.

[Forgettoned]

I wish I obsessed about my nutrition. I'm much to calm and easy going about it and this has to change if I ever want to get where I'm hoping to in this sport. If I miss the gym for a few days I get jitters, can't sleep and start getting really edgy so not working out has not been an issue for the last two years now.

[Corbi]

That said, some people are like addicts. I don't mean addicted to training. They are addicted to not training. Like a drunk, a slip up can lead them right back into the life they lived before going to the gym. If that's you, then you're better off never taking a break.

I'd agree with that.
And i'm surprised nobody has bitched about your saying under your name.