Again and again, I see frustrated people in the gym training once (or even twice) per day. These people are quite clearly not getting the results they envisioned.
The logic is understandable… ‘The more I work out – the fitter I will be’.
These people are wrong and I will explain why!
They lack Balance.
If I asked you, ‘what are the main components of your work out?’, What would you say?
You might go into detail about how often you work out or how heavy you lift but all of this is irrelevant if you don’t prioritise recovery time as a crucial part of your work out.
Exercise stimulates muscle within our bodies to create physical change. This physical does’t just occur during your workout. It occurs after, during your recovery period.
This is Chen Yanqing.
Chen is currently the top female weight lifter in the world. The science behind her weightlifting (and your own weightlifting) is simple and necessary knowledge for you to ensure you get the most out of your workouts.
Whilst Chen lifts, she stimulates her muscle fibres to a point at which they break. These fibers then rebuild to be stronger then before during the 24 to 78 hours after she finishes training. Sometimes this recovery period could last as long as a week depending on the intensity of her workout.
Chen would be wasting her time if she didn’t allow her body to recover between workouts. Without recovery time, Chen would suffer potential injuries along with fatigue and pain. You don’t need the aspirations of a body builder for these rules to still apply. Why waste your time over-training when balance would enable you to have the best of both worlds.
Everyone is different and will take different recovery times. Until you’ve uncovered and understood how your body works, you’ll be guessing what your body can and can’t withstand….. and that’s when you’ll get injured. The best practise is to give time for your body to repair, adapt and grow.
Factors that can affect workouts –
Do you have a better chance and a higher disposition to recover quickly?
Which foods do you need to consume pre/intra and post exercise to optimise this?
Are you eating carbs believing (falsely) that they will help you recover faster?
Do you genetically have good or bad inflammatory markers?
What deficiency risks do you have?
If you’d like any advice on this subject or maybe you aren’t getting the results you’d been hoping for whilst training, and this this could be a reason, please get in touch with ProTom Fitness via the link below and we will be happy to help!