Accumulated fatigue

[Quiggie]

How often should you take a break from lifting to reset any accumulated fatigue? And how long should the break be?

[air2fakie]

No one answer for everyone and every program, it’s not always a full break, and it’s not always for “accumulated fatigue”.

[TolerantLactose]

It depends on how much fatigue has been accumulated. That's the real answer.

[Sinfinia]

Just keep in mind that if you have to take such breaks very frequently. (I.E: every 2-3 weeks) - you probably have to fix something in your program, or life.

[Anthony21]

How often should you take a break from lifting to reset any accumulated fatigue? And how long should the break be?

I would go off of how you're feeling, how you're recovering, how your training is potentially suffering, nutrition, hydration, sleep/recovery, etc. All these factors play apart in your question.

How often is going to be different from individual to individual.

[SuffolkPunch]

Very simple, you get feedback from how you feel. It's a bit like measuring your weight. Novices might panic after 1 bad day in the gym and think they need to rest. More experienced lifters will know that bad days happen and it's only if you get consistently poor performance 3 or 4 workouts in a row that you are due for a rest.

[Roland738]

I usually take a weekend easy every couple weeks. Occasionally I take a midweek day off if I'm really feeling it. It'll change person to person with diet, age, sleep schedule, genetics, weight, fitness, ect.

[coachcalande]

How often should you take a break from lifting to reset any accumulated fatigue? And how long should the break be?

I train every other day. I never train two days in a row. I don’t need to plan or schedule any “breaks.” Ever. Breaks happen when life gets in the way.


For someone who’s on a frequent program where they are making demands on their body 5-7 days a week, they will tap into recovery, wear out “fight or flight” response, find their body in a perpetual “resistance stage” until ultimately, injury or illness occurs….so what’s the recommendation? Typically 6-8 weeks, plan a couple of extra days rest and or reduced intensity of training.


Typically the mental burnout occurs before real physical exhaustion.