Weight Training and Rest/Recovery

A friend reminded me of this and I hope I'm not repeating what someone else already posted. If you work out with weights for toning or building muscle, you should really get a grasp of these concepts I'm going to put out here. This can save you some pain and/or injury.

First and foremost, I do not hold a degree in anything related to sports, fitness, dieting, biology, etc. To my credit, I have been working out since the mid-90's with a good deal of success. What that in mind, here's what I think you should know:

1. Muscles need time to recover after being stressed! If you want to work out your biceps, do not work them out 3 days in a row. This is a common mistake young men make to get big biceps. Instead, let them rest for a few of days so the next time you hit them they'll be stronger and ready to take on the weight you stressed them with earlier.

2. If you work out biceps on Monday, it's best NOT to do back exercises on Tuesday. Why, you ask? When you do back exercises (primary muscle group), you're using a lot of biceps (secondary muscle group) to complete the exercises. So you stress your back muscles and biceps on Monday, then Tuesday the biceps get hit again.

3. If you work out your chest on Tuesday, it's best NOT to work out your triceps on Wednesday. Same princple as above, chest is primary muscle, triceps are secondary muscle.

4. Same holds true in reverse: If you work out back on Monday and try to do biceps on Tuesday. Your biceps will be a little worn out from Monday's workout and you'll be stressing them 2 days in a row.

Here's my personal workout. This give my muscle groups plenty of rest and by the time I hit the group again they're completely ready to be stressed.

Day 1: Chest & Triceps - I do chest exercises 1st and that, in turn, warms up my triceps.
Day 2: Back & Biceps - I do back exercises 1st and that, in turn, warms up my biceps.
Day 3: rest (cardio)
Day 4: Shoulders & Traps
Day 5: Legs & Calves
Day 6: rest (cardio)
repeat day 1

As you can see, my chest and triceps get stressed on day 1 and I don't touch those muscles again for at least 5 days. Same with my back and biceps, etc. There's plenty of ways to mix up your workout so you're not stressing the primary or secondary muscle group on a daily basis. Use your imagination.

This isn't something set in stone. It's just a way to maximize muscle recovery between workout days, that's all. There's plenty of people doing other weight training routines with much success.

Also, protein and BCAA's are your muscle's best friends. Invite them into your body often, your muscles will love you for it and even show you their love.

I welcome any replies. I know there's some pretty smart people here so comment your heart out! :laugh: