How often should you take a rest week from lifting?

Men on nodding terms with the weights floor know that rest days are a cornerstone of muscle recovery – a hard-earned chance to kick back and allow the past week’s gains to catch up with you. But sometimes rest days turn into rest weeks, and with them, self-satisfaction becomes self-loathing.

After seven days of choosing the sofa over the squat rack you can almost feel your muscles withering away with each passing boxset. Sound familiar? Well, here’s a plot twist for you: extended breaks from training not only provide a crucial mental lift to keep you motivated, they trigger powerful physical and biochemical changes that help increase your muscle mass over time.

(Related: How to rest better to build more muscle)

Your body needs regular breaks to adapt to sustained training. It’s not the work itself that brings about the changes you crave – like enhanced muscle mass and lean definition – but the time you spend recovering. The training is just the stimulus; during rest periods you experience a cascade of biochemical, neural and hormonal changes that cement those changes in your body.

If you don’t regularly take time to recharge and regenerate, you simply won’t cash in on the results you’ve already paid for. Play the hero long enough and you could even suffer overtraining syndrome (OTS), the result of excessive muscular, skeletal and joint trauma.

This causes a rise in circulating monocytes – a type of white blood cell linked to immune function – which leads to low energy, reduced protein synthesis, poor sleep, inferior performance and a drop in hormone production. Pretty much everything you need to ensure muscle growth and energy production get shut down.

(Related: 9 best ways to get better quality shuteye tonight)

You keep training because you want your body to enter growth mode. But by overtraining you force it into survival and protection mode instead. To some, a week away from the gym might seem counterintuitive. Two weeks might seem like heresy. However, in reality, it could be your key to super strength. When you take a week or two off from the gym every 12 weeks or so, your muscles, tendons and ligaments repair themselves, the glycogen energy stores in your muscles and liver are replenished and your testosterone levels recover.

Best of all, you won’t lose any of your hard-won gains: studies show it takes four to six weeks of pure inactivity – we’re talking proper bed rest here – to see severe catabolic breakdown. After one or two weeks off, you won’t suffer a significant drop in strength, power, body mass or size – or witness a noticeable gain in body fat.

And it takes even longer to see any decline in aerobic capacity, stamina or VO2 max. A week without loud, crowded gyms and rushing to get to spin will also do wonders for your mental freshness.

You’ll feel sharper, your enthusiasm to return to your workouts will surge, and you will have neutralised all the tiredness and irritability associated with overdoing it. So give yourself a break. Truth be told, you’ll do a lot worse by overtraining than you ever could by taking time off.

Three facts you need to know

1. Strength athletes can enjoy a surge in testosterone and growth hormone after a short break, says Sports Medicine.

2. Research in Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise proved that 14 days of rest causes little change in bench press or squat performance.

3. Take a break – within limits. A Journal of Applied Physiology study found VO2 max dips by 6% after three weeks of laziness.

By: Mark Bailey; Expert source: Ian Aylward, lead strength and conditioning coach at Perform St George's Park; Photography: Getty

UPDATED: Aug 25, 2020

Advertiser Disclosure

Advertiser Disclosure: We strive to help you make confident fitness software decisions. Comparison shopping should be easy. Our partners do not influence our content. Our opinions are our own.

Editorial Guidelines: The Editorial Team at Exercise.com is dedicated to providing fair, unbiased information about the fitness industry. We update our site regularly and all content is reviewed by credentialed fitness experts.

Get the Basics...

• There is no set formula for how often you should take a break from exercise, including weightlifting.
• Anywhere from every eight weeks to every sixteen weeks is the norm with the average being every twelve weeks.
• This break period from working out has been referred to by some as S.T.O.P.

How often should you take time off from weightlifting?

There are differing opinions on this subject but what most people do agree on is that taking periodic scheduled breaks from your fitness regimen actually helps you achieve your exercise goals.

There is no set formula for how often you should take a break from exercise, including weight lifting.

Anywhere from every eight weeks to every sixteen weeks is the norm with the average being every twelve weeks.

If you exercise regularly and rarely skip a work out you may want to plan your week off after only eight-to-ten weeks.

On the other hand, if you frequently take long weekends and go three or more days in a row without exercise, you may want to wait sixteen weeks for your full week off due to the mini-breaks you have already incorporated into your routine.

To take the stress out of planning your own workouts, go PRO today for access to certified personal trainers and workout plans that are created with your goals in mind.

• How Often Should You Take Time off From Weightlifting and Will It Impede Your Progress?
• How Often Should You Take Time off From Weightlifting and What Will Happen When You Resume Your Regimen?
• How Often Should You Take Time off From Weightlifting Within the Course of Your Weekly Workouts?

How Often Should You Take Time off From Weightlifting and Will It Impede Your Progress?

Naturally, when people think about taking time off from their fitness workout routine they become concerned with regression in progress and weakening of muscles.

The truth is that taking time off actually helps you to make progress and achieve your goals whether they are related to weight loss, muscle strengthening, or general fitness and toning.

Muscles require time to recover and rebuild. Over time, you will notice in your workouts that your progress is slowing and the rate at which you are able to increase reps or weight will lessen.

This is because your muscles are not able to recover at the same rate they were able to when you first began working out. Just as you may periodically feel that you need a vacation from your job, your muscles need a vacation from work as well!

This break period from working out has been referred to by some as S.T.O.P., which stands for:

• Strategic
• Time
• Out
• Period

It should be built into your workout plan. Many people set their short-term exercise goals around this break period. For example, if you have decided to take a break every twelve weeks, you might create mini-goals achievable in twelve-week increments.

There are other reasons for taking periodic breaks when you are taking part in a weight training program. Not only do your muscles need time to recover but you need time to regroup and regain the excitement you initially felt about working out. Without this time off period, you may become bored with or even quit your work out program.

Get More Out of Your Exercises. Go PRO!

Sign Up

How Often Should You Take Time off From Weightlifting and What Will Happen When You Resume Your Regimen?

Many people are afraid to take time off because they are afraid that it will be much harder to lift the same weight when they resume their training. Seven days is not enough time for muscles to atrophy. By taking time off, each muscle group can rebuild and your body is primed to respond to the stimulus of the weights all over again. You will again notice much more rapid results similar to when you first began your program.

It is possible that you may feel slightly weaker the first time you lift again after taking the break, but your muscles have not shrunk. You will soon find that your post-break workouts will bring about new muscle growth causing your strength to quickly increase.

How Often Should You Take Time off From Weightlifting Within the Course of Your Weekly Workouts?

While a full week’s break is necessary every eight-to-sixteen weeks you also need to have scheduled rest days worked into your fitness program. Many people feel that if they lift every day they will see results more quickly. This is not the case.

Muscles need days off in order to heal and rebuild. If they are not given at least two rest days each week growth will be minimal. If you feel that you really must exercise every day of the week to feel successful then plan some days each week when you only do cardio or stretching and yoga exercises versus lifting.

Weight training requires breaks both within your weekly routine and full week breaks within your overall schedule. Allow yourself and your body these breaks and you will see results more quickly. Deny your muscles the rest they need and you may find yourself struggling to meet your fitness goals.

Still struggling with exactly how often you should take time off from weight lifting? Go PRO today for access to certified personal trainers, workout plans, training logs, and more!

How often should I take a week off from lifting?

How often should you have a rest week from gym?

Is it good to take a rest week from lifting?

Is 2 rest days a week OK?