Are You Taking Too Many Rest Days?
When researching for this topic, I didn’t realize how in depth this can go. All of the science and studies are kind of overwhelming to be real with you. But, I wanted to research and bring the right information to you in a simple way, especially considering the request of this post came from a beginner in lifting. This post will explain how many rest days are too much. The thing is though, there are other topics related to this thought that you need to be aware of. I’ll fill you in on what research says, so stay tuned.
What Rest Days Are For
To start, I want to mention what actually happens on a rest day. Rest days aren’t just days off from the gym to get a day off. They are actually vital for the results to want. Think of it like this. When you work out you are tearing your muscle fibers down, right? When you take a rest day, your body is able to rebuild those muscle fibers to be bigger and stronger. Simply put, Workout days equal stimulation, rest days equal growth. So, really, rest days are where a lot of actual muscle growth happens.
Something I should mention is nutrition on a rest day. Keeping this 100 with you, I just learned about this when researching rest days. Rest days are actually periods of time where you should take your nutrition more seriously, not the other way around. When taking a rest day, especially if you are trying to grow muscle and become stronger, you should be eating just like you would on a workout day. In some cases, you may want to consume slightly more protein and carbohydrates.
This is because protein, of course, is what rebuilds and repairs these torn down muscle fibers. Protein aids in muscle building through protein synthesis, and in weight loss periods, is the most important aspect in retaining as much muscle mass as possible. Carbohydrates, in its simplest light, give your muscles the energy they need. Carbohydrates also help to fill your glycogen stores. Glycogen is a form of glucose that is stored for later use, and it is what fills your muscles, helping you not look “flat.” This glycogen helps prevent muscle loss and repair muscles.
With this said, the reason it is important to keep eating the same or even slightly more is because protein and carbohydrates actually help repair and build muscle, and rest days are where the repair and growth mainly occurs. They go hand in hand.
Rest Days For Beginners vs Advanced
For beginners, rest days are more common. This is because beginners’ muscles are already stimulated like crazy since they are doing something their body has never been able to adapt to. It is much easier for beginners to see progress than advanced lifters, and the leniency regarding rest days is actually quite high.
Beginners can get away with, and it is actually practical, with having 2 to 3 rest days per week. Advance lifters should probably get 1 or 2 rest days per week. This is because beginners are usually overstimulated when they train, especially hard. So, these rest days are really important for preventing muscle burn out, too much fatigue, and helping with soreness. Once these beginners adapt and adapt to their training over time, they can introduce less rest days since their bodies aren’t as stimulated in their workouts.
Detraining: What It Is
This idea is what I was talking about when I mentioned earlier that related ideas are super important for you to remember when learning about rest days. Detraining is basically a prolonged period of time of not going to the gym. Just like rest days, this affects beginners and advanced lifters in different ways. Detraining isn’t something you should purposefully do, it kind of just happens when you tear a muscle or something. It is when you enter a prolonged period of no actual training.
For beginners, detraining isn’t all that detrimental. Let’s say you were to detrain for a three week period. A beginner is likely to keep their strength and size, while an advanced lifter might lose a bit of strength, but they should also keep their size. What makes it different for beginners and advanced lifters is the idea that the research is a bit wishy washy. The reality is that some people just react differently to detraining.
In beginners, detraining for a period of about three weeks won’t lower your strength in the long term. Once you go back to the gym after a detraining period, you will be weaker at first. But, after a week or two you will probably have the same strength as if you kept going to the gym. Advanced lifters should also retain most of their strength after a three week detraining period. But once you reach like 5 weeks of detraining, that is where advanced lifters may see rapid strength loss.
In terms of muscle loss, the research here is also a bit all over the place, but you can expect muscle loss at least 2 weeks after detraining up to 6 weeks. It really just depends on the person. This is actually very similar for both experienced lifters and beginners. It is just that with beginners, they can get away with training as little as once per week and maintain the gains they already have. Muscle mass loss is especially genetic on an individual level. But, the main reason for the research being all over the place is because of good ole glycogen.
When you don’t train for periods of time, your glycogen quickly depletes. Keep in mind that earlier we mentioned that glycogen gives you that “full” look, so when it’s depleted you can expect to look smaller. It isn’t necessarily a matter of consuming and producing less glycogen, it comes down to the fact that detraining leads to your muscles having a smaller glycogen storage capacity. Luckily for you, though, once you start training again these glycogen stores should increase.
Having these things said, it seems like rest days aren’t the actual problem we should be wondering about, as we now know that it depends on your level of fitness. In terms of ineffectiveness and muscle loss, detraining periods is where we need to keep our consciousness. So, it might be safe to say that once you reach more than two weeks of detaining, that’s where the negative effects begin. As for rest days, we can probably assume that too many rest days just mean slowed progress.
Detraining: Bed Rest Mode
While we can expect to lose just a small amount of muscle mass during a period of detraining, “bed rest mode” is what absolutely destroys your gains. This is when you are almost completely immobile. An example could be when you have a severe infection, or sickness, and you are bed ridden. It also just means you are completely inactive.
When you become extremely sedentary, muscle atrophy, which is the loss of muscle mass, accelerates massively. This could be because your body doesn’t feel the need to keep the muscle you have built, so it uses it for energy, resulting in less muscle mass. I actually have an accidental case study I feel the need to share on this.
My Brother’s Bed Ridden Muscle Atrophy
My brother, Cody, had been on my training program for quite some time. I want to mention that when he first started lifting seriously doing the workouts I made him, he became insanely strong. His bench press increased by 40 pounds in 3 months. The crazy thing is he wasn’t even necessarily a beginner, he just didn’t do optimal workouts. He also had some serious lean muscle gains.
Then, he had the biggest surgery of his life. He had jaw surgery, and he was bed ridden for about three weeks. During these three weeks, he had to eat through a straw and all of his food had to be liquidated in the consistency of water. He was basically bed ridden with an extremely low nutrient rich diet, which is a lifter’s nightmare. If I find any pictures I will show you.
After the first three weeks he literally became skinny. He went from being yoked to just normal. The second picture doesn’t do the justice because it was taken recently, months after the surgery. After the first three weeks he was able to actually go out and do things, but he still couldn’t workout. This was because of doc’s recommendation, but after a little over a month he was back in the gym.
I had him do a few days of just easing back into things, then he had a day where he maxed out. Before the detraining period he could bench press 245 pounds. On this max out day he did 185 pounds. Before, he could squat about 315 pounds, now he could do 205 pounds. To make matters worse, he lost most of his muscle mass and was flat out skinny. But, he quickly regained some of his strength once he started working out again. He is also gaining back his muscle, so we are getting him back right. This just serves as a case study of how severe sedentary can affect you.
Overall
Overall, it is hard to say how many rest days are too much. It depends on your level of fitness. For beginners, aim to rest 2–3 days a week, while advanced lifters should aim to rest once or twice a week. The point at which muscle atrophy takes place is when it becomes a period of detraining. Detraining for even two weeks has shown to be where muscle and strength loss takes place. Usually this muscle and strength loss is just from not training, but in some cases it actually hurts your progress. Bed rest mode is where the actual muscle atrophy takes place.
To finish off, this does not mean you can train for a few days and then take a few weeks off. This does not mean you can be inconsistent and see great results. You should keep in mind that consistency and progressive overload are the most important aspects to progress in the gym. This article served as a means to teach you about what does and can happen during rest and periods of detraining. I appreciate you for taking the time out of your day to read this. Continue to be you, and continue to evolve.
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Originally published at https://www.austinrodefit.com on November 11, 2020.
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