Customized Workouts

Online Meal Planning

Daily Exercise Tip!

Exercise Videos

Fitness Blog & Personal Training

Keep It Simple Fitness, LLC – Seekonk, MA

 <Rehoboth MA, Barrington RI, East Providence RI>

 

 

 

Rest and Recovery

By John Dulac, CPT

We all know, or have heard how important rest and recovery is following intense workouts.  When you’re in the gym working hard, there aren’t too many positive things happening.  Essentially you are tearing up and breaking down muscle fibers.  It isn’t until you eat the proper foods and get the correct rest that growth will start to initiate.  The majority of growth occurs during your REM sleep cycle, so it is important to make sure you get enough rest to allow your body to reach this state of sleep.  However your muscles will not completely heel and recover overnight.  Its highly debatable topic but the relative rule of thumb is to allow 48-72 hours of off time before repeating a muscle group.  This brings me to the topic I will be discussing today.

More often than not, a single muscle group will not be fully responsible for performing an exercise.  Isolation exercises (single joint exercise) will put the main emphasis on one muscle group.  A bicep curl is a prime example of isolation or assistance exercise, the elbow is the only active joint.  Not all assistance exercises will recruit only one muscle, we can look at a dumbbell chest fly, the only active joint is the shoulder, although the pecs are the prime mover the deltoid will assist in this exercise.   Training is a learning process, educating yourself is important.

Knowing which exercises recruit which muscles is key to designing a program to ensure adequate rest.  For example all of your pressing movements are going to recruit mainly pectorals, with the triceps and anterior deltoids assisting.   Your pressing movements include but are not limited to, bench press, push-ups, dips, incline bench press, etc.  All of your pulling movements recruit mainly your back muscles, with the bicep assisting in these movements.  Pulling movements include but are not limited to, lat.  pull downs, bent over rows, seated rows, pull-ups, etc.

Keeping this in mind will allow you to create a more effective workout regimen.  For example if Monday is the day you choose to train chest, you know that you should work your triceps on Monday as well because inevitably they will be working.  This would allow you to train back and biceps on Tuesday; this would work well because chest and back are opposing muscle groups as well as biceps and triceps.  Your body will appreciate this style training.  If you were to train chest and biceps on Monday then back and triceps on Tuesday your arms would be getting trained two days in a row without the essential rest and this will definitely prohibit you in acquiring gains.  I have included a couple mock drafts of routines.

 

Doing splits like these will allow each muscle group get at least 48 hours rest before it is even used as an assistant.  Small changes to a routine can sometimes make a huge difference.  You may feel better, stronger and will get a better training session in.  Training sore muscles is never positive.  If you walk into the gym on a scheduled back day but you shoveled a foot of snow the day before and your back and shoulders are sore it would be more beneficial to take the day off from resistance training and perhaps have a pro-longed cardio session.  Listen to your body and give it what it needs, especially when it comes to rest and nutrition.

 

Disclaimer: The information provided is for informational and educational purposes only and is not intended to substitute the advice of your physician or other health care professionals. Consult your physician or other health care professional before following any workout regimen, nutrition program, using any supplements or if you have any medical condition or are taking any prescription medications.

Member of NPTI

John Dulac, CPT
Certified Personal Trainer

 

Keep It Simple Fitness, LLC
235 Taunton Avenue
Seekonk, MA 02771
(508) 336-2200

Visit us at www.keepitsimple.com
Like us on Facebook www.facebook.com/kisfseekonk
Follow Us on Twitter @keepitsimplec0m

©2012 Keep It Simple Fitness LLC

________________________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________________________

About the Author: Mark Bloomfield, CPT received his personal training certification from International Sports Science Association (ISSA) and is the principal trainer at Keep It Simple Fitness, LLC. He writes about a variety of topics, including nutrition, weight loss, cardio and weight training.    

________________________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________________________

Disclaimer: The information provided is for informational and educational purposes only and is not intended to substitute the advice of your physician or other health care professional. Consult your physician or other health care professional before following any exercise or nutrition program, using any supplements or if you have any medical condition or are taking any prescription medications.

________________________________________________________________________________________

    ©2013 Keep It Simple Fitness LLC