Why should you take a week off from the gym regularly to build muscle?
In recent years, it has become widely known that strength training is important for a healthy life, and some people may say that they 'go to the gym all the time for their health.' However, many fitness influencers recommend that people do not always continue high-intensity training, but rather incorporate 'deloading (deload work),' which reduces the load of training periodically.
Why it's important to take a week off from the gym every now and again – the science behind 'deload weeks'
https://theconversation.com/why-its-important-to-take-a-week-off-from-the-gym-every-now-and-again-the-science-behind-deload-weeks-242259
Many fitness influencers recommend a 'deload' every 4 to 8 weeks, taking a week off from gym exercise or training or significantly reducing the intensity of your exercise. At first glance, it may seem like a waste to stop going to the gym after you've worked so hard to maintain it.
'The express purpose of a deload is to give your body time to recover from the fatigue and damage that can be caused by intense training,' Brason says.
High-intensity training and prolonged exercise cause cumulative damage to muscle tissue, and while this muscle damage is an important part of the process that makes the body stronger, the benefits only become apparent if the body is given enough time to recover.
After exercise or intense training, small tears form in the fibers and connective tissue that make up the muscle, causing an inflammatory reaction. The muscles become stronger when these damaged muscle fibers are repaired, but muscle repair requires a low-stress state.
However, if you continue training without taking enough rest, your muscles will not be able to repair themselves, and the damaged state will continue semi-permanently. This will cause the inflammatory response to persist, making it difficult for your muscles to use oxygen efficiently and reducing your performance. The purpose of deloading is to prevent the negative effects of overtraining.
People who are enthusiastic about going to the gym may be afraid that if they take a break, their muscles will be lost and all their efforts will be wasted. However, it is known that muscle genes have something called 'muscle memory,' and that muscles that have been gained can be quickly restored even after resting and losing muscle. A 2018 study reported that even if you take a break for up to seven weeks, you can quickly regain muscle by training again.
Thanks to 'muscle memory' the reason why even weakened muscles can be quickly restored by training them - GIGAZINE
If you do not rest and allow the fatigue caused by sports or training to recover, you may be at risk of developing overtraining syndrome . Overtraining syndrome begins with symptoms such as a decline in athletic performance and increased fatigue, and gradually progresses to more serious symptoms such as general fatigue, sleep disorders, loss of appetite, and depression.
It can take several weeks to several months, or even years, to recover from overtraining syndrome, so it is important to avoid overtraining syndrome above all else. Since rest is important to avoid overtraining syndrome, deloading is also important for maintaining exercise and sports performance.
When incorporating deloading, it is important to remember that your weekly 'rest day' and deload should be separate. In other words, even if you have one or two rest days a week, it is better to incorporate deloading regularly.
'No matter what your training plan is, it shouldn't be so intense that you can't take a step back when you need to,' says Brason. 'Deloading will not only benefit your performance, but your health as well.'
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in Science, Posted by log1h_ik