Muscle Recovery

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rudiger650

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Hi Everybody,

My name's Keith and this is my first post.

I'm a painter and drywall repairer so I'm looking to design a weight training regimen that maximizes the energy I put into it. In other words I only have so much energy after work, so I don't wanna waste it on over-training.

This goal has lead me to a question, or more of a debate really. I've perused the body building forums and I've heard things like, train a muscle group ONCE a week taking 7 days or so to recover. Also, if you don't give it enough time you could be damagin any new muscles youve developed.

But in fitness class back in college I was taught that your muscles start to break down again if you wait more than 2 days to work the same muscles.

So which is it?

My goal is to get reasonably toned by summer, and I have some flab to lose. I've been told the best way to burn fat is to work every muscle in your body, and then do like 20 minutes of cardio 3-7 days a week.

So I appreciate the groups imput on what the fastest most energy effecient way to build muscle/ lose weight is.

By the way, all my money is going toward the business investment that will hopefully get me OUT of this crappy job, so please don't recommend suppliments and books and stuff I have to buy.

Thanks so much,
Keith
 
muscles need at least 48 to 72 hours to recover from a workout, id recommend working out 3 days a week, and doing cardio on the other 3 days, and resting sunday.

chest\legs
cardio
back\biceps
cardio
triceps\shoulders\cardio
rest

something like that , with a good diet and high protein meals, u should be ok :)
 
If I did chest/biceps/shoulders/back/triceps... you know the upper body one day, plus cardio

then legs and abs and cardio the next day, how long should i wait before repeating?

Is there anything wrong with this combo?
 
For a full upper body exercise and a full lower body exercise, you're gonna feel REALLY tired after those work outs. It would also take a lot fo your time to do all of those exercises in one session.

If you really want to do that, do two upper body sessions and one lower body session per week and add cardio.
 
maybe i dont do as many exercisess per muscle group as most...

i used to do the whole body with stretching and cardio in about 3 hours, and then did that every other day, but i could never keep it up for more than like a week and a half

so i trimmed some stuff i thought was more unneccessary and decided maybe upper lower alternating would be more manageable.

So does an hour and a half a day seem like too much?
 
1.5 hours is fine if that's what you're used to. I don't know what your schedule is like but this usually works well for most-
M-upper, T-lower, W-off, Th-upper, F-off, Sat-lower, Sun-off

I'm not sure what equipment you have access to or what your program looks like but keep it fairly simple.

If you had free weights, an example of a simple upper body day would be
A1)bench:4X6
A2)bent over row:4X6
B1)inc db press:3X12
B2)1 arm db row:3X12
C1)bb curl:1X15, 2X8
C2)skull crushers:1X15, 2X8
 
nah i'm using the machines mostly, but i might get a bowflex eventually since i like to watch tv while i work out, ive also been pondering buying property in the woods and just setting up my own outside "gym" with a bar mounted between two trees and a few five gallon buckets of water (with measurments on them), a scale, and a bench and some other stuff.

Mind if I ask if you guys are pretty cut? Since thats what I'm going for.
 
Don't waste your money on a bowflex. For $250, I got a decent olympic weight set (the kind of free weights you see in gyms). Check out Walmart and any local second-hand sports shops. You could get a great deal.

The reason bowflex isn't great (and machines for that matter) is that it can constrict motion. Not allowing you to have full range. The resistance bars will degrade over time, and eventually need to be replaced.

Your best bet is to just save up for some free weights. They are the best thing for gaining a muscle, or even just to stay in shape.

J;)
 
Dominiej said:
Don't waste your money on a bowflex. For $250, I got a decent olympic weight set (the kind of free weights you see in gyms). Check out Walmart and any local second-hand sports shops. You could get a great deal.

The reason bowflex isn't great (and machines for that matter) is that it can constrict motion. Not allowing you to have full range. The resistance bars will degrade over time, and eventually need to be replaced.

Your best bet is to just save up for some free weights. They are the best thing for gaining a muscle, or even just to stay in shape.

J;)
Click to expand...

Free weights are a good idea. The bowflex is fine too. Yes, many machines(like universal gyms etc) restrict your range of motion, but you have as much a range of motion with a bowflex as you do dumbells. As far as the resistance rods wearing out....I've had a bowflex that I bought used over 5 years ago and it has seen a ton of usage. I tested the resistance with a chatillion scale back in January, and the resistance were still spot on. Just be sure to secure the top of the rods together with the strap provided after you're done working out. If by some miracle you do wear one out, they have a lifetime free replacement warranty.

As far as watching TV while you weight train, not good. You should really br focusing on good form, not going through the motions with the boob tube on. Riding an exercise bike and watching TV is one thing, strength training is another.
 
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