A big part of my Viable Vegan Voyage is getting to my fittest ever by the age of 40!

I love to work out, I live to smash a weights session in my home gym. I love the feeling of leaving everything behind, when it is either focus on the lift in front of you or have your head crushed my the weight in play. The freedom from my thoughts is invigorating. The endorphin rush from an intense weights session is addictive SRC I love the feeling of strength in my body. While I was letting my body "go to the dogs" prior to my Viable vegan voyage beginning (a little bit too long in reality) I remember feeling weak and lethargic, not strong in myself. This was more than just a physical feeling, it was an emotional and mental feeling too. When I work out I get this immense surge of power through my body that can last for days.

Thats not me btw!

So why take a break?

Its all about recovery stupid. Well you are not stupid but you get my drift. When we are working our 3 times a week with heavy weights sessions we never properly recover. We need to give our muscle time to repair as close as possible to completely. Sure we can chow down on as much protein as possible but that is only part of the equation. Our bodies during almost every action breakdown muscle, that is the circle. We break down muscle strands during movement/ exercise and our bodies build them back up making them stronger than previous. For me taking a week off every 8 - 10 weeks gives me an edge as opposed to just heavy lifting every week of the year. Yes, i feel like crap during this week, I am tired and all I want to do is jump into the gym and do some big compound exercises like squats or dead lifts. But I must resist if I want to break through my plateaus. Just before I took my break I attained a personal best on bench and I was totally pumped! When I go back I will have lost this PB but I will quickly catch back up to is and pass through this weight. That is the benefit of my spring break!

Thats not me either!

Man I feel huge!

Not working our for the week leaves me feeling sluggish and like I am carrying round a literal spare tyre. I try to reduce my calorific intake on my week off and to be honest I find that it is hard to eat at all sometimes. I am rearing to go and get back into my sessions. This is another benefit of taking a week off too. My desire and will to jump back into it grows with every day. I would love if I had fully recouped from my knee injury but I still have pains and I just cant risk causing damage to the area. I am really hoping that this will not be my down fall for my voyage. I am also really looking forward to the deep sleep that I experience on my workout days. You could literally pick me up and move me to another room when I sleep on these days and I wouldn't even notice! LOL

Stay strong folks, till the next time, eat clean, lift heavy and smile!

This is the third in my Viable Vegan Voyage series. If you like you can catch up on the others below.

Part one.

Part two.

All images unless otherwise sourced and noted as such are my own. Sourced images are clickable to show their source. My own images are typically taken with my HTC ONE.

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