Six on and one off

There’s a fellow on an internet fitness forum who goes by the name PowerHank. I follow his online training journal and notice he trains for six straight weeks then rests for one week. He does this consistently and always seems to resume his training with enthusiasm.

Generally, I balk at taking scheduled time off because I’m a middle-age man and honestly believe that I’m only as good as my last workout. I rest a couple times a year when my body is screaming for a break. The problem is, however, last week my training effort and performance was off.

Looking over my training journals, I’ve been hitting it pretty hard for the last six weeks. Last week I noticed my wrists and shoulders were unusually sore and the weights were feeling heavier than normal. Those are signs that it’s time for a rest from my Olympic lift training.

So this week I’m taking a week of rest from the Oly lifts. I’ll do some cross-training instead and train lighter than normal. Bodyweight-only exercises such as pull-ups and pushups sounds good, as does static isometric postures, stretching and some martial arts. I’ll do barbell squats, however, but go lighter with my loads. Hopefully the rest will do me good so I can resume Olympic lift training with renewed enthusiasm and strength.

Thank you PowerHank for teaching me your training cycle of six on and one off.

Pax Domini sit semper vobiscum