Each muscle needs a rest to recover, strengthen and grow. Professional bodybuilding experts suggest, that rest plays important role in muscle recovery and the best way to recover is a deep sleep. But how much hours should we spent on resting?
There is no a one-size-fits-all advice. Some people suggest, we need 48 hours to recover. Physical exercises damage muscle fibres, what can cause a feeling of soreness. During rest time, our muscles need time to reconstruct to be stronger and increase in size. It means, that muscle gains and strength are created outside the gym, outside the path speed, in the place and time, when we do not use our muscle.
Muscle soreness can last 2-4 days post-exercise and minimum 48 of hours is optimal time to allow regenerate our muscles. Others, say that resting up to 72 hours between workout sessions is the best option for begginers, who have just started healthy and sporty lifestyle. While some claim eight hours of deep sleep is a must for body to recover.
Med SCI Sports Exercises suggest, that the best is to:
- do one to two rest day between workouts, when we have 3 workouts per week,
- do at least one rest day between workout, when we have 2 workouts per week.
Will that work? There are other aspects to point optimal time for the rest, for instance:
- age
- exercise intensity
- duration of exercise
- eating habits
- health condition.
There is no magic advice for all. My optimal time for rest days may not fit for your body, even if we train the same sport, the same time, intensity, frequency. We are only sure, that each body needs a break. Don’t be afraid to take some rest day. Give your muscles time to regenerate. If you want to precise optimal rest time, use Sportovia app and find there your personal trainer, who will help you fit optimal healthy recovery time among workouts and healthy meals.
Photo: youqueen.com