Workout vs. Rest

[rogerwalsh]

I have been working out for many years and although cumulatively have changed my body, I am looking to seriously concentrate on building some serious mass and reshape as long as I am healthy enough to do it. That said; I am on that mission and am training harder and more consistently than I have ever in the past. I am working on my diet which wasn't too bad to start, but am more focused, I am lifting every other day and on the odd days I am doing 1/2 to and hour of cardio depending on how I feel along with abs and have only been taking off 1 day per week. I am not a novice but I can' say I have ever been good at the balancing act between rest and working out. The opinions, routines and philosophies are all over the place.
I'm looking for some real and experienced advice to balance my workouts and get the right amount of rest for the best results. Thanks in advance.

[CookAndrewB]

Well, you already know you have to balance your training with rest, so I'll say you are ahead of the game there.

Now... how much rest do you need? That depends (I know, horrible and not helpful answer). Depending on what you are doing, you may need more rest (and that could include time off from cardio, but again it depends what you are doing there as well).

High intensity work needs more recovery time. The more frequently you try to mash your max effort work together with HIIT/sprint/hard and fast steady state cardio, the sooner you will burn out. The juggling act is to find work that DOESN'T fall into this higher intensity range, while it is also useful.

I would suggest you utilize a designed workout program that already considers recovery for you. Look for programs written by Cressey or Tate (WSBB). I think you will find these in line with your goal to put on muscle.

Another factor you are going to have to consider is age. Fit though you may be, your body isn't getting any younger. This is not suggesting fitness is for the young, but you aren't going to bounce back like an 18 year old anymore. So diet and recovery are going to be that much more important to any progress you are looking to make.

I know this wasn't overly specific, but I think it gets you off in the right direction.

[rogerwalsh]

Originally Posted by CookAndrewB

Well, you already know you have to balance your training with rest, so I'll say you are ahead of the game there.

Now... how much rest do you need? That depends (I know, horrible and not helpful answer). Depending on what you are doing, you may need more rest (and that could include time off from cardio, but again it depends what you are doing there as well).

High intensity work needs more recovery time. The more frequently you try to mash your max effort work together with HIIT/sprint/hard and fast steady state cardio, the sooner you will burn out. The juggling act is to find work that DOESN'T fall into this higher intensity range, while it is also useful.

I would suggest you utilize a designed workout program that already considers recovery for you. Look for programs written by Cressey or Tate (WSBB). I think you will find these in line with your goal to put on muscle.

Another factor you are going to have to consider is age. Fit though you may be, your body isn't getting any younger. This is not suggesting fitness is for the young, but you aren't going to bounce back like an 18 year old anymore. So diet and recovery are going to be that much more important to any progress you are looking to make.

I know this wasn't overly specific, but I think it gets you off in the right direction.

Andrew, I will definitely check out Cressey and Tate. Thanks for the tip. And yes as hard as it is to accept I know I am already not recovering the way I used too. The men and women who have managed some truly remarkable transformations on this site in spite of their age give me great motivation. Thanks for the response!

[XxDecayxX]

Higher Intensity training requires more rest.

Higher volume training requires more rest.

It has been stated that your body has the ability to increase in strength at a 300% increase.

However, your recovery ability only increase slightly, no were near 300% (Darden)

Also, age, stress, lack of sleep and diet contribute.

If you have been working out for a long time, you should have a good read on your body.

Yeah, and you are ahead of the game, if you realize rest is important lol.

If your working out every other day, I'm assuming your doing a 2 day split, which would equal out to 4 days lifting in a week which would generally be considered an "Intermediate" split routine.

That isn't bad. But like the guy above me said, if your trying to slam cardio in there for 1hour on the off days, you may be able to do that for only so long before you start feeling ****ty and tired (burned out).

Most people periodize their training into cycles.

Like you said you want to gain mass, and for mass gain, you need a surplus of calories.

For cutting weight, you need a deficit.

So it would make sense to write down your training and want you want to achieve, and make cycles for Strength gain/Cutting/ and working on lagging muscle groups etc...

Many professionals do this.

[rogerwalsh]

Originally Posted by XxDecayxX

Higher Intensity training requires more rest.

Higher volume training requires more rest.

It has been stated that your body has the ability to increase in strength at a 300% increase.

However, your recovery ability only increase slightly, no were near 300% (Darden)

Also, age, stress, lack of sleep and diet contribute.

If you have been working out for a long time, you should have a good read on your body.

Yeah, and you are ahead of the game, if you realize rest is important lol.

If your working out every other day, I'm assuming your doing a 2 day split, which would equal out to 4 days lifting in a week which would generally be considered an "Intermediate" split routine.

That isn't bad. But like the guy above me said, if your trying to slam cardio in there for 1hour on the off days, you may be able to do that for only so long before you start feeling ****ty and tired (burned out).

Most people periodize their training into cycles.

Like you said you want to gain mass, and for mass gain, you need a surplus of calories.

For cutting weight, you need a deficit.

So it would make sense to write down your training and want you want to achieve, and make cycles for Strength gain/Cutting/ and working on lagging muscle groups etc...

Many professionals do this.

Your calculations are correct I am on the 2 day split and no I don't want to burn out before I reach my goal. I like the idea of cycling. I am already keeping track of my training, but I do need to keep a constant on the goal setting. Great advice! Thanks

[CookAndrewB]

Originally Posted by rogerwalsh

Andrew, I will definitely check out Cressey and Tate. Thanks for the tip. And yes as hard as it is to accept I know I am already not recovering the way I used too. The men and women who have managed some truly remarkable transformations on this site in spite of their age give me great motivation. Thanks for the response!

Progress is always possible, keep that in mind.

It becomes a bit trickier to manage recovery the older you get, but the good news is that it never really helps anyone to spend a ton of time in the gym. I would say that optimal gains can still be made on 3-4 days per week, and if you want to get out on your off days, take a walk or hike or bike or do something active, but not taxing. The benefit of just staying active can't be overlooked. That activity doesn't have to be something that leaves you huffing and puffing in a pool of sweat.

[rogerwalsh]

Originally Posted by CookAndrewB

Progress is always possible, keep that in mind.

It becomes a bit trickier to manage recovery the older you get, but the good news is that it never really helps anyone to spend a ton of time in the gym. I would say that optimal gains can still be made on 3-4 days per week, and if you want to get out on your off days, take a walk or hike or bike or do something active, but not taxing. The benefit of just staying active can't be overlooked. That activity doesn't have to be something that leaves you huffing and puffing in a pool of sweat.

Thanks!

[getbigbitch]

high intensity for getting cut i.e high reps= not much rest
low intensity-fast twitch muscles-muscle growth= more rest












ACE/NESTA Cpt

[zephed56]

what are your squat/DL/bench/etc numbers?