Physical Training Needs Breaks to Keep it Going

Have you ever wondered why new exercise routines work in giving you great results. Most people will see superior results when they team up with a new coach trainer or sometimes when they go on a crash course of intense training. But in some cases, we can even see great results when we go off intense training. And it is not uncommon to come back stronger after a one-week layoff from intense training.

Training for aesthetics throws up interesting questions here. On the one hand you have those that believe in hard intense training for every session, while on the other, there are some who promote moderate intensity training. It becomes confusing for the layman to know which system to follow as both these camps have produced strong and muscular physiques.

It is important to note here that those that are not on anabolic steroids will not see the same muscle size and strength gains as someone who is using them. This makes it even more vital that we use the optimum training methods to promote natural muscle and strength gains. This is where the Periodization principle -which has been used in sports training for years with great success -comes in.

It breaks down training into periods which focus on building specific qualities in a sportsperson at different times of the year.These periods are broken down into Post-season (immediately once the main competitions in a season are over), Off-season (when there are no competitions), Pre-season (period immediately before the main competitions begins) and In-season (during competitions).

Though the average person training for muscle gain and strength doesn't plan to compete like a sportsperson, the breakdown of training allows us to focus on different phases such as recovery , muscle endurance, strength and power (strength + speed). If a person only trained for muscle endurance, strength or power the whole year he or she would easily overtrain and suffer from injuries and boredom as well.

But unfortunately most regular people training for muscle size and strength in the gym only keep training hard throughout the year and there comes a time when the results in both strength and size stop.This is called a training plateau. Therefore it is important to vary your training routines throughout the year to focus on different aspects of fitness.Also remember that any new exercise routine or protocol will give you results for a maximum of six to eight weeks which is why it is said that in fitness `Everything works, but nothing works for long.'

Follow these points to see consistent gains and avoid overtraining.

Take a one week break from training, once every three months to allow for recovery and recuperation, and also to get a life outside fitness training.

Change your training pro gramme at least every six weeks because remember that everything works... but nothing works for long!

Train for hypertrophy , strength as well as power during the whole year to be truly strong.

Train smart and not just hard the whole time. A smart exerciser knows when to push himself and when to back off. Screaming sessions of training the whole year might give you an ego boost, but your joints and muscles will sing a different song.

Make deep tissue massages, foam rolling, stretching, ice baths, meditation and other recovery methods part of your training methods to op timise recuperation.