Topic: Weight lifting recovery time

[hasculf]

Has anyone seen any well done studies on the amount of time a muscle group takes to recover? I have heard everything from 48 hours to 7 days. Just trying to figure out the optimal recovery time for muscle growth.

Thanks in advance, if anyone has a good answer! If not, back to wading through the Bro-science.

[Cognoscento]

I do weight training 3 days a week but I rotate through the muscle groups. Each group gets a week to recover but I'm sure it could be a little sooner if need be. Frankly, I'd be too sore to workout the same muscles with anything less than 3-4 days of recovery.  I don't know what the "studies" have shown though.

[Samhain]

There are a lot of factors to consider.  What are your goals?  Weight loss?  Muscular endurance? Maximal strength? Hypertrophy?When I first started weight training as a teenager in the early 90's I would buy all the Weider publications and they pushed the one body part per week.  I would blast the body part and be sore for up to five days afterwards.  I made slow and steady progress with this approach.  I then developed an interest in strength training and started training like a powerlifter.  Now I was doing squats three times a week, 5 sets of 5 reps.  Interestingly enough, I was no longer getting sore after workouts.  Some hypertrophy programs such as Hypertrophy Specific Training (HST) advocate three full body workouts per week.  However, often with only 1 or 2 exercises per body part, with only 1 to 3 sets per exercise.  Basically, the volume you would normally do if you blasted your muscles one day a week, spread out over the entire week.
http://www.hypertrophy-specific.com/hst_notes.html 

So, as I said, it depends.

[Karyn]

The wiki article for hypertrophy is horrible, at least from the perspective of someone who had never even heard that word before.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muscle_hypertrophy

[Samhain]

The wiki article for hypertrophy is horrible, at least from the perspective of someone who had never even heard that word before.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muscle_hypertrophy

Ugghhh...you ain't kidding. 

[khendar]

I'm kind of wondering the same thing right now. I went to the gym on Monday and did some intervals on the bike and a few upper body weights. It was the first time I've lifted weights for a couple of years, and today I can barely lift my arms above my head and my quads are aching. I'm going back tonight for a light spin on the bike again but I won't be touching the weights for a few more days.

I have no expert basis for this, but I would say wait 24-48 hours, or until it stops hurting, before hitting those muscles again.

[MikeHz]

After a few sessions, the pain vanishes and does not return if you keep it up.

[Karyn]

After a few sessions, the pain vanishes and does not return if you keep it up.

I've been lifting weights very regularly for about 8 months now, and I still get muscle pain.  Granted, it's not as bad when I first started.  How many sessions is 'a few'?

[MikeHz]

I don't know. I've been doing it for over thirty years, and never get muscle pains.

[khendar]

I don't know. I've been doing it for over thirty years, and never get muscle pains.

I've had people tell me if you ain't hurting you ain't working hard enough.

[Samhain]

After a few sessions, the pain vanishes and does not return if you keep it up.

I've been lifting weights very regularly for about 8 months now, and I still get muscle pain.  Granted, it's not as bad when I first started.  How many sessions is 'a few'?

Are you talking specificially about delayed onset muscle soreness? I think it depends on frequency of training muscle groups.    When I used to do train one body part a week, that body part would be sore the next day for 2 or 3 days,  even up to five days.  This continued for probably 10 years of training like this.  I currently do a split of upper body/lower body twice a week using mostly compound exercises and I find as long as I am consistent, if I do experience any DOMS it is minor and lasts for half a day. 

[Squarebanks]

M.R. Rhea et al., “A meta-analysis to determine the dose response for strength development,” Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, 35(3):456-64, March 2003.

This study suggests that recovery time is highly variable based on individual program, volume, and intensity.

[Karyn]

After a few sessions, the pain vanishes and does not return if you keep it up.

I've been lifting weights very regularly for about 8 months now, and I still get muscle pain.  Granted, it's not as bad when I first started.  How many sessions is 'a few'?

Are you talking specificially about delayed onset muscle soreness? I think it depends on frequency of training muscle groups.    When I used to do train one body part a week, that body part would be sore the next day for 2 or 3 days,  even up to five days.  This continued for probably 10 years of training like this.  I currently do a split of upper body/lower body twice a week using mostly compound exercises and I find as long as I am consistent, if I do experience any DOMS it is minor and lasts for half a day.

Yes DOMS, and I train one muscle group a week.  It doesn't hurt horribly, or for very long.  If I'm trying out a new exercise, sometimes I'll work a muscle that apparently wasn't getting much work before.

I've considered moving to a more whole body workout, but I like putting in 1.5 hours in the gym, mixed between cardio and weight lifting, 5 days a week.  The mix keeps me from getting bored, and if I go every day, I'm more likely to keep with it.  I fear that if I move to a whole body workout with recovery days in between, it will lead me to slack off more.  If I do just cardio on recovery days, I'll get bored and feel like I haven't accomplished much.  I have issues with developing habits, good or bad.

[Samhain]

After a few sessions, the pain vanishes and does not return if you keep it up.

I've been lifting weights very regularly for about 8 months now, and I still get muscle pain.  Granted, it's not as bad when I first started.  How many sessions is 'a few'?

Are you talking specificially about delayed onset muscle soreness? I think it depends on frequency of training muscle groups.    When I used to do train one body part a week, that body part would be sore the next day for 2 or 3 days,  even up to five days.  This continued for probably 10 years of training like this.  I currently do a split of upper body/lower body twice a week using mostly compound exercises and I find as long as I am consistent, if I do experience any DOMS it is minor and lasts for half a day.

Yes DOMS, and I train one muscle group a week.  It doesn't hurt horribly, or for very long.  If I'm trying out a new exercise, sometimes I'll work a muscle that apparently wasn't getting much work before.

I've considered moving to a more whole body workout, but I like putting in 1.5 hours in the gym, mixed between cardio and weight lifting, 5 days a week.  The mix keeps me from getting bored, and if I go every day, I'm more likely to keep with it.  I fear that if I move to a whole body workout with recovery days in between, it will lead me to slack off more.  If I do just cardio on recovery days, I'll get bored and feel like I haven't accomplished much.  I have issues with developing habits, good or bad.

I say if you like your current training program then stick with it.  It has brought you some great results and a little bit of DOMS goes with the territory.  I for one actually like DOMS.  It's a constant reminder to me that I did something productive.   

[341gerbig]

I always have DOMs for 1-2 days, but for squats, I get them for 4-5 days.