Anyway, it is often hard for the eager ones and bodybuilding beginners, along with the muscle-bound fanatics, to not overtrain, at times. I refer to it as "overtraining" when you work your body so hard, that it barely has time to recover in between workouts. When this happens, it is usually all your body can do, in its limited amount of rest time, to repair enough muscle tissue/fibers in between workout sessions just to get back to its prior state without any gains whatsoever. Now, doesn't that sound counter-productive and like a big waste of time and effort or what???
[Edit: A few of the telltale signs that you are overtraining (if you're trying to gain muscle mass) is constant muscle fatigue, lack of gains (stuck in a plateau) and/or never hitting PRs (personal records), joint/ligament/tendon problems, and, in some cases, getting weaker. I really think that some people get the wrong idea when they hear about or see people training hard every day and making huge gains constantly. Many of those cases involve hormone therapy, steroids, growth hormones, drugs, etc., and are not typical for the natty.
However, if drug & hormone induced gains are the case, many times the muscles outgrow the sinew during the short term. When that happens, you are definitely prone to injury of the tendons, joints, ligaments, muscle detachment, and so on, because your muscles will develop so fast that your sinew can't keep up. For example, it is rare for a person to blow their pecs off during a bout of bench pressing or totally detach their bicep while curling when they have slowly built up over time. It is not that rare during rapid muscle gains via steroid abuse, though. If you notice, injuries really start to increase when performance enhancing drugs enter the picture.
Now, if you're older, have declining hormones or perhaps don't really train for hypertrophy, almost all of this chatter on this page doesn't really apply. You may be content with constantly training safely with lighter weights, on a simple maintenance routine while just trying to keep what you got, perform rehab work for blood flow, etc. Anyway... Back to the original post...]
Take some breaks, don't overtrain your muscles and create some time gaps in between while recovering. It is simple as that, when it comes to gaining that muscular mass! In fact, after going through a regular routine of physical fitness training for a few consecutive months, it is also good to take an entire week or two off altogether. Remember what I said in my "muscle memory" post? If you've read that particular blog entry, you'll not be alarmed or fear the possibility of muscle loss during your down times, layoffs, off weeks, etc. Once again, your muscles grow during the recovery process, provided that you ingest an ample supply of nutrients, protein, calories, and so on.
Another thing that semi-relates to this "muscle growth" stuff, is to shock your system from time to time. It is a training method that involves an ever-changing routine. If you applied this method, you would completely alter your workouts from month to month with a completely different set of exercises and/or angles of motion. Although, you don't necessarily have to entirely omit certain exercises that focus on the target areas within your desired goals of gain, but I'm just saying: when you shock your body with variety and unpredictable motions, you are apt for a full spectrum of muscle gains along with versatility and flexibility.
I know that there are many professional bodybuilders who eliminate the possibility of this "don't overtrain the muscles" dilemma - so they can gain more mass - by simply working each major muscle group once a week. Their routine usually consists of a 6-day-a-week program, with one day of rest, but during those 6 days, they never work or focus on the same group of muscles more than once a week. However, for most people who are not "professional bodybuilders," you will not need to resort to such things. For example, you may be a guy who just wants muscular arms and a toned chest. If that's the case, you could easily have great gains by working those areas hard, about once every 5 to 7 days and every so often, take a couple weeks off. [Edit: As for maintenance (if you don't want to gain but simply maintain), you can easily get away with working each desired muscle group once every two weeks.]
Look at it this way: You're just not designed to be a workhorse, and to naturally gain muscle mass without drugs or growth hormones, it will take a lot of time and effort...
---End of Post 'Gain Mass - Don't Overtrain your Muscles!'
Take some breaks, don't overtrain your muscles and create some time gaps in between while recovering. It is simple as that, when it comes to gaining that muscular mass! In fact, after going through a regular routine of physical fitness training for a few consecutive months, it is also good to take an entire week or two off altogether. Remember what I said in my "muscle memory" post? If you've read that particular blog entry, you'll not be alarmed or fear the possibility of muscle loss during your down times, layoffs, off weeks, etc. Once again, your muscles grow during the recovery process, provided that you ingest an ample supply of nutrients, protein, calories, and so on.
Another thing that semi-relates to this "muscle growth" stuff, is to shock your system from time to time. It is a training method that involves an ever-changing routine. If you applied this method, you would completely alter your workouts from month to month with a completely different set of exercises and/or angles of motion. Although, you don't necessarily have to entirely omit certain exercises that focus on the target areas within your desired goals of gain, but I'm just saying: when you shock your body with variety and unpredictable motions, you are apt for a full spectrum of muscle gains along with versatility and flexibility.
I know that there are many professional bodybuilders who eliminate the possibility of this "don't overtrain the muscles" dilemma - so they can gain more mass - by simply working each major muscle group once a week. Their routine usually consists of a 6-day-a-week program, with one day of rest, but during those 6 days, they never work or focus on the same group of muscles more than once a week. However, for most people who are not "professional bodybuilders," you will not need to resort to such things. For example, you may be a guy who just wants muscular arms and a toned chest. If that's the case, you could easily have great gains by working those areas hard, about once every 5 to 7 days and every so often, take a couple weeks off. [Edit: As for maintenance (if you don't want to gain but simply maintain), you can easily get away with working each desired muscle group once every two weeks.]
Look at it this way: You're just not designed to be a workhorse, and to naturally gain muscle mass without drugs or growth hormones, it will take a lot of time and effort...
---End of Post 'Gain Mass - Don't Overtrain your Muscles!'
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