48 hours of recovery in workout programs

[Vigilius]

According to exrx.com, it is necessary when laying out a workout structure, that you don't involve the same muscle group two days in a row in your workouts, down to extreme detail.

See: http://www.exrx.net/WeightTraining/Safe ... chor128573" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

It seems to me that most good workout programs (other than "full body training" 3 days/week) break this rule in some way, and that it's impossible to keep this completely.

It also seems to me how often you involve the same muscle group entirely depends on the volume or intensity that you workout the muscle group with. It's seems like rigid, monolithic and plain stupid to give such a generalized advice. Our bodies are made to be used, to work as an entire unit, and to handle a great capacity of stress every day and recover by sleeping and eating. You can use the same body parts every day and many strength athletes do this, just adjust your workload and intensity according to recovery capacity, calories, etc.

Any thoughts?

[stuward]

I don't think it's fair to suggest that such advice is stupid. Yes, it's easy to find examples where some muscle groups are trained daily with no ill effect. Calves, forearms, abs, etc are used in so many movements that it's likely they get used almost every day. Also, given the success of the Bulgarian Method, more people are training major movements daily. Olympic athletes do this as a matter of course. The military often repeats exercises like pushups and chin ups daily or even more often. The downside is that these groups often walk the edge between performance and injury. The general rule still holds. In most cases, taking a day of between working out the same body parts is a good idea.

[Vigilius]

I don't think it's fair to suggest that such advice is stupid. Yes, it's easy to find examples where some muscle groups are trained daily with no ill effect. Calves, forearms, abs, etc are used in so many movements that it's likely they get used almost every day. Also, given the success of the Bulgarian Method, more people are training major movements daily. Olympic athletes do this as a matter of course. The military often repeats exercises like pushups and chin ups daily or even more often. The downside is that these groups often walk the edge between performance and injury. The general rule still holds. In most cases, taking a day of between working out the same body parts is a good idea.

But I think it's missing the point that the body, to some extent, works as a unit, in a systemic manner. The only thing that varies is which part of the system works in a dynamic manner, takes the majority of the stress, etc, not which part is active at all.

No bodypart ever works in isolation.

That doesnt just apply to calves and abs, but the entirity of the core, for instance, which is active almost no matter what movement you're engaging in, and other muscles are not necessarily "cut from a different cloth".

The planning of recovery is as important, but I just think the guideline should be to balance emphasizing a body part with high volume/intensity with recovery time, not to recover 48 hours whenever you engage any body part to any extrent regardless of volume, which is paranoid.

[stuward]

None of the recommended splits go more than 6 days in a row. This allows for systemic recovery. There has to be some intelligent thought brought to bear on any workout design. There is always room for art in any design.

[Vigilius]

None of the recommended splits go more than 6 days in a row. This allows for systemic recovery. There has to be some intelligent thought brought to bear on any workout design. There is always room for art in any design.

6 days is quite arbitrary.

But my point was simply this: you can tax the same bodyparts with less than 48 hours of rest in between, and still recover because the volume or intensity was fitting to recover sufficiently in less than 48 hours for that person, or slightly overreach and then recover when you take a day off from that type of training (for instance when you take a rest day from weights).

There is no inherent problem in designing a routine with lifts in consecutive days utilizing the same body parts. That begs the question of using insane amounts of volume or intensity, or training with the focus of isolating and fatiguing the muscle group in question.

It is all relative to the volume and intensity lifted with, emphasis of the training, stage of progression, lifestyle, calorie-intake, sleep, individual genetic recuperative capabilities of the person, etc.

[jlmoss]

From my general understanding of the EXRX main site, the guides are there for beginners trying to get into healthy living. I would agree with most of the stuff on the main site in this aspect.

Obviously, as the beginner develops into a more intermediate lifter, runner, etc., they would develop a routine more specific to their abilities, needs, and aspirations.

You aren't suggesting that EXRX main site address every individuals training needs and capabilities do you?

[Vigilius]

From my general understanding of the EXRX main site, the guides are there for beginners trying to get into healthy living. I would agree with most of the stuff on the main site in this aspect.

Obviously, as the beginner develops into a more intermediate lifter, runner, etc., they would develop a routine more specific to their abilities, needs, and aspirations.

You aren't suggesting that EXRX main site address every individuals training needs and capabilities do you?

Much of the information on this site is very in-depth and informative, structured and easy to access. That is useful both for newbies, athletes, intermediate or beyond lifters, and trainers, at least as a resource.

Therefore it is simply seems a shame to provide such an over-simplified guideline on this point, especially since it might confuse some lifters or athletes who are doing or may benefit from doing routines that contradict this guideline. (routines with a higher frequency per lift or body part for aspiring athletes in certain sports, for instance. or for simply trying to achieve certain goals, or just going about them in a different than the prescribed way.)