How Should I Train Part 5
One of the things I stress with training is that you really need to rest the muscles that you train. It is the rest that causes the growth. That might seem strange, but it is the way it works. Think about a building that suffers from an earthquake. There will be cracks in the walls; some of the building might have collapsed and is in need of repairs. You send in the repairers, and if they are given enough time, they can do a really good job and reinforce the building. In fact, in a lot of cases, it will be a lot stronger than the original. Now - if you have another earthquake before they are finished, the already weakened structure will end up not being able to cope with the quake, and you will end up with a pile of rubble. That is the same with our muscles. They need time to rest and repair so they can come back a lot stronger than before. I have found through experience and doing a fair amount of research that a good rest period should be between 48 - 72 hours. Before 48 hours the muscles have not had enough time. After 72 hours the effects of the training gradually start to wear off. Your muscles then start to very slowly return to their original state before you trained. Obviously that will take a few weeks to happen but we are looking at getting the best results with the least amount of time and effort.
The following is the kind of training I like to do which gives me the rest and enough of a workout for each muscle every week. You will see that I manage to train each muscle 2x a week. There are a lot of people who swear by training each muscle only once a week. That is up to you. I have found, through trial and error, twice a week is better for me. Whether you decide to train them 2x a week or once a week both would be quite acceptable.
I try to work muscles that are near to each other so the blood is not sent from the top of the body to the bottom in a training session.
Mon & Thurs - Chest, Triceps and Biceps
Tue & Fri - Back, Shoulders and Abs
Wed & Sat - Legs (Quads, Hamstrings, Calves)
I hope that gives you a good idea of what and when to train.
Comments