by Lacey Lenning

Created on: November 21, 2010

Rest and Resistance Training

Pushing your body to its uppermost limits in your strength training regimen?  Hitting the gym faithfully 7 days per week?  In the future, you might encounter a sudden halt to your progress.  Beware of the signs of overtraining.  Though you may mistakenly believe the adage that more is always better, that proverb is incorrect when applied to weight training.  Through proper training, rest, and nutrition, you can achieve astonishing success.

According to Wikipedia, the following is a definition of overtraining: “Overtraining is a physical, behavioral and emotional condition that occurs when the volume and intensity of an individual's exercise exceeds their recovery capacity.”  Differing schools of thought debate the validity of this claim.  Though scientific evidence has been unable to accurately pinpoint a specific trigger to overtraining, many athletes have suffered illness, injury, or mental stress possibly due to insufficient recovery periods.

A commonly purported fallacy is that muscles are strengthened during weight-training.  In reality, muscles are broken down during weight lifting exercises.  If adequately fueled with a combination of high-quality protein and carbohydrates immediately following an intense session, those muscles can rebuild to a greater propensity.  Another essential factor is rest.  Yes, you heard me correctly:  REST! 

When referring to rest, be aware that rest encompasses more than one area.  First of all, deep uninterrupted sleep is one of the best ways to improve your lean muscle mass.  If you are not getting between 7-8 hours of shut-eye per night, your body will not reach its utmost potential.  During sleep, the muscles have time to reconstruct themselves after the catastrophic damage caused by that intense workout.  You are only cheating yourself by skimping on well deserved rest. 

Secondly, each muscle group needs at least 48 hours of recuperation between workouts.  For example, if you performed a chest/back workout on Monday morning, you should not work those muscle groups primarily until Wednesday morning.  An additional day of rest would not be counterproductive either, but it may also help you be fully recovered for your next training session. 

Determining how much rest is essential to your wellbeing is a very personal decision based upon trial and error.  For more comprehensive research into this topic, seek professional advice from a certified fitness specialist.  Other sources regarding this issue can be found in sports medicine journals, strength-training manuals, and reputable online sites.

Next time you begin to feel emotionally drained and dreading your next workout, evaluate your rest habits.  Have you been getting sound sleep in the past several days?  Have you given your muscle groups proper rest between weight-lifting sessions?  If one of these is out of balance, restructure your exercise action plan.  Take a few days off training in the gym, and give your body some recuperation time.  You will renew energy levels to reach those lofty fitness goals.

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