Before and after every WLC workout program, you need to take a full week break from weight lifting and any strenuous activity.
Cardio is not allowed during the break. Very low intensity cardio will be fine such as walking or playing outside with your kids and/or dogs.
Just attempt to rest as much as possible during the break and let your body fully recover. You want to de-sensitive your body to any type of large resistance against your muscles.
The full break allows your body to fully recover from the fatigue you’ve added to it over the past few months. At the end of your break, your muscles are not accustomed to any load at all so even light weights will build muscle at the beginning of each phase. Now you know why I always recommend that you start each phase with light weights.
Remember that this full week break is a requirement. Do not skip the break. Do not try to come up with a good reason to skip the break. Just do it. Enjoy your time off. Have some fun.
One thing that you don’t want to do is take a break from everything else you do on the program. You still need to follow all guidelines of the program during the break.
Do not let your diet break down. Eat good foods during your break, and you’ll continue to see results. Eat bad foods and you could screw up all the hard work you’ve done over the past few months.
If you start your break on a Saturday, you should have 10 full days of rest until the following Monday. So when you hear me talk about a full week break, I really mean 10 full days of rest. Take the full break. Your body will need it after the workout program in this manual.
