Can you count a "sick week" as a "deload/back off week"?

Jon Brody · 04-28-2009, 01:14 PM

So, I'm in the midst of what would be my 3rd, standard workweek -- yet, it's looking more and more that I'll be lucky to just break a sweat throughout this week b/c of illness.

Question: assuming I hardly tax my body in the gym this week, and just rest/relax/recover, could I essentially consider this week as something equivolent to a "back off" week (which I would have been doing next week, normally)? And, assuming a speedy recovery I simply treat next week as a fresh cycle and go for another 3 standard weeks, to then be followed by a "deload/back off" week?

Curious as to how you treat and count periods where you're doing nothing but resting due to some illness, and then foraying back into the grind.

Steven Low · 04-28-2009, 05:48 PM

Technically the answer is yes. But it all depends on how you FEEL.

Arden Cogar Jr. · 05-11-2009, 02:05 PM

Jon,
Throw a lot of foam rolling, self myofascial release, and stretching into "sick week - and I'd say, Hell yeah.

All the best,
Arden

Brian Lawyer · 05-11-2009, 04:42 PM

This is a good question, I have wondered before myself. Here is my opinion. While you can count it as a backoff week, I don't think you would get the same benefits as a regular back off week. What I mean is for a regular back off week, you normally hit the end of a heavy cycle, do some light/moderate work, to let your joints, tendons, muscles, etc. recover and then start your next cycle fresh.

On the other hand, if you take a week off, from say flu or a bad cold, chances are you aren't starting your next week off "fresh". More likely than not you may have even backslid a little.

Brian Lawyer · 05-11-2009, 04:46 PM

Oh sorry, I just went back and read your first question. To answer, if I was following some structured 4-6 week workout program and got sick in the third week. I would try to pick up the cycle right where I left off and finish the program in the order as Rxd.

So with that in mine then no I would not count it as a back off week and thus start back at the beginning of the next cycle or start the program over.

Garrett Smith · 05-11-2009, 06:11 PM

If it is possible that work/training/life stress combined is what broke you down enough to get you sick, you might just need some extra "easy" time after you fully recover.

Go by your internal desire to train. If that is strong, go for it. If you simply want to train because your brain is telling you you are falling behind (but your "desire" to train is still weak) then you need more deloading.

Jon Brody · 05-12-2009, 04:53 PM

Interesting. Thx guys! FWIW, I ended up basically going through my follow-up week with varied effort, ranging from "modest" to "hard" depending on how I felt. The final day of that training week I actually PR'ed some heavy lifts. Though, I cut the work-week short by a day and added in an extra rest day, leading into this week.