How many rest days...?

[Jonskaroo]

Hi Everyone, I'm 61 and started training with free weights about 3.5 months ago. Basically, I do bench press, squats, curls, and military presses, about six sets 8-10 reps to failure. I started training every 3 days, but moved to 4 days because my muscles were still aching slightly after 3. I've put on about 1.5 inches on my arms and 2 inches on my thighs over the three and a half months which seems great if the progress continues.

However, I tried resting for 5 days instead of 4 because my muscles still didn't seem totally recovered after 4 days. When I did this I was stronger and my reps went up. To check, I did my next session just 4 days later, and my reps had gone down, as if I hadn't fully recovered...

Reading all the advice online it seems I should train at least twice a week, but from the experience above it seems I would make more progress training every 5 days?
As I said, I'm 61 years old - maybe more rest time is needed as you get older? but if I can make more progress training less often that would be great!

Anyone got any thoughts or experience about this please?

[Gandog]

Hi Everyone, I'm 61 and started training with free weights about 3.5 months ago. Basically, I do bench press, squats, curls, and military presses, about six sets 8-10 reps to failure. I started training every 3 days, but moved to 4 days because my muscles were still aching slightly after 3. I've put on about 1.5 inches on my arms and 2 inches on my thighs over the three and a half months which seems great if the progress continues.

However, I tried resting for 5 days instead of 4 because my muscles still didn't seem totally recovered after 4 days. When I did this I was stronger and my reps went up. To check, I did my next session just 4 days later, and my reps had gone down, as if I hadn't fully recovered...

Reading all the advice online it seems I should train at least twice a week, but from the experience above it seems I would make more progress training every 5 days?
As I said, I'm 61 years old - maybe more rest time is needed as you get older? but if I can make more progress training less often that would be great!

Anyone got any thoughts or experience about this please?

Everyone has a different opinion, and one thing might work for you and not another person. If your enjoying it and seeing progress keep at it. I needed 3-4 days off each week after adding weight on a lot of exercises, after a couple months back down to 2-3 days off for rest, maybe the same thing can happen to you, if not just get the rest and keep at it!

[xsquid99]

6 sets of each exercise is overkill, and really too much volume, especially for someone your age. Same with training to failure on each set, its completely unnecessary. I would suggest you follow a proven program and not try to wing it.

Try something like Fierce 5, and if you don't want to do it 3x a week like the program calls for you could always just reduce it down to twice a week.

https://forum.bodybuilding.com/showt...9678631&page=1

[oldgrump]

If you were stronger with 5 days of recovery why would you do something different just because someone on the internet says that is too much?

My experience from starting lifting in 1990 is that there is so much variance between people's bodies that you have to take everything with a grain of salt and test what works best for you.

There is even huge variance with your own body through time.

[Jonskaroo]

Thanks, I guess I'll just have to experiment, though 5 days seems a long break if it works then it's easier.

[air2fakie]

I've put on about 1.5 inches on my arms and 2 inches on my thighs over the three and a half months which seems great if the progress continues.

though 5 days seems a long break if it works then it's easier.

Part of the problem is that you're measuring "progress" or if your program "works" by the amount of inches you're adding to your arms & legs. That being said, if you're happy with what you're doing, no need to change it because of what anyone else thinks.

[weiss1967]

Thanks, I guess I'll just have to experiment, though 5 days seems a long break if it works then it's easier.

you recover faster, if your rest periods are shorter. By resting 5 days your recovered muscle is already falling out of shape. 48 hrs is enough. Age has no impact, I am 56 and often train twice a day, so that my turnaround time is either 48 or 36 hours, depending on which split I am running.

What you perceive as "not recovered" is actually DOMS, which goes away with frequency. What is going to happen, and I am talking from experience, you will wait for soreness going away for 5 days so that muscle WILL go through DOMS again next cycle. I have years of DOMS under my belt, by trying to "recover fully" before training same muscle.

[Jonskaroo]

you recover faster, if your rest periods are shorter. By resting 5 days your recovered muscle is already falling out of shape. 48 hrs is enough. Age has no impact, I am 56 and often train twice a day, so that my turnaround time is either 48 or 36 hours, depending on which split I am running.

What you perceive as "not recovered" is actually DOMS, which goes away with frequency. What is going to happen, and I am talking from experience, you will wait for soreness going away for 5 days so that muscle WILL go through DOMS again next cycle. I have years of DOMS under my belt, by trying to "recover fully" before training same muscle.

