How long should you let your muscles rest before working them again? You may have heard that your muscles are ready to be trained again after 48 hours of rest.
Editor’s Note: This is Jason’s take. To read Darrin’s take, click here.
I’d like to set the record straight on that number. If you’re one of those genetic supermen with incredible recovery abilities, 48 hours is probably right for you. For the rest of us human beings, a little more recovery time is probably needed.
Very few people out there have the stamina and experience to be able to handle training every body part 3+ times a week with heavy loads. Think about it, that’s exactly how many times you would train each muscle group in a week if you’re only giving them 48 hours of rest on a consistent basis.
So let’s talk about some numbers that are more down to earth for most of us. In actuality, most people will need somewhere between 48-96 hours of rest for each muscle group. This means that you will need 2 days at the very least, while 3-4 days is probably a better fit for most people out there.
For beginners, this recovery time can be especially important. In my early days of weight lifting, I found that muscle soreness would often set in about 24 hours after I finished exercising. This is common for beginners and is referred to as Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness (DOMS).
This soreness will improve with time, usually over the course of several weeks to a month. If muscle soreness is getting you down, take it easy for a little while and stretch it out. Things will get better with time.
Alternating Your Muscle Groups
When I say that most people should give about 3-4 days of rest for each muscle group, I’m not trying to say that you will only be able to get in one or two workouts per week. You can work out more often and give your muscles the rest you need by alternating the muscles you work on each day.
So, if you do a split routine that works your upper body on Monday and Friday, and your lower body on Wednesday and Monday of the next week, you are not violating this principle. Each muscle group is still getting the amount of rest that it needs.
Of course, it’s still possible to follow this routine and overwork your system. Even if you are working different muscle groups, you may need 48 hours of rest between each workout day, depending on your own personal recovery abilities.
At the very least, if you’re working hard with heavy, compound movements, try not to work out more than 2 days consecutively without a day off. This tip can vary from one person to the next. It’s not a hard rule, but a little extra time is especially important for beginners.
This is because your body has repairs to do regardless of the muscles you are working. Let’s say, for example, that you do heavy squats on Monday, Deadlifts and some back work on Tuesday, and then shoulder presses and bench presses on Wednesday.
Even though each muscle group is getting the rest it needs, your body isn’t. This is because your body is still trying to repair the legs from Monday’s workout when Tuesday and Wednesday roll around.
If your body is using all of its rest, energy, and fuel to repair your muscles after Monday and Tuesday, what good will your workout on Wednesday do? Where will your body get the time and resources to do all of this work at one time?
Rest and Your Routine
Sometimes your body handles its work load the same way you manage your own work. If you’re given more tasks to do in a day than you have time or money to accomplish, not everything gets done. The same goes for your body. If you give it more repairs than it has time or fuel for, some of the repairs (think recovery) don’t get done.
Probably the best advice for most people out there is to work your each of your muscle groups three times every two weeks or maybe even twice each week. Keep in mind that if you’re doing a split routine, the total number of workouts would be 3-4 each week (for example) since you’re not working every muscle group each time. This should allow ample time for rest and recovery.
Of course, these recommendations aren’t set in stone either. For many people, three times in two weeks for each muscle group can work well, but many people also show great results working each muscle group only once a week.
This can be a great tactic for beginners. It helps to ensure that your muscles are getting adequate rest and aren’t being overtrained. I’ve personally had success with this method early on as I divided my muscles into three groups and trained each group once a week.
Of course, working your muscles again as soon as they fully recover is your fastest ticket to building strength, but the reason that training once a week can be beneficial is that it helps to ensure that you are not overtraining.
The biggest mistake you can make would be to work your muscles when they are not fully recovered. Remember, your muscles grow when you recover after your workout, not when you are in the gym. Working your muscles before they are ready interrupts the process of rebuilding and prevents growth.
Waiting an extra day or two to train your muscles won’t hurt as much as training them a day or two too early. When you train your muscles too early, you can interrupt the recovery process. If your muscles don’t recover, they don’t grow.
The best strategy is to train your muscles as soon as they are recovered, but if you are going to make a mistake with the amount of rest you take, don’t let it be the mistake of resting a day too little. Instead, let your mistakes be on the side of giving your body a little more time than it needs.
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November 24th, 2007 at 6:14 pm
One thing I learned from being an avid reader of Stuart McRobert is overtraining will ruin any chances of gains, period. Sleep should never be negelected.
It is common knowledge that we should get 8 hours sleep, minimum. One thing that helps me get adequate rest is when I think in terms of how much sleep I’m going to get I take into account that it will typically take me an hour to fall asleep, and that I need 8 hours afterward.
