Met with a Trainer Today. Now I have a question...

dmcw19

Hi,
I am scheduled to start nrol4w a week from today. I am taking a rest week after finishing Chalean Extreme. I get a free training session since I just joined my gym. I know it is free so that they can try to sell you personal training sessions, but I figured I would use it to learn some of the equipment I will need to use like the barbell and squat rack.
The trainer was nice and seemed knowledgeable. Of course, he thought I should do his program which was lifting 3x a week and doing legs one day, upper body one day and core a day....or something like that. I explained what my plan routine would be with stage one and he had a concern which I feel might be valid. He was concerned that if I worked out every other day with workout A and B, I might not be giving my muscles enough time to rest. He thinks it should be a 72 hour rest and since the workouts included many compound movements, I might not be allowing the muscles time to heal.
For those of you that are in or completed stage 1, do you ever feel like 48 hours between is not enough rest? Is this trainer just trying to "sell" me his program, or is this point valid? Has anyone seen better results by waiting 72 hours between the workouts?
Any input is appreciated.

Thanks

2hobbit1

Hi,
Having been through NROLFW as a beginner lifter at the age of 58, I can tell you that everyone's rest needs are different. I had only been a cardio person and wanted to regain some of my lost muscle mass. While I definitely had some DOMS on the days that i first tried something new or pushed myself really hard to complete a set, I never was too sore to come back at it again for the next session in 2 days. The workouts are designed to vary what muscles are being "tortured" ;-} so while you may be targeting the same muscle group in both the A and b workouts, in one session it tends to be a push motion while the other is a pull. You are not really doing the same thing. The NROLFW workouts do not really isolate a single body part like your "trainer" is trying to suggest but rather whole muscle chains. In the real world you don't just use you triceps or you lats or your glutes you use a series of interrelated muscles that work together to execute a real live range of motion.
I was very happy with the increase in strength, balance and flexability I obtained and I'm now getting ready to move on to his new book "new rules of lifting for life".
You will enjoy the program - trust the method and the workout -Lou and Alwyn know what they are talking about!

laurarpa

There were some days when i felt like I needed an extra day - so i took it. There were some weeks when I did that twice and only did 2 sessions that week. It wasn't always the fact that I felt that my body needed it - sometimes it was just life getting in the way. But I liked that I felt that I could do that without compromising my progress.

I was lucky to find a trainer who fully supports the program I picked and consults with me as-needed to review form/answer questions (pretty much 30 minutes every other week now). Mostly she pushes me to make things more challenging - like the ab work. I love her anyway :-)

Phoenix59

I completed Stage 1 a week ago and never had severe DOM issues. I was able to do workouts 3x weekly...Mon, Wed and Fri...without feeling like I needed extra rest time.

Snapplejac

I've only just started and found that I have gone to the gym with sore muscles. However, despite being worried, I didn't feel it impacted the work out and the following day I felt ten times better and less sore than I had on the previous day!

I'm meeting a trainer on Thursday so I'll be asking the same question I think

laurarpa

My issues weren't really DOMS related. Actually they never were. It was more of a general "won't be able to lift as heavy as I have been" /exhaustion related. *shrug*. Probably because I was still doing reformer/kickboxing/combat in between

jrditt

At first i was super sore, so maybe space it out if you are in a lot of pain. Later it was fine and I wasn't sore by the time it was the next lifting day. Make sure to listen to your body.

meshashesha2012

you dont do workouts A and B on the same day. it's A, B, A (if you're doing it 3 days a week) then B, A, B the next week.

i find the 48 hours between has been enough to rest. i do push it pretty hard on the weights (i increase every workout), but i also get plenty of sleep (growth hormone and muscle repairs are done when you sleep, so simply resting isnt enough) and eat plenty of protein.

the only time i needed an extra day was when i dropped my calories too low and it took me longer than normal to repair

and yeah, i normally still go to the gym with DOMS. the warm up and warm up sets really help

in stage 1 there's really only the squats and deadlifts that are working the exact same muscles 2 workouts in a row, but they are different enough that you dont really notice

Polly758

do you ever feel like 48 hours between is not enough rest?

Once I have felt like that, and my workout partner needed two rest days after her first workout. But usually it's just the right amount of sore on my rest day and I'm ready to lift again. Sometimes I'm not even sore on the rest day, oops, so I make sure to increase the weight on everything the next time I do that workout.

Jessica1274

Everyone is different. I "can" workout 3 days a week. I usually have mild muscle soreness, but it's better after a day of rest. However, I'm struggling big time with fatigue. I notice it worsen as the week progresses. I am thinking that once I finish stage 1, I am going to switch to twice a week and see if that makes a difference.

I do think I'm probably eating enough, but I don't sleep well. I imagine that doesn't help any.

dmcw19

Thanks so much for all of the responses. It sounds like I am planning on doing this right. Eating enough and plenty of rest were on my list to practice this week. Tonight, I am going to bed early in hopes of getting used to getting it up earlier. Thanks again!