Muscle Recovery

by Anonymous

I love to workout. So much that I wish to do so twice a day for 6 days a week with one rest day. I like to train intensely because I feel that if I am not fatigued by the end of the workout I did not do as much as I wanted and I don't get that pumped feeling that I love after working so hard.

I am very curious though. Is that a good way to gain muscle and attain mass? I am very afraid of the concept of proper rest because I can workout intensely everyday without any problems and I have yet to experience any injuries, only the normal soreness. I have lifted before so I am not new to working out, however I can not help but wonder if I could be bigger.

Aaron's Answer...

First off, good question!

Strictly speaking, to gain muscle mass you should be lifting weights 2 - 3 days a week, and not more unless you're a very experienced lifter. Especially if you don't eat enough, lifting hard more than 2 - 3 days a week should be murdering you - unless you're going really light and not really working out.

Weight lifting 6 days a week is not optimal for building muscle. If you lifted a few days a week and then did climbing, biking, swimming, martial arts, or some other exercise that didn't stress your muscles - that would be best. Assuming you're not a genetic freak.

Your body needs a significant amount of time and rest to build real muscle mass. Food and rest are good.

However, you say that you've lifted before and aren't new to working out. So your workout routine may actually give you great results, against my better judgement.

A bullet proof way of figuring out this for yourself (rather than even listening to me or science) would be to track your progress for 3 - 4 weeks, lifting 6 days a week (and seeing how much more weight you can lift), and then try that same amount of time and note your gains on a 3-day-a-week lifting schedule.

If you're purely interested in muscle mass, try tracking your body composition with hydrostatic weighting or a similar method. That way, you'll know for sure when you're putting on muscle.



Simple Answer: Lift less often. You're probably getting in your own way.


Long Answer: Track your progress and see what your body responds best to.