Taking Time Off and Muscle Memory
Every summer I take 2-3 months completely OFF weight training, I think it’s important to allow the body to completely heal from injuries done to the muscular and mental systems.
Why take time off?
Think of our body like a car, if you go all-out all the time, expect the engine to not last very long… our bodies are no different. Each time you do strenuous activity, you are causing damage to every part of your body. It’s this very damage that leads the body to rebuild slightly stronger. If you ever met professional bodybuilders or power lifters and talked to them for a little bit, you will be amazed at how much pain they build up within their body over time… their bodies look AMAZING but you wouldn’t want to be in those bodies first thing in the morning 
By time off I do not mean resorting to a couch potato existence, I mean replacing what was once very strenuous exercise will less strenuous ones while keeping to the same diet. There is such a thing as taking “time off” a little too seriously, at which point you are harming yourself.
Don’t you loose all your gains?
There is no way around it, when you stop doing strenuous activity for an extended period of time, you will begin to “loose” the stronger body you once had. If you took drugs (ei: steroids, GH etc.) to achieve those gains then those looses are even more dramatic. If you keep to your diet and activity level (ei: brisk walking instead of weight train) then your body will adapt but the looses aren’t that big a deal and easily reversible.
What happened to me?
My normal weight is about 175lbs, anything above that is a heck of an uphill battle - I still got up to 195lbs once but I was constantly eating and although my strength was up, so was my gut
Using the myfoodcount.com systems, I kept track of how my body transformed. At the end of June I stopped all weight training activity, at that time I had a BMI of 25.36 and weighed 167lbs (I had just changed my level of activity which caused a leaning out - search my blog for old man syndrome). We are now the end of September and my BMI has changed to 23.69 and I now weight 156lbs soaking wet. So I lost a little more than 3lbs of weight per month during my weight training break. My physical body changed quite dramatically, I use to be able to flex in the mirror and see my muscles, now they all seem very flat in comparison - I lost both size and depth.
Holly Cow! You must feel bad loosing all that…
Actually, I took a little longer break then I intended due to various reasons but do I feel bad at loosing what I spent so many years building… NO… NOT AT ALL! You see, before my break I use to wake up with my joints cracking and although I changed to a less heavy but more frequent regimen - I still had some stiffness waking up in the morning. Guess what, I may not sleep as good as I use to but all those little snap, crackles and pops I had before are all gone… I have given my body the time it needed to repair the damage.
Muscle Memory
I also have one more huge thing in my corner, muscle memory. The effects of muscle memory are not to be underestimated… basically my muscles remember the “old” me and when I go back into the activity level that got me the body I once had, it will come back very fast compared to a person who is just starting out at the gym. I may have lost an inch off my arms and 2 inches from my waist with a drop in strength but hitting the weights again will get them to return and I will be right back where I was before the break in about 2 months. The foundation of the “bigger me” is still there, its only the building that lost a few floors
Two steps forward, one step back
If you are into a healthy lifestyle for the long run (ei: your entire life), then you must take a two steps forward, one step back approach. If you are always moving forward physically, unless you are being professionally trained and monitored consistently - you will begin loosing your edge and progress will slow down dramatically either from over training or boredom. All that wear and tear builds up, even if you don’t feel it… it’s still there waiting to come out - like a tear, pull or other health problems. I took 3 months off but I am only two months away from the body I once had - if I had kept going the way I was, my body would probably be slightly better but at the cost of my lifelong health.
Note of caution
When you get back into your old regimen after any extended period of time, remember to slowly ease yourself back in… although the foundation is still there, your ligaments and muscles aren’t so give your body a few weeks to build back up their prior strength, ligaments may take a few months to adapt. If you do not warn your body about what your mind is doing, expect lots of pain and possibly a serious injury.
The Bottom Line
If you play hard, remember to relax hard every once in a while as well
