Should I take a week off?I've been lifting 4 days a week for 7 weeks now (I'm a beginner) and I'm experiencing a few things : General fatigue/completely drained after my workout Waking up at night and being unable to fall asleep Lifts are a still progressing but I think at a slower rate Generally feeling more anxious throughout the day (could be poor sleep)I'm scared to take a week off though because I'm worried ill lose progress
>>74780509>Waking up at night and being unable to fall asleepWaking up at night and being unable to fall BACK to sleepI initially fall asleep just fine due to exhaustion
Is it possible you changed your diet recently?
>>74780554No
>>74780509I would recommend slightly lowering intensity or volume in your sessions rather than taking a week off, it's better to stay consistentyou should make sure you're doing the basics right first though, make sure you're eating enough and sleeping enough. unless your sessions are really intense you probably shouldn't be burning out on a 4days/week schedule as a beginner
>>74780509>7 weeks nowsounds right, off or deload.
>>74780568>make sure you're eating enough and sleeping enoughI'm eating enough, just the sleeping part is fucked at the moment because my body keeps waking me up and refusing to sleep
>>74780575How much progress will I lose in a week
>>74780578Yeah sleep is why I'm considering retiring from /fit/ness. Every time I work out hard I'm unable to sleep
>>74780604None.You don't stop you just go ~30% lighter for a week then restart your progression from there.
Bump
>>74780568>unless your sessions are really intense you probably shouldn't be burning out on a 4days/week schedule as a beginnerYeah, there's no real reason for this guy to be getting fatigued after only 7 weeks as a novice. He probably is under-recovering and not eating/sleeping enough
>>74781273I'm eating at a 300 calorie surplus and I was sleeping 8+hours per nightThe past week I've been averaging 6 hours a night due to the recent sleep disturbances
>>74781290How much did your "weekly average weight" change from last week to this week? It's possible you need to readjust your goals for caloric intake.Sleep disturbances is a sign of overtraining/under-recovering but overtraining usually take several months of daily intense 1.5-2hr workouts to reach which I wouldn't expect for a novice to attempt. Do you do any endurance training? If your run 50+ miles a week then I see overtraining as a bigger possibility.
>>74781587>overtraining/under-recovering but overtraining usually take several months of daily intense 1.5-2hr workouts to reach which I wouldn't expect for a novice to attemptIt depends. I used to train to failure on every set whilst cutting as a beginner doing 3x per week and developed symptoms similar to OP within 2 months
>>74780509Eat more
>>74780509Take a rest week every 6-10 weeks if you struggle with recovery. For beginners its tendons and joints being overworked due to imperfect technique, lacking muscle activation. If you've been working very hard you will even make gains during the rest week when supercompensation sets in. You def won't lose any gains in just a single week and as a beginner probably not even weight on the bar. It all depends on the intensity of your training. I start a new training block every 2-3 months with 6-10 rest days between for complete recovery and switch main lifts.
>>74780509Waking up in the middle of the night and not being able to fall back asleep is generally a pretty strong indicator of central nervous system fatigue.Reduce volume and reps for a week, or just take some time off. A deload does not need to last a full week. 3-4 days off is long enough
>>74781771> I used to train to failure on every set whilst cutting as a beginner doing 3x per weekYup. Should've added four rest days between each workout
>>74780509Post routine.
>>74781290Are you weighing all your food on a scale, or just guessing the calories?
>>74783766>central nervous systembut isn't that just your soul? can't you use free will to be harder?
>>74784094Not weighing
>>74780604You should be stronger after. You'll hit the gym with the energy you had at the start with all the gains. I got super shredded once and my energy was ass. I gained a little fat back and took some good ass naps and felt great. You're doing fine bro.
>>74782401This as well but take a break for a week. Let everything heal 100%.