Rest

[bhindibhagee]

Basically...how important is rest, and in what sort of quantities?
I have recently joined a gym and am planning on going and doing a pretty strenuous workout once every day. My goal is to bulk up my muscle mass. Is this too much? Should i set aside days for rest, and if so how many? Or is it ok to do that as long as i eat loads?

 

[ballast]

Basically...how important is rest, and in what sort of quantities?

Put simply, adequate rest is critical if you want to achieve your goals.If you do not allow enough time for your body to recover and compensate for the demands you have placed upon it through physical training, you will not grow bigger, stronger or more enduring.

The amount of rest required is very individualistic.Some people recover faster than others.Factors such as age, training experience, previous injuries, and nutrition all play a large part.Only you can answer this question through trial and error.

The most effective way of doing this is starting a training and nutrition log.Record your workouts, meals, amount of sleep each night, and your resting pulse rate each morning.Review this log often and within a few months time, you should be able to see what works for you and what doesn't.

 

[Adler1983]

I agree with ballast; however, there are some basic tenets to fitness training that hold true.

When weight lifting; take a minimum of 30 seconds between sets; no more than about 90 seconds. This is up for debate depending on set/rep count and intensity level, but 30 - 90 seconds is a very good windo to aim for. Give your muscles a day off in between workouts to recover; and to avoid overtraining. IE: If you do an upper body workout (chest, back, shoulders etc) on monday, don't work those muscles again until wednesday at the earliest.

It is my personal opinion that the human body is designed to be active; and everyone should participate in exercise most days of the week. You have so many options; lift 3 days a week, cardio 3 days etc.

 

[spockafina]

I think a good rule of thumb here is that if your muscles are sore, don't work them. Do a 3 or 4 day split instead of full-body work-outs daily. This way you will give your body adequate time to rest and build muscle. Remember: the body only builds muscle during rest!