That's very interesting and I'm going to bear that in mind. Sounds like there's a kind of 'wall' that I'm going to have to push through, and not be afraid of re-training slightly aching muscles. Maybe that's what @Gandog did from his comment above where is rest time reduced after a while.

Having said that, It is convenient to only train every 4/5 days, and that way I'm more likely to keep at it. I'm going to experiment and see how it goes, I retrained after 4 days again yesterday, and my reps to failure went up again, so maybe I was just 'off colour' the last time.

I'll report back if anything worth reporting in due course.

Thanks for your reply, and to everyone who took the time to reply.

[Mrbobcat]

I don't know if I'm reading it right, but if you are doing all those exercises which is basically a full body workout every 3 or 4 days, then it is way way too much. Too many sets too. I have always worked each muscle once a week and that is what most people recommend. You could go 5 or 6 days max or maybe twice a week if you are younger and on gear. It may be a good idea to split your routine up and do something like pushing movements one workout, pull one workout and alternate or do back and chest, arms and shoulder, legs and abs, ect. Also 3 working sets max and if going to real failure one or two may be all you need. Granted you may be able to do more at first, but once you are lifting a year or so you will hit a wall if continuing the high volume hitting the same muscles that often. BTW, add some leg curls, tricep and back work. Back is the biggest bodypart and you should be concentrating on that more than anything else if you want to get bigger along with squats if you can do them without pain of course.

[LWW]

I fell into that rest BS in my 30s BIG MISTAKE, but at least I experimented and learned it was wrong.

The older you get the more you need to do. Resting more days dosent work for fighting the old age disease.

I say “do something” everyday, it don’t need to be a PR everyday.

The longer you rest getting older the chitter you will feel, eventually you will say “I need 30 days rest”.

[mtpockets]

Anyone got any thoughts or experience about this please?

I agree with Squid on the volume and program suggestion, with that said, do what works for you.

[TPlain37]

How long have you been lifting OP? Have you noticed an increase or decrease in energy with shorter/longer rest days? From the information provided, you certainly have the durability for rigorous training sessions regularly, however, recommended "rest days" are highly subjective based on endurance to aging. (Forgive the post tenure, I lost an old account I had 7 years ago).

My age also appears incorrect, updating now.

[Jonskaroo]

How long have you been lifting OP? Have you noticed an increase or decrease in energy with shorter/longer rest days? From the information provided, you certainly have the durability for rigorous training sessions regularly, however, recommended "rest days" are highly subjective based on endurance to aging. (Forgive the post tenure, I lost an old account I had 7 years ago).

My age also appears incorrect, updating now.

I started last October. Definitely more energy the longer I rest. But my gains in arm size stopped about a month ago. I'm experimenting with lighter weights and making sure each set lasts 45 seconds or more which seems to be a popular recommendation for hypertrophy around the net.

Regarding your age appearing wrong, the same happened to me, there's a glitch in the forum software and any birthdate before 1970 is defaulted to 1970. I had to contact the administrator to get my age showing correctly... It's a young man's world :/

[patrenna]

I tend to not have "rest" days as much as low impact days. I'll do a 5 mile hike or something for cardio because motion is lotion when you're over 40 and it keeps everything lubed up.

[jasonp360]

you recover faster, if your rest periods are shorter. By resting 5 days your recovered muscle is already falling out of shape. 48 hrs is enough. Age has no impact, I am 56 and often train twice a day, so that my turnaround time is either 48 or 36 hours, depending on which split I am running.

What you perceive as "not recovered" is actually DOMS, which goes away with frequency. What is going to happen, and I am talking from experience, you will wait for soreness going away for 5 days so that muscle WILL go through DOMS again next cycle. I have years of DOMS under my belt, by trying to "recover fully" before training same muscle.

Rep'd! ^^ This is my truth too.

When I stop working out 3-4 times a week and take 1-2 weeks off, when I get back at it even starting with "light" day my DOMS is brutal! I always force myself to do another workout in 2-3 days even if my legs are killing me. I just make sure to warm up real good. My DOMS is always gone within a week and surely by the 3rd workout by doing this. And from then on as long as I don't stop working out every other day, 3-4 times a week, I don't experience DOMS again. Until I stop working out!

If I waited for DOMS to go away before working out again, I too would only be working out every 5-6 days. I must push through the first initial DOMS when I've been off.

Try pushing through DOMS and see how that works for you. It can be brutal. Sometimes it feels like I am tearing my quads apart - but I'm not. Then after a few warmup sets and the first working weight, they actually start to feel better! By working set 2-3 the muscles give up complaining and conform and DOMS goes away faster then if I waited. I then have no DOMS trouble working out every other day moving forward.

Try it and see