Aw, yes, rest.
Perhaps nothing is more frustrating to me then trying to convince a beginner that his spending 2 hours in the gym every day without rest won’t make him a big man. Rather, he’ll likely end up losing muscle.
Tell the beginner that and he’ll often just stare back at you with glossy eyes. He’ll think you are just underestimating his determination. He’ll think you’re way to conservative and that you don’t understand that he wants big time results and he wants them in a hurry.
I understand the “beginner logic.” In virtually all phases of life we are justly rewarded for long, hard work. Study 5 hours a day for a test and you’ll get a better grade then the guy who studies just one every other day. Stay after work everyday and you’ll be in line for the promotion before the guy who simply clocks out at 5:00 and heads home to watch South Park. Spend every waking moment practicing your PS3 skills and you’ll be able to kick all your friend’s asses with a joystick.
But bodybuilding can put you in bizarro world. Here you get rewarded for a little intense effort followed by ample relaxation. And you can get punished harshly for too much intense effort in the gym.
It is quite a change from the reality you thought you knew. Suddenly you get rewarded for kicking up the feet and watching South Park? Suddenly you’re the one packing on muscle while your over-achieving friend labors for hours on end at the gym with no results? Suddenly you’re kicking your friend’s asses without the need of a joystick?
The reason this occurs lies in the science behind muscle growth. It’s explained rather well and without getting complicated in this article…
A Day of Rest Is A Must For Muscles.
And if you want to hear me rant a little more on the subject, see this article at the site…
Adequate Rest To Avoid Overtraining And Maximize Muscle Gain.
Now, I’m going to check my email and just pray I don’t find another one notifying me that they have decided to triple up on one of my sample bodybuilding routines and will let me know the “spectacular” results they get from their ultra-aggressive approach. I already know the results – they’ll soon feel weaker, they’ll find the only weight they gain will be a little body fat, they’ll likely get colds and flus as their immune systems are beaten down, etc.