Although one could think the opposite, muscle gains occur when you are outside the gym, provided that muscles receive adequate nutrients and enough rest. However, most bodybuilding programs focus only on training routines and overlook recuperation, which lead these programs to a probable failure. This post provides a basic understanding of the importance of rest for muscle grow, and some guidelines for allowing your muscles to recover adequately.
Sufficient rest and adequate nutrition are indispensable for bodybuilders in order to build muscle. No matter how hard you train if you don’t pay attention to these factors. In addition, skimping with recovery can lead to overtraining, which can compromise not only your muscle gains but even your health. Rest allows your body to recover after exercise, recuperating the nervous system from the accumulation of stress, as well as permitting muscles rebuild to make them stronger.
Maximizing recovery between training sessions requires a multi-dimensional approach. The first step is having enough quality rest. This includes two aspects. First, you should sleep at least 8 hours per night (preferably 9). This is when growth hormone is mostly released, and when most of the muscle repair and psychological restoration occurs. Try to maintain a regular sleep pattern to maximize recovery. That means not only getting the same amount of sleep every night, but also trying to go to sleep and wake up at the exact same time every day. In addition, a short nap (20-30 minutes) during the day can also contribute to better recovery. Second aspect related to rest includes having enough time to recover between workouts. Limit the number of workouts per week to 3-4, and the keep them short (preferably less than 1 hour). Don’t train again a muscle until it is fully recovered (this may require up to 7 days).
Additionally to rest, adequate nutrition plays a huge role in the recovery process, because it must supply the materials that the body needs to repair and restore the muscle fibers broken by training. Though enough rest and clean nutrition are required for proper recovery, the process can be accelerated using other techniques, such as ‘active rest’, which consists of performing some light activity during the rest periods. This technique includes several forms, ranging from the light aerobic activity and stretching that you can do as a cool-down for your training session, to intercalating periods of light training (high reps) between the heavy ones or performing some light activity during your rest days. Active rest has been demonstrated to support faster recovery than rest alone.
Other techniques such as massage, which contributes to reactivate the peripheral circulation and reduce muscular fatigue, thermotherapy (i.e. application of heat), which increases the blood flow to the targeted area, cryotherapy (i.e. application of cold), which contributes to localized pain relief by reducing spasms and increasing local blood flow, and contrast showers (i.e. changing between heat and cold), which create a rapid variation of vasoconstriction and vasodilatation helping in waste removal and nutrient delivery, can be also used to accelerate recovery. In addition, trying to minimize sudden changes in your life that can induce stress and using relaxation techniques to reduce this stress can also sum in the recovery process.
For more details about the importance of recovery in bodybuilding, check the article “Recuperation & Muscular Growth!” by Randy Herring and the article “Rest & Recovery: The Overlooked Aspect of Training Success” by ISSA.
Sufficient rest and adequate nutrition are indispensable for bodybuilders in order to build muscle. No matter how hard you train if you don’t pay attention to these factors. In addition, skimping with recovery can lead to overtraining, which can compromise not only your muscle gains but even your health. Rest allows your body to recover after exercise, recuperating the nervous system from the accumulation of stress, as well as permitting muscles rebuild to make them stronger.
Maximizing recovery between training sessions requires a multi-dimensional approach. The first step is having enough quality rest. This includes two aspects. First, you should sleep at least 8 hours per night (preferably 9). This is when growth hormone is mostly released, and when most of the muscle repair and psychological restoration occurs. Try to maintain a regular sleep pattern to maximize recovery. That means not only getting the same amount of sleep every night, but also trying to go to sleep and wake up at the exact same time every day. In addition, a short nap (20-30 minutes) during the day can also contribute to better recovery. Second aspect related to rest includes having enough time to recover between workouts. Limit the number of workouts per week to 3-4, and the keep them short (preferably less than 1 hour). Don’t train again a muscle until it is fully recovered (this may require up to 7 days).
Additionally to rest, adequate nutrition plays a huge role in the recovery process, because it must supply the materials that the body needs to repair and restore the muscle fibers broken by training. Though enough rest and clean nutrition are required for proper recovery, the process can be accelerated using other techniques, such as ‘active rest’, which consists of performing some light activity during the rest periods. This technique includes several forms, ranging from the light aerobic activity and stretching that you can do as a cool-down for your training session, to intercalating periods of light training (high reps) between the heavy ones or performing some light activity during your rest days. Active rest has been demonstrated to support faster recovery than rest alone.
Other techniques such as massage, which contributes to reactivate the peripheral circulation and reduce muscular fatigue, thermotherapy (i.e. application of heat), which increases the blood flow to the targeted area, cryotherapy (i.e. application of cold), which contributes to localized pain relief by reducing spasms and increasing local blood flow, and contrast showers (i.e. changing between heat and cold), which create a rapid variation of vasoconstriction and vasodilatation helping in waste removal and nutrient delivery, can be also used to accelerate recovery. In addition, trying to minimize sudden changes in your life that can induce stress and using relaxation techniques to reduce this stress can also sum in the recovery process.
For more details about the importance of recovery in bodybuilding, check the article “Recuperation & Muscular Growth!” by Randy Herring and the article “Rest & Recovery: The Overlooked Aspect of Training Success” by ISSA.
Posts
3 comments:
Thanks for informative post.
Jeff
You're welcome. Thanks for reading!
tks
Post a Comment