If you have been on your strength training fitness program for sometime, and have hit a long drawn out plateau, then carefully follow this important fitness tip!

I was unfortunate enough to contract a pretty bad cold last week. Therefore, my physical fitness program suffered as I stayed clear of the gym.

As a result of heavy weight training over the past three months, I unfortunately hit a moderate plateau evident by my strength not increasing.  So I get sick, and am forced to stay away from my fitness workout program. That meant eight whole days away from the gym.

Guess what happened when I returned to the gym? You are probably thinking a loss in muscle strength, and endurance because of all those days off. Nope! There was a huge increase in strength, endurance, and energy. This immediately coming off being ill was somewhat surprising, but not completely.

First off, I am not surprised. What this told me is I was overtraining, and needed to take more days off between strength training fitness program sessions. Even though I was taking 4 days off between weight training sessions, I was still overtraining because my progress of strength gains halted for a week or two.

If this happens to you, take more days off. You might think you need to train more. NO! NO! NO! That may sound logical, but it is counter productive to physiological response to productive exercise. Remember, the body must first recover from the high intensity bout of strength training, and follow that up with adding more muscle. If you go back, and train before these processes have fully completed, you will short circuit your results. This common workout mistake triggers overtraining leading to stagnant, or a decrease in fitness results.

The higher your weight lifting intensity, the more rest you need between workouts. It is that simple!

Once again, if you have not seen physical fitness program progress over the past month, go ahead and take one whole week off. Don’t worry about losing strength, or muscle! Quite honestly, the opposite will occur. You will gain strength, and come back stronger than ever before. Go ahead, and test it! However, remember, that means 7 days of doing very little physically. No cardiovascular training, nothing! Get plenty of sleep, and allow your body to fully recover.

When you go back into the gym, I can pretty much guarantee your strength will increase. Just as it happened to me, you will feel much more powerful, and notice you can squeeze out a few more reps than previously. Seriously, try it! You will be surprised what rest will do for your fitness program results.

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