Timing is Everything

So you used the weight lifting machines, or hoisted a few free weights and you want to know when you can go back for more? One rule of thumb is that if you train one muscle group, such as your chest, today, then you should wait about 48-72 hours before you train your chest again. This is the amount of time that it takes to repair the damaged muscle fibers. And in order to realize those strength gains that you are working so hard to achieve, you want to give your muscles enough time to rest and recover. It is during this time that the microtears are repaired and new muscle fibers are synthesized. Rest is also important for your central nervous system, which is also stressed during a resistance training workout because your brain is continually sending signals to your muscles in order to control movement, balance, and muscle contractions.

This does not mean however that you cannot train other muscle groups while your chest is recovering. For example, if you do resistances exercises targeting your chest on Monday, feel free—in fact, feel encouraged—to do a leg work out on Tuesday. Not only is this efficient, but alternating between an upper body day and a lower body day will really bump up your metabolic rate. Studies that have assessed metabolic rate during this so called “upper and lower” training “split” have shown an elevated metabolic rate for up to 48 hours after the workout! Talk about a maximal bang for your buck!

Rest and recovery is not the same thing as skipping a workout because this is when the actual physiological gains take place! Effort and intensity is one piece of the equation, and rest and recovery is the other (equally important) piece. In fact, rest and recovery should be built right into your workout plan. Active recovery is productive recuperation between workouts. For example, if your legs are sore after a day of leg exercises, you should take a walk and do some active stretching to loosen your muscles. This actually speeds up the recovery process because more blood, therefore more nutrients (read: muscle building blocks), are pumped into your muscles.