More Rest Means More Gains

By: Shawn LeBrun

If you want to gain more muscle, it's important you get enough
rest. I've found it's necessary to take a week off to rest after
8 to 10 weeks of heavy, intense training.

Weight lifting can be intense and stressful to your body. In
order for your body to respond with muscle gains, you have to
first recover from those workouts.

After all, you grow when you're resting, not when you're
training in the gym. Too many people think they have to work out
as hard as possible, as often as possible, in order to make
gains. But those that have large, muscular physiques have
learned that the key to success is heavy, intense training,
followed by adequate rest.

By taking a week off after every few months, you allow your body
the chance to completely recover from the heavy demands you
placed on it. This time is a recovery time, in which muscle
growth will be the main goal. So you want to make sure you get
proper nutrition, including keeping your protein intake high.

This rest period is every bit as important for muscle gains as
is your training. Without this rest, you're going to overtrain
and all your muscle gains will stall.

One of the biggest problems I see with young people is that they
think the more they do, the better results they get. They don't
buy into the law of diminishing returns, which states that
you'll keep making gains, up to a point, unless you do certain
things. And these things are recovery, rest, and nutrition.

Many people can't stand to be out of the gym for a week, fearing
that they'll lose what they've gained. The opposite is actually
what happens. After a week off, you'll come back bigger and
stronger.

You'll also be more focused and psychologically rested. You'll
be ready to hit the weights again with newfound energy and
intensity.

So if you're feeling tired, worn out, sluggish, or just plain
sore, take some time off and recover. If you're at a plateau, a
week off is usually all that's needed to break out of that
plateau.

The way to keep making gains is to learn how to listen to your
body. Know when it needs rest and time off. If you don't allow
your body to recover, you can't keep making muscle gains. If you
don't eat enough and sleep enough, your gains will suffer as
well.

So, understand the importance of rest and start taking a week
off after each 8 to 10 weeks of training. I guarantee, once you
start doing that, your muscle gains will happen a lot faster.

About the author:
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