How Vacations & Bodybuilding Can Work Together For Sustained Muscle Building and Fat Reduction

Those who pursue bodybuilding have different opinions on time off from weight training, with some believing that several weeks of consistent bodybuilding workouts should be followed with a break from training of at minimum one week, while others worrying about the very idea of vacation from bodybuilding, to the point that they try to find a workout facility even when they are on a voyage with family or friends. The true answer to how a fitness enthusiast must deal with time off in order to avoid any significant adverse impact to muscle gains or fat loss is somewhere in the middle of these two extremes.

It's very easy to become obsessive about weight training, to the point where skipping a workout brings about fears of a substantial muscle loss or body fat gain in a brief period, and this can cause those who pursue weight lifting to actually try and avoid time off so that they can remain consistent with their weight training workouts at all times. This to the individual who does not live a bodybuilding lifestyle seems excessive, and there is no doubt that, mentally, following such a Spartan existence can bring about depression and alienation from family and friends, so avoiding breaks from weight lifting workouts completely is never a reasonable response.

Others aim for vacations from weight lifting every several weeks, performing their weight training and cardiovascular sessions for a month, and then taking a 1-2 week sabbatical from weight lifting before beginning another month long weight training and cardiovascular routine. This technique can delay muscle building progress significantly, so I recommend, as an alternative, planning breaks from muscle building around special occasions (Christmas, visiting family), and saving unexpected time off for times when sickness surfaces (flu, injuries, etc), so that you can comfortably move away from weight lifting sessions for a couple of weeks during periods of the year when you have places to see and friends to spend time with, or when you are sidelined with an unexpected sickness or injury.

The amount of muscle lost during a break from weight training can be substantial if the time away from such workouts is excessive, so my recommended period to vacation from weight lifting is seven days, and preferably, a vacation from weight training should never exceed two weeks, as the body begins to burn muscle after 1-2 weeks (dependent upon genetics). If you are taking a trip that requires a significant time away from your standard weight training workout routine, consider following a reduced frequency schedule, where each muscle group is trained one time every seven days with low volume, to encourage muscle maintenance during an extended period away from weight training. This method can be used for time off from weight training that lasts any length, but is vital if your time away from weight training will exceed a two week period. Such an approach allows for very short bodybuilding workouts that stimulate the muscle sufficiently to delay muscle loss.

Many times bodybuilders believe that since muscles grow during rest, long periods away from weight lifting will cause the body to achieve superior progress compared with infrequent breaks from bodybuilding, and rest will help with muscle gains if in fact sufficient stimulation has occurred through weight training, but this also means that lengthy breaks from bodybuilding will not only remove the overload necessary for continued muscle gains, but also eventually begin to burn away muscle tissue, as the body constantly adapts to the most recent level of stress, and will begin the muscle reduction process during extended vacation breaks from bodybuilding workouts.

Regarding the frequency of breaks from weight training workouts, this will depend on your lifestyle. For maximum results, the fewer extended breaks you take, the more muscle you will gain, yet a one week break several times per year is helpful for the body and mind, but only if such periods away from weight training occur at extended intervals, with at least two months (preferably three) of consistency preceding a break from bodybuilding.

Also, do not neglect the importance of proper diet during a vacation from weight training, as abandoning ample carbohydrates or protein during vacations from weight training will cause your body to quickly reduce muscle, where otherwise only minor negative change will occur. Most are excited about eating during vacations away from weight training, but just make sure to ingest sufficient protein during such periods, and aim for carbohydrates at maintenance levels in order to discourage unnecessary muscle loss.