If you're doing moderate to intense exercise, you must take a couple of days off. At least one, if not two, after a challenging workout. A study from the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research found that three days are required for your muscles to fully recover after an intense strength-training session.
Generally, it takes around 24-48 hours for muscles to recover from intense exercise. During this recovery period, it's important to focus on rest, hydration, and proper nutrition to support the recovery process.
The 6-12-25 Protocol is a powerhouse training protocol that harnesses the intensity of giant sets to pack high-volume work into a short period. By targeting one muscle group or body part per set, this method takes you through three different exercises with minimal rest, hitting 6, 12, and 25 reps in quick succession.
Muscle Recovery: After a strength training session, muscles undergo stress and micro-tears. They need time to recover and repair, which is when muscle growth occurs. Typically, 48-72 hours is sufficient for most muscle groups.
"Working out when sore is okay as long as it isn't affecting your movement to the point where it's causing you to compensate and do something in a way that's unsafe," says Dr. Hedt. "Muscle soreness can be a deterrent to exercising, but it's temporary and the more you exercise, the less you should feel it.
If you're experiencing muscle soreness, you may need only two or three days of rest. Another option is to alternate your workouts to avoid overusing certain muscle groups. For example, if your upper body is sore, work out your lower body the next time you exercise instead.
But most people should aim for 1 to 3 rest days per week. You can use your rest days to support recovery by doing light exercise and working on mobility. Your workout schedule may not always go as planned. So listen to your body and take a rest day when you feel depleted or have unusual aches and pains.
Is 4 days of rest too much? Honestly? It depends on what your goal is. If, say, you're working on building strength and you're lifting heavy three times per week, four days of rest from gym workouts may help you approach each session feeling as recovered and refreshed as you can.
However, skipping a workout here and there typically doesn't cause weight gain, and taking regular rest days is healthy for muscle recovery and preventing injury.
In 2016 a study at McMaster University in Ontario, USA found that lifting relatively light weights (about 50% of your one-rep max) for about 20–25 reps is just as efficient at building both strength and muscle size as lifting heavier weights (up to 90% of one-rep max) for 8-12 reps.
Resistance training for muscle gain
Resistance training promotes muscle growth. Examples of resistance training include the use of free weights, weight machines, your own body weight or resistance bands. Suggestions include: Train just two or three times per week to give your muscles time to recover.
"Muscle pump" is really just fitness slang for a phenomenon called transient hypertrophy. Hypertrophy refers to the growth of a muscle, and transient means it's only temporary.
Downtime between workouts (whether you're lifting, doing cardio or training for a sport) is when our bodies have a chance to actually build muscle. Strenuous workouts cause muscle breakdown, while rest allows our bodies to build it back up.
With that being said, different muscle groups tend to have different rates of recovery, with smaller muscles—biceps, triceps, calves—being able to recover more quickly than larger muscles—lats, quads, hamstrings, etc. In addition, different individuals are able to handle different amounts of training volume.
Fruit juices. Like electrolyte-rich sports drinks, drinking 100% fruit juices helps replenish electrolytes lost through sweating, as well as carbohydrates and glucose. Tart cherry juice is growing in popularity because it contains anti-inflammatory chemicals that help prevent muscle damage and reduce muscle soreness.
The most important thing I will say to do when you're really sore, is just get moving. Walk around the block, vacuum, or even wash the car. Getting your body moving is going to start that blood flow back up and really help you feel better quicker. (Costco is always a good place to go on active recovery days!)
do at least 150 minutes of moderate intensity activity a week or 75 minutes of vigorous intensity activity a week. spread exercise evenly over 4 to 5 days a week, or every day.
According to Vagy, you can exercise with sore muscles as long as you no longer feel achy and worn out after your warm-up. “This is a telltale sign that the muscles are now ready to exercise because your body has done a better job adapting to stress,” says Vagy.
Remember, if you're not injured or bedridden, try to get back to resistance training when you can. You've got about 2-3 weeks before you lose a significant amount of muscle mass and strength. If you are injured, incorporating light resistance exercises can help to maintain muscle function and metabolic health.
So, for building muscle, you can start by going once or twice a week and work your way up to three, but between three and six times per week, you might not see noticeable differences in efficacy.
If they want weight loss along with muscle growth, reducing calories on rest days can help. The body still needs nutrients to aid in recovery. As long as these needs are met, calories can be lowered slightly. If the client only wants to build muscle, it may make more sense to keep calorie intake relatively the same.
As long as you have the energy for it, you can do some light cardio on rest days without problems. For example, if you're giving your upper body a rest after lifting weights, nothing is stopping you from getting your feet moving with a light jog.