The Important Role of Recovery:
Increase Muscle Growth by Not Training
For those of you who’ve been following along with my journal, you know this was my recovery week off with no training. If you have followed my many articles on this website and many others, you are very familiar with the importance of taking a week off and you’ve no doubt felt the positive effects of a scheduled break after every 2-3 months of training. This is known as cyclical recovery (CR) or time between training cycles.
If you haven‘t been reading my stuff, taking a week off may be a very foreign concept to you. The truth is, if you're not taking scheduled time off, you don’t know what you’re missing.
I have mentioned how every aspect of training works synergistically. The recovery week is another one of those important aspects that should not be overlooked when you are designing your workout schedule. Cyclical recovery between training cycles is vital for your long term gains.
I have worked out in gyms throughout high school, college and after college. During that time I'd see some people train day in and day out for years yet never really look any different. It was not for lack of consistency because these people were in the gym the same time every day like clockwork. Their lack of results was largely due to an inefficient training approach and failing to take into account important concepts such cyclical recovery.
Some will proudly tell you they have not taken any time off of training for as long as they can remember as if that is a mark of their dedication to the iron game and they’ll look at you a little strange when you mention taking a week off. Then they’ll proceed to have a 10 minute conversation with another gym member before they finish their fourth bicep exercise. It makes me wonder if the reason they don’t take time off has more to do with missing their social hour than it does with their dedication to working out. I use this illustration only because I’ve seen it so many times over the years; lackluster training efforts, bad approach and few results. You’d think a lack of progress might make them examine their workout scheme yet they keep on committing the same training sins over and over and heaven forbid they should take time off because they may “shrink” if they don’t train.
Scheduled time off won’t hurt you, misguided efforts and a lack of intensity will. It doesn’t matter how many hours you spend in the gym, if you consistently use a bad approach you’ll consistently get marginal results. In order to achieve outstanding results you need to do more than just put in your time. You have to continually kick ass in the gym and execute an intelligent plan.
Intense training for a span of 8 to 12 weeks will be creating the best stimulus for maximum muscle gains and the scheduled week off will play an important role in how well you fully recover and respond (grow) from all the hard work in the gym.
To continually take your results to a higher level, your head needs to be in the game each and every workout as well and a mental break is just as important as a physical break. Mental recovery is overlooked in virtually every training program but not in mine because I have been taught how critical a role your mind plays in building maximum muscle.
A large part of your training success will hinge on your mental approach. If you are sputtering mentally your workouts will suffer and that is a fact. To get the most out of your workouts you need to focus and concentrate 110% each day. You can’t afford to let your mental approach suffer. A scheduled week off gives you a very important mental reliever and helps keep you fresh and focused in the gym.
You need to understand that training is only one part of the equation, albeit a big part, but only one part none the less. Recovery, nutrition and supplementation all play roles of equal importance and if any one of those aspects suffers, the end results will suffer too.
It is crucial that you understand the importance of cyclical recovery and get over any mental barriers that may prohibit you from taking scheduled time off. View the big picture and realize how vital this extended recovery period between intense cycles is for your progress as well as your overall health and well being.
After you train with intensity for 8 to 12 weeks straight, a week off will be a welcomed and deserved break. You’ll return to the gym stronger, mentally sharper, re-focused and hungry to build maximum muscle during the next training cycle.
Article Of The Month
3/19/2007
James Cipriani
Cutting Edge Personal Training
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