Posted: 8/5/2016 6:42:44 PM EDT
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Lifting near my 5rm in ohp, squat the other day I pulled a muscle in my neck- that deal where you get the horrible throbbing headache at the back of your skull when you fuck up your breathing, form, whatever. I need to take a few weeks off either way, getting burnt out. I don't want to lose overall strength gains I've made lifting the past few months, while simultaneously working on cardio and what not. Just want to recoup.
How heavy do you need to lift in relation to your maxes to maintain strength and not lose ground? Like I was hoping I could just knock out a few sets of super low weight so I can focus on some recovery from the acute headache thing and what not. |
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You should be deloading every so often anyway. Your muscles/CNS/ligaments/whole body needs that rest, and without it you'll stall and see slower progression anyway, so you're right to take a break. In a low couple weeks, I doubt you'll see any strength loss, especially if eating at maintenance or surplus. If anything you'll lift better after a short break.
I don't know how experienced you are, but depending on your intensity I've seen a lot of experts recommending a deload every 6-8wks which goes a long way in minimizing injury and fatigue, and allowing better progression. |
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Yep a deload isn't a bad thing.
If it's over a couple weeks I lose strength. The older you are the faster you de train. Either way do the best you can and accept that it is just going to happen sometimes. Part of the deal. Lifting light wouldn't help me keep strength but it would help me not get too sore when I hit the gas again. |