You’ve decided to take a week off of training. No, it’s not what you think. You’ll be training with more intensity than you can imagine. What you’re really taking off from is your standard training style.
Toss that knowledge, experience and training style out the window. You’re ready for a 7-day blast of “shock my body into some seriously new explosive growth”. As you probably already know, the body adapts very quickly to any demands we place upon it.
You’ve grown about as big and strong as you’re going to get while using your current training system. And that is why it’s time to mix things up. Abandon your standard training system – Give these five “de-loading” training styles a try!
Carries
This style of training is the most basic, and can be used in just about any set of circumstances. Find a place, find a heavy piece of resistance (read: anything heavy) and get to work carrying it from place to place. Drag an old couch across a field. Flip a tire for a quarter mile. Run 40 yards while carrying a 45 pound plate over your head. Drag a sled containing a gym buddy. Give the farmer’s walk or the goblet carry a try.
Simply hoist a barbell overhead and walk until you cannot walk any more. Use your imagination, get creative, and spend a week training in this manner. Your stabilizer and core muscles, along with legs, abs, grip, and many other tents of functional core strength will come to life!
Walking
This is, by far, the simplest and most basic workout known to man for the past 200,000 years. You can keep it as simple as you’d like (step on the treadmill and zone out to some Netflix) or you can get fancy (navigate a Tough Mudder course).
As long as you’re walking great distances, you’ll be giving your body an unusual amount of activity, in a brand new way. You’ll also be giving your “weight lifting” muscle a nice break while targeting some new ones which may have been neglected. And you’ll grow leaner as well!
Rock Climbing
If your gym or training facility has a rock wall – put it to use! Spend a week doing nothing but aggressive rock wall climbing. See how quickly you can increase your difficulty level and become an expert at this extremely challenging training style.
It may surprise you just how fast your muscles develop the capability to carefully navigate the never-ending wall. And when you’re ready… Try the real thing!
Gym Class
Without a doubt, your gym offers a wide variety of classes which you have walked past without noticing, for the past decade or three. Who knows what kind of benefit you can derive from a week of training in an entirely new way.
Even top bodybuilders and powerlifters have discovered new skillsets and care-targeting principles which can be derived from spinning, Pilates, CrossFit, yoga, or other kinds of classes. Mix it up and leave your comfort zone far behind!
Spartan Training
Be a beast… on the clock! Start your timer, then complete the following movements, taking only the minimum amount of rest that you need between sets.
- 50 pushups
- 50 deadlifts using
- 135 pounds
- 50 pull-ups
- 50 box jumps
- 50 floor wipes
- Collapse on the floor, count your 3 minutes, and do it again, seeing if you are able to complete the cycle in less time.
Even with any of these protocols, you should continually work to mix things up. Don’t fall into a rut, even if it pertains to rock climbing or walking.
Always find new ways to change up your protocols to keep the body guessing. Keep taking your supplements - you'll need them now more than ever!
The result will be a continual adaptation to the demands you place upon your body – in terms of new muscle mass and strength!
