matty_89

hi iv just started weight lifting properly and i am wondering if it is vital to have rest days in between work outs???

big

Maybe, or maybe not. It depends on you.

If you can lift without rest days and still gain strength each workout, do it.

Most people can't (at least not for anything more than a couple of weeks or so), so include rest days between each workout to keep you fresh and recovered (particularly your CNS).

Essentially you want to train with as much volume and frequency that YOU can while still gaining. For most people, around 10 work sets per workout, 3 times a week (rest day in between each workout), with a legs/push/pull split is a FAIRLY good starting point to experiment from.

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leeston

post up your routine mate. Do you train each body part once a week or more?

Loads of posts previously on this subject.

I train:

Mon - Chest and bi's
Tue - Legs
Wed - 30 mins cardio (if not too busy with work)
Thurs - Shoulder and tri's
Fri - Back

My workouts last about 1 hr and then I do 10 mins cross trainer at the end.

Each person on here does things differently and people may well criticise my routine but if it works so why change it!!

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ah24

Thats like what i do leeston, minus the cardio and i do back and tris, shoulders and traps.
A lot less tiring than my other split

matty_89

cheers for dat. i do
monday - arms and back
tuesday - pecs, stomach
wednesday - rest day
thurs - quads, biceps, tricep
fri - pecs again normally

i normally do a 1hour work out every night but sometimes i feel as if im over doing it? can this be possible for a lad of 17??

thanks MATTy

BrokenBack

I would train arms twice a week mate, as there small muscle group and get hit when your training your bigger body parts, If your just starting off i would say just train one body part once a week, with the adception of abs, also i would steer clear off training more than two days on. Body needs time to heal dude.

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leeston

overtraining is a possibility. You must remember that upon starting any training routine you are pushing your body further that it is expected to go. So yes, overtraining is a serious problem, more so than not training at all.

I personally dont agree with your split. At 17, I would suggest keeping it simple with compound movements (bench presses, squats, deadlifts etc). Build a good base and then re-evaluate.

You appear to fall into the typical trap (please correct me if I am wrong). Please explain why you train chest twice a week and the other body parts once. People fall fowl of training the 'glory muscles' without considering the rest of their bodies.

Why not do legs twice a week or back. I know, it is because people dont see your back or legs, am I right?

Stick to one body part per week. Hit it hard. Good intensity once per week at your age will be far beneficial than just going through the motions twice a week. Also, when I hit my chest hard (which is pretty much every workout) I feel it for days afterwards. I do not feel that I could hit my chest hard twice a week.

By giving myself one weeks rest I know that I return to the gym on Monday morning stronger. That way I can look to increase my weight, which in theory, should help add size. If you train your chest twice I doubt that you are giving yourself sufficient time to rest and grow. REMEMBER, what you do in the gym only acts to stimulate the muscle. It is what you do outside of the gym that makes you grow (ie, sleep and eat good). Therefore diet is very important.

Furthermore, (i am on a roll now so dont stop me!!) If you train chest on Monday then..........................woooooooooo I just noticed, where are shoulders in your routine and why quads but not hams?

I am confused, please explain this mate before I continue?

I am not criticising you, I just wished some boring 32 year old had pointed things out to me when I first started training thats all!!!

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matty_89

its hard 2 explain my work out but i do have reasons for it, firstly "my bad" i do do my shoulder muscles just 4got 2 include it up there. i only do my quads because i have a problem with my hamstring at present, i pull dat muslce alot playing football.
about doin pecs twice a week is bcuz at the moment ther the only muscles that dont appear 2 be growing after 3 months of the gym, is this because pecs are harder to tone than other muslces?
thanks for the advice LEESTON m8 appreciated and "broken back".
CHEERZ MATTy

Aldo

To share my prog:

I now do a 3 day split and train 3 days a week with at least one day between sessions.

Day One - chest and triceps
Day Two - back and biceps
Day Three - shoulders and legs

I do between three and four exercises per muscle group - some compound some isolated. I pretty much knacker each muscle group in every way I can then give the group around a week to recover.

To be honest, as I'm new to training (4 months) I don't think my program is too critical. Sleep and diet are key. My progress:

Start
133lbs @10% BF

Now (4 months later)
147lbs @12%BF

hackskii

I take a day off after I lift.
I was suggested I do this for my age (47).
Since I have been doing this practice, I noticed a few positive things.
Less achy joints, I am stronger, I also feel harder too, and I have more free time.
I used to train Monday through Friday for years.
Now 3 days a week with more intensity and I am loving this alot.

You could do cardio on the off days if you really wanted to do something.

But being young has its advantage of recovery over old age (like me)..

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Scott


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matty_89

cheers for the advice, gona start a new regime next week and have one rest day on the wednesday and see how things go. thanks MATTy

darkstar

Man i never know when to stop.
Im good on taking a day or two off, but when i get in the gym ,i want to stay in the gym all day and train hard .
I hate rest between sets as well.

scott134

Darkstar : I have trouble resting between sets since I started using NO-Xplode, gives me such a buzz I have to time my rests to make sure I'm waiting long enough ... just want to get back in there!

Matty : All of the above advice is excellent. I'd also say stick to training each muscle group once a week, with 'one-day-on, one-day-off' type routine.
What's your diet like at the moment? and what are your stats, weight? height? body fat (if you know it)?

Magic Torch

:withstupi

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Spangle1187

I think rest days are very important, you feel better when going into your next session. Gets rid of any soreness etc.

I train every other day most weeks but like this week because of work and a lunch date with mum for mothers day, I will train three days in a row allowing a rest between muscle groups by working legs on the middle day but then I will have two days at least off to rest.


Without days off I start to feel fatigue after a week, I know as I did try to train 5 days on weekend off and did not work in the long run. Not to say you cant add in some cardio days.

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