Whats the minimum time you wait before re-training a muscle?

[jeec]

If you trained a muscle one day whats the minimum time you wait before hitting it again? Its been 3 days since i did pecs, and they still hurt a little. So im worried if i train them again i will do more bad than good?

i usually only work a particular muscle once a week.

[Delgadido]

Originally Posted by jeec

If you trained a muscle one day whats the minimum time you wait before hitting it again? Its been 3 days since i did pecs, and they still hurt a little. So im worried if i train them again i will do more bad than good?

i usually only work a particular muscle once a week.

wait til it recovers.
recovering with a good diet is the most important part of training. eventually you will get used to it.

[jeec]

yea but sometimes you will train a muscle, will only hurt for a day, othertimes it will be longer. Just because it still hurts that dosent mean it isnt recovered right?

[Atheimetal]

5 days until I hit something hard again. Usually it's a week but my schedule varies.. things tend to get hit secondarily in between but I'm not counting that. If I do chest on monday, I generally won't do chest again until next monday.

[Delgadido]

Originally Posted by Atheimetal

5 days until I hit something hard again. Usually it's a week but my schedule varies.. things tend to get hit secondarily in between but I'm not counting that. If I do chest on monday, I generally won't do chest again until next monday.

i try to train the muscle group again every 2-3 days. maybe thats why i have stretchmarks all over.

[jeec]

it can be annoying because my chest is the main thing that needs to get larger, (right pec symmetry). So all the other muscles are fine, and i can only do chest once a week. Ideally i wish i could do it every day lol

[Delgadido]

Originally Posted by jeec

it can be annoying because my chest is the main thing that needs to get larger, (right pec symmetry). So all the other muscles are fine, and i can only do chest once a week. Ideally i wish i could do it every day lol

thats what you think. post a pic. you will get criticized up the ass. lol

[Mwuhahaha]

The best thing to do is each muscle twice a week. One day hit them hard for about 6-8 reps and 3-4 sets. And another day hit them lightly 15-18 reps and 2 sets.

[jeec]

Originally Posted by Delgadido

thats what you think. post a pic. you will get criticized up the ass. lol

ill get pics.

Im not that tall, and i do not want my arms / back shoulders any bigger.

[Gangstaat]

minimum 3 days
4 or 5 for good results

[Delgadido]

Originally Posted by jeec

ill get pics.

Im not that tall, and i do not want my arms / back shoulders any bigger.

post all(no homo)

[JackedDeasil215]

Originally Posted by jeec

yea but sometimes you will train a muscle, will only hurt for a day, othertimes it will be longer. Just because it still hurts that dosent mean it isnt recovered right?

actually yes... it does...
and just because it doesnt hurt the day after doesnt mean its healed

[jeec]

Originally Posted by Delgadido

post all(no homo)

ill get pics over the weekend, and post them up!

[fattony7891]

Originally Posted by jeec

Im not that tall, and i do not want my arms / back shoulders any bigger.

Already makin excuses lol

[jeec]

excuse for what? i said i didnt wanna get bigger before i was asked to post pictures.

in my opinion you have to be quite tall to look good with huge muscles, if your short then it looks stupid. (IMO)

[fattony7891]

Originally Posted by jeec

excuse for what? i said i didnt wanna get bigger before i was asked to post pictures.

in my opinion you have to be quite tall to look good with huge muscles, if your short then it looks stupid. (IMO)

WHOA it was just a lickle joke. Chill

[Raidersfan13]

I work a muscle group to exhaustion, and then dont work it again for a whole week.

[olinerules87]

Originally Posted by jeec

If you trained a muscle one day whats the minimum time you wait before hitting it again? Its been 3 days since i did pecs, and they still hurt a little. So im worried if i train them again i will do more bad than good?

i usually only work a particular muscle once a week.

depends on volume and intensity of your workouts. If you did 5 chest exercises you need a longer time period.

If you keep volume and intensity low (1 exercise not to failure) you can train the same muscle group that same day!

