One of the most effective methods of monitoring your progress when strength training is by lifting weights. In order for you to optimize muscular development, it is essential to give your body adequate sleep and rest. Without adequate rest, you will overtrain, find little progress toward reaching your goals and be more susceptible to fatigue and illness.
Rest Intervals
When you are lifting weights, you will notice at times a burning sensation within the muscles you are training. This burning sensation is the accumulation of lactic acid, a by-product of the work load inherent in resistance training. This lactic acid buildup will eventually prevent the muscles from contracting, limiting their adaptation and development. Only while resting between sets will the lactic acid be able to dissipate, allowing for more training.
Other Factors
If you are a beginner to weightlifting, there are certain factors within your physiological makeup that will be affected by your training. This is most notable by the fact that muscle contraction is controlled by nerves. When a muscle is fatigued, it is less able to fire impulses that will allow for contraction. Other reasons for incorporating adequate rest into your weightlifting program are: athletes who are older as well as female athletes usually require more time to recover, and adequate replenishment of nutrients can only be obtained via a rest interval.
Between Workouts
Occasionally you may have felt soreness the day after a workout. This is essentially the muscles responding and adapting to the workload you have placed upon them. This requires time, and the more intense the workout, the longer the muscles need to recover. An effective time for recovery is between 10 and 48 hours, although very intense training may require five to seven days of rest.
Conclusion
Whether you are resting between sets, between workouts or because of an intense training session, your body requires enough of a break to be able to recover and rebuild in preparation for the next work out. In order that you may reach your strength training goals you must allow for proper rest. Without proper rest, frustration will ensue.
References
- Fitness and Health; Brian Sharkey; 2002
- Serious Strength Training; Tudor Bompa, Mauro Di Pasquale, Lorenzo Cornacchia; 2003
- Mayo Clinic: Fitness for Everyone; Diane Dahm, Jay Smith; 2005
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