Rest Assured

While you’re basking under the sun, a Pina Colada in one hand and a book in the other, remember that there’s a reason why your company gave you that week-long furlough known as your vacation.

It’s because you need it. Your vacation time is benefiting them as much as it is you.

Companies want their employees well-rested and refreshed, and not the fatigued product of non-stop work schedule that will leave you worn and lifeless. When you’re the latter and not the former, you productivity in the workplace tends to falter badly.

The same principle goes for bodybuilding. If you’re working your muscles overtime, blasting them five or six days a week for months at a time, then take this bit of advice:

Give it a rest.

That’s right, over-training is one of the cardinal sins many bodybuilders are so frequently guilty of, pumping away with heart and fire, trying to turn out the desired results in one supercharged stretch.

Fatigue is certainly a bodybuilder’s archnemesis. When you’re muscles are being overworked, they will not perform for you. Thus, your gains will be replaced by pains. You’ll see yourself in a rut, treading along but going nowhere. And you’ll find that every workout day, you’re just dragging yourself to the gym.

The general feel is that hard trainers should grind out six to eight weeks of vigorous training before taking a one-week layoff to recuperate. Of course, this is not etched in stone; some trainers will find an energy spurt that can take them further without a break (say 10 weeks or so), while others could burn out after just a few short weeks.

When and how long you rest depends on you.

However, your layoff period should not be marked on a calendar. Do not come back from a break and automatically mark your next one in eight weeks. The vacations you take from training should not be planned ahead of time, but rather, spontaneously.

And when it comes to this vacation, your body is your only boss.