Resting Muscles For More Gains
Resting muscles ?? - Yes... but I'll get to that in just a minute.
First, let's go through some things you have probably done since deciding on improving your physique with muscle building.
1. Set up a good and healthy diet that consists of protein, carbohydrates, and healthy fats. (...make sure to read the 'how to eat right and gain weight' article for more info on bodybuilder's diet)
2. Decided whether or not to take supplements throughout your muscle building journey - and which ones to take (read 'advice on supplementing' for more info)
3. You've either joined a gym or started working out at home.
If you've done all of this then you're off on a great start, but one area most people totally overlook is rest. So, it's good you're reading this today because I'm going to tell you why resting your muscles will help your gains.
When working out, you'll notice that at first you have a lot of energy, but after a couple of sets, you start slowing down because your muscles have exhausted all of their energy.
With your diet, you'll be giving more energy to your body because of the nutritious food you'll eat (hopefully).. but feeding your body is not enough. Fiber tissues are being torn when you stimulate the muscles and in order to grow, they'll need time to repair.
It's true that neglect doesn't equal good results, so treat your muscles with care and give them time to fix themselves.
It's ben proven that the average person needs at least 8 hours of sleep in order to perform at his or her best the following day; the same applies to muscle building. Dare i repeat...
Resting Muscles Is Very Important!!
Now, resting doesn't only fall under sleep. Rest should also be applied as small pauses between repetitions.Your job is to be smart and know what your body needs. A good rule of thumb would be to...
1. Take short rests between repetitions
2. Take rests between sets of the same exercise
3. Take a longer rest (about 2-3 minutes) between different types of exercises.
But be sure to be smart and read your body so you can know when it needs rest.
On your days off, you can go swimming, jogging, play a sport or even yoga so you can work on other parts of the body that you might have missed during your workout, but at the same time you're being sensible to your body.
Once you understand the importance of resting muscles, you'll be pleasantly rewarded.