exercise breaks for building muscle

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sarah7591
sarah7591 Posts: 415 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Hi: I do pull ups daily (with a band to assist). I have one of those over the door frame bars. I do 3 repetitions of 10-12 pull ups each. Sometimes I don't do the repetitions one right after another and do it throughout the day. Say two repetitions in the morning and one in the evening. I do this daily but now I wonder if I should be doing it every other day for my muscles to repair and build muscle. What are your thoughts. Thank you!

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  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,811 Member
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    Are you only doing pull ups and if so, why?

    As a general note your muscles are repairing/building 24 x 7 and although they need recovery that recovery doesn't have to be rest days. Plus of course you get rest when you sleep.

    Do your muscles feel over-worked or fatigued?
    If yes then give them a break, working the opposite set of muscles perhaps.....

  • sarah7591
    sarah7591 Posts: 415 Member
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    Thanks for your reply! I am doing pull ups to help with my upper body strength (I am 64 and I am afraid of losing muscle). My muscles never feel fatigue after doing this. I am a diver and it is really hard for me to go up the ladder in the boat to get out with all that equipment on. I am thinking I may need upper leg strength to help me with that as well. I do run several times a week (5 miles or so) and I also swim on alternate days. I just don't want to lose muscle. Any advice you give would be appreciated. Thanks again.
  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,811 Member
    edited September 2021
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    sarah7591 wrote: »
    Thanks for your reply! I am doing pull ups to help with my upper body strength (I am 64 and I am afraid of losing muscle). My muscles never feel fatigue after doing this. I am a diver and it is really hard for me to go up the ladder in the boat to get out with all that equipment on. I am thinking I may need upper leg strength to help me with that as well. I do run several times a week (5 miles or so) and I also swim on alternate days. I just don't want to lose muscle. Any advice you give would be appreciated. Thanks again.

    I think you would do better to work on overall strength and don't just do one particular exercise.
    For strength/resistance work it can be useful to think of pairs of exercises in different planes of movement, a shoulder press for example work pairs well with a pull up to work the opposing muscles.

    Ladders should predominantly be your legs pushing rather than your arms pulling. There's load of squat variations to choose from or simply climb stairs two at a time if you prefer more dynamic movements.

    If your muscles aren't feeling fatigued then unlikely they need rest. The other way to look at it of course is that your pull ups aren't challenging enough anymore and you could usefully increase the difficulty (more volume or less assistance).


  • Chieflrg
    Chieflrg Posts: 9,097 Member
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    There are better ways to load the stimulus needed to make progress than 3 sets if 12 every day.

    Not knowing your equipment available and train history I can only suggest you do a full body workout utilizing autoregulation.

    This will also combat your concrtn to reverse sarcopenia which should be a primary concern for you.
  • sarah7591
    sarah7591 Posts: 415 Member
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    Thank you both for your replies...i sincerely value your input. I agree I need to work on my legs more to get up the ladder rather than my arm strength. I like your idea of doing two stairs at a time and squats. I really want to get a personal trainer for a few sessions to help with strength but need to wait until the COVID is better where I live. Thanks again!
  • Sportertje354
    Sportertje354 Posts: 50 Member
    edited September 2021
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    sarah7591 wrote: »
    Thank you both for your replies...i sincerely value your input. I agree I need to work on my legs more to get up the ladder rather than my arm strength. I like your idea of doing two stairs at a time and squats. I really want to get a personal trainer for a few sessions to help with strength but need to wait until the COVID is better where I live. Thanks again!

    Apps like Workout Trainer by Skimble offer online personal trainers for a fee, and with corona for example personal trainers and physical therapists have become more adapted to giving online advice.

    You might have a broader selection then than just your area in case there isn't a lot there geared towards your training needs.
  • Retroguy2000
    Retroguy2000 Posts: 1,515 Member
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    You may not need rest days based on what you're doing, but you should definitely mix things up. It sounds to me like you've plateaued, and you're not getting any balance there, and it's because you've plateaued that you aren't feeling any fatigue. Lose the bands. You're experienced enough. That will make your muscles work a bit more.

    Also consider adding in other exercises for legs and push, such as squats. If you don't have much equipment available, do lunges. If you have some weights, perhaps a kettlebell, you could do goblet squats. With a light kettlebell you could also do Turkish Get Up for overall strength, which would probably help you climbing ladders with weight during your day. You could do pushups for your 'push' work.

    You mentioned you go running. How about rucking? i.e. get a vest and add some weight, then hike.

    Since your goal is not to lose muscle and you mentioned you're 64, you should be taking more protein than the average person needs.
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,526 Member
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    sarah7591 wrote: »
    Hi: I do pull ups daily (with a band to assist). I have one of those over the door frame bars. I do 3 repetitions of 10-12 pull ups each. Sometimes I don't do the repetitions one right after another and do it throughout the day. Say two repetitions in the morning and one in the evening. I do this daily but now I wonder if I should be doing it every other day for my muscles to repair and build muscle. What are your thoughts. Thank you!
    Muscle building involves progressive overload, volume training and recovery. But the way you're doing your SETS (repetition is the actually counts in a set, so you do 3 SETS of 12 repetitions) split up like that, there's not enough stimulation to encourage muscle growth efficiently. You may get stronger, but if you're looking to build muscle, you keep those sets together and start reducing the assistance of the bands.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
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    Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
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