Why Breaks From Training INCREASE Your Gains
The short answer
Yes, taking a planned break from training can actually increase your gains. When you train hard continuously, the muscle-building (mTOR-related) signaling in your muscle fibers can become desensitized over time. A short, intentional break or deload lets that signaling re-sensitize, so when you return your body responds to training stimulus more strongly than if you'd never stopped. The key word is planned: strategic rest, not random missed sessions.
Want to learn more about how taking breaks in your training may increase your gains? Listen to this episode of the Garage Gym Athlete Podcast below.
Why Breaks From Training INCREASE Your Gains
In this episode Jerred, Joe, and Ashley dive into the science and break down a study on taking breaks from training. It shows that you may be able to increase your gains by taking some time off. The crew also covers this week's Meet Yourself Saturday workout, River Heist, with tips to help you hit the time cap.
What the research says
The featured study, Repeated and Interrupted Resistance Exercise Induces the Desensitization and Re-Sensitization of mTOR-Related Signaling in Human Skeletal Muscle Fibers, looked at how the mTOR pathway (a central driver of muscle protein synthesis and growth) responds to repeated resistance exercise. The finding the coaches highlight is that this signaling can become desensitized when training is repeated without interruption, and then re-sensitized when training is interrupted by a break. In plain terms: the same workout produces a bigger growth signal when it follows a period of rest. That's the physiological reason a well-timed deload or training break supports your long-term progress rather than sabotaging it.
In this 15-minute episode we discuss:
- Training breaks
- Deload weeks
- Training gains
- River Heist
- Rowing and ground to overhead
- Tips for MYS
- And a lot more!
Diving deeper…
If you want to go a little bit deeper on this episode, here are some links for you:
Study of the Week
Garage Gym Athlete Workout of the Week
Want training that builds rest and deloads into the plan for you? See how it works inside the Garage Gym Athlete membership.
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Thanks for listening to the podcast, and if you have any questions be sure to add it to the comments below!
To becoming better!
Jerred
Frequently asked questions
Do rest days and breaks actually help you build muscle?
Yes. Rest is when your body adapts to the training you've done. Research on resistance exercise shows that muscle-building (mTOR-related) signaling can become desensitized with continuous training and re-sensitize after a break, which is part of why planned time off supports continued gains.
How is a training break different from just skipping workouts?
A training break or deload is planned and intentional. You schedule lighter work or time off to allow recovery and re-sensitization. Randomly skipping sessions doesn't follow a structure and won't give you the same strategic benefit.
What is a deload week?
A deload week is a planned period of reduced training volume or intensity built into a program to let your body recover before progressing again. It's a structured way to take a break without losing the rhythm of your training.
Train like an athlete. For life.
Programming built this way: hard when it counts, sustainable the rest of the time.
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