Yes, bring on the flames....it can be done and no it doesn't automatically lead to overtraining.
People (especially in this section) are too caught in "the rules" of lifting. "you can't train a muscle more than once a week...you can't train for more than an hour..."
ITS BS. The human body adapts and can handle a lot. You just gotta know what you are doing


Articles to back me up:
HFT Handbook
http://www.t-nation.com/readTopic.do?id=1324625

Build Your Own HFT Program
http://www.t-nation.com/readTopic.do?id=960811

The 30 Day Mass Plan
Got One Month? Got a Pair?
Then Get Ready for Some New Muscle Mass!
by Chad Waterbury
http://www.t-nation.com/readTopic.do?id=1596243

Double Trouble Hypertrophy
Your Guide to Two-a-Day Training
by Joel Marion
http://www.t-nation.com/readTopic.do?id=1600922

Bodybuilding’s New Frontier: HFT
http://www.t-nation.com/readTopic.do?id=905832


and from Charles Poliquin (probably the most knowledgable man in the world on lifting)

Q: Can you really "shock" muscles into growing? The old school bodybuilders used to use that term a lot, but is it true?

A: Yes, I think it's still true. In fact, if something doesn't grow, you can train it three days in a row.

I had a national caliber bodybuilder who couldn't put legs on. At his height he should've weighed 240, not 210. I made him do legs nine times a week and four months later he weighed 242.

One of my old mentors used to say to me, "If you're not making progress, overtrain until you're depressed, then take five days off. Then you'll grow."

So let's say you're a guy who has no lats — you're as wide as a ****ing pencil. Train your lats three days in a row. The reps might look like this:

Day #1: 6-8 reps

Day #2: 10-12 reps

Day #3: 20-25 reps

Then take a day off and train the rest of your body parts for the week. As for exercises, you'll change the lat exercise each of the three days.

Remember, hypertrophy is a biological adaptation to a biological stress. If something doesn't kill you, then the more you put stress on it the more it will adapt. If the .22 caliber doesn't work, use a .50 caliber.

It's backed up in the scientific literature that you can train a muscle up to nine times a week, as long as you give it some time after to rest. In other words, if you don't train to the point of depression, it doesn't really work.

Keep the rule of 20% in mind. Let's say you can bench press 300 pounds for sets of five. Train until you can only do 240 for sets of five. Controlled overtraining in other words. Take five days off and when you come back you'll bench 330.

Another way that works well for strength is to train with singles (10-12) five days in a row for the same lift. Take two days off, you get a personal best.

The problem is that most people don't have the balls to do this. They won't overtrain to that point and will panic when they drop just five pounds on their bench. They need a slave driver coach to make them do it. You have to reach that 20% drop. When you show up at the gym and start crying for no reason, you're there.

I used to do this to the alpine ski teams. These are some of the strongest athletes around because they use their legs every day when skiing, then I'd get them into the gym and say, "Okay, pillow biters, you have to squat this morning and deadlift this afternoon!" They'd get no time off. Then we'd take them to the beach for five days and they'd come back able to squat a house. It works.

[ksc]

depends how you train. I usually go for about every 48-72 hours

[Mwuhahaha]

Building muscle is like a prescription, you dont just take it all at once, you take it throughout the week. If your only hitting your muscles once a week and have been bodybuilding for more then 4-8 weeks, you seriously are missing out.

[_Mazza_]

Originally Posted by jeec

excuse for what? i said i didnt wanna get bigger before i was asked to post pictures.

in my opinion you have to be quite tall to look good with huge muscles, if your short then it looks stupid. (IMO)

Yeah Dexter Jackson looks stupid with big muscles at 5'6




j/k are you mad?

[fattony7891]

Originally Posted by olinerules87

Charles Poliquin (probably the most knowledgable man in the world on lifting)

Well said. Don't forget Christian Thibedeua.

Respect for the t-nation articles too. Some of the best articles on the net originate in the place IMO.

[teenage_guru]

After prolonged resistance training to the specific muscle group -72 hours.

If its just a few sets, 48 hours is usually fine.

[Bwfc Mellin]

Originally Posted by Raidersfan13

I work a muscle group to exhaustion, and then dont work it again for a whole week.

same

[Instant Classic]

I train my entire body (all of the parts that I want to workout at least) every day (5 times a week).

[rampagefc77]

Originally Posted by Instant Classic

I train my entire body (all of the parts that I want to workout at least) every day (5 times a week).

o rly?

[Mwuhahaha]

Originally Posted by Bwfc Mellin

same

Man you got a pretty decent build for 14 (no homo)

[olinerules87]

Originally Posted by fattony7891

Well said. Don't forget Christian Thibedeua.

Respect for the t-nation articles too. Some of the best articles on the net originate in the place IMO.

Thib is very good. I respond better to higher frequency training so I prefer Waterbury's stuff a little more.

But yeah t-nation is great. The amount of knowledge I have learned from that site in the past few months is crazy. I have a list (http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showthread.php?t=3732791) with lots of great articles that would really help a lot of people on here. check it out