So if I need to wake up a 6 AM, rather than getting to bed at 10 PM, I’ll get to bed at 9, that way I can ensure I get adequate sleep. That is just an example, I personally get around 9-10 hours sleep on average.
Also, between training, you need a minimum of one day off before hitting the gym again. For most genetically average people, twice a week is plenty, and I agree that 3 times every two weeks works well.
It is definitely better to have more time off than to hack away at your muscles and hinder gains. Most conventional programs require 4-5 days a week, and in my experience those kind of programs do more harm than good unless you are genetically gifted.
So in short, getting plenty of sleep and rest between workouts is a must. Just curious Jason, what do you think about supplementing with glutamine and casein shakes before sleep?
November 25th, 2007 at 4:30 am
The problem with training 2x/week or 3x/15days, is that you risk losing the exercise habit.
More than 4x/weeks is unnecessary/unrealistic for most people. I always liked the 3x/week approach. Mo/we/fr, rest days inbetween, weekends off.
November 25th, 2007 at 1:11 pm
Sean,
You’ve left a lot of great information here for other readers, and you’re right, sleep is very important. As far as supplementing before sleep, I’ll leave that up to the scientists. Problem is, they can’t agree what’s best half of the time either, so anything I could tell you is only speculation. Eating right will do 90-95% of what you need.
Mehdi,
Right, 3 workouts in 2 weeks is not enough, you’ll lose the exercise habit. If you train your upper body one day and lower the next, you’d need 6 workouts in 2 weeks (3 a week) to get 3 workouts for each muscle group. Thanks for clarifying.
I’m also doing a 3 times a week workout now and have been on it a long time. I alternate muscle groups and each muscle gets 3 workouts in 2 weeks (out of the total 6 workouts in 2 weeks).
November 27th, 2007 at 7:24 pm
I personally have found that 3x a week works for me. I just finised up Starting Strength and am now doing the Texas Method. Rippetoe’s programs has really worked well for me.
At the same time though I believe in respecting your “body intelligence.” There are occasions where I feel that I need to give myself a break and skip a workout once in a while if I feel the need. Recovery is the utmost important, cause what it all boils down to is whether or not you’re going to be able to put up that extra 5 lbs or squeeze out that extra rep or two during the next workout.
November 28th, 2007 at 5:41 am
I started working out 4 to 5 times a week to lose fat before tuning my body. Do you think this is bad for my body?
And I never have enough time to sleep more than 6 hours a day. What do you suggest?
November 28th, 2007 at 2:33 pm
I know that getting the full 8 hours is tough, and I understand that when life gets busy 8 hours isn’t always easy to get. But regardless of your situation, you body still needs it. Do your best to get your sleep.
Doing cardio 4-5 times a week is fine. Just make sure to lift weights as well so that you’re not losing any muscle while you lose fat. Losing muscle will slow your metabolism and make it harder to keep fat off. The recommendations for muscle recovery in this article are to give your muscles a break after heavy lifting (which is important for women too).
November 28th, 2007 at 8:54 pm
I think it’s best to just listen to your body. If your feeling good and making progress than you are doing something right. If you’re just forcing yourself to workout when you think you may need some rest than you’re obviously doing something wrong.
It’s all about finding what works for you through trial and error. As far as sleeping goes it is very important. Read up on some of Dr. William C. Dement’s stuff, he dedicated his whole life’s research to sleep and ultimately found your sleep patterns reflect your entire state of health.
I suggest if possible you try to go to bed earlier.
November 28th, 2007 at 10:54 pm
I don’t know.
I train 5 times a week, revolving around the snatch, CNJ, squatting, snatch grip deadlifts and the assistance lifts for weightlifting like high pulls.
I seem to recover fine. is this article more towards bodybuilders?
November 29th, 2007 at 8:21 am
Kirk- No, if anything this is not for the big advanced bodybuilder. This is aimed at genetically average people who have stresses in life such as work and family, school, etc. These people need time to recover. Many advanced bodybuilders do train 5 days per week hammering away at smaller muscle groups.
A heavy shock 5 days a week is overtraining for the vast majority, but if you’re making gains then by all means don’t let me stop you. Best of luck with the training :-)
January 15th, 2009 at 2:37 am
i believe the best way to recover is all in the feel of your body.
i made my own 18 week training routine working out 5x a week, and on top, riding my mirracobike 20miles a day back and forth to work.
I have a very high metabolism, but i was able to gain over 10 solid pounds of muscle.
for beginners recovery is a major factor in building muscle but training only 2x may give you little results.
in between workouts do body weight excersises such as triangular pushups, sittups and dumbell lifting
good luck
January 23rd, 2009 at 1:42 pm
I have found that eating tons of protein was the only thing that made me gain muscle weight. I went from 150lbs skinny dude to 163-65lbs with muscle tone just by eating 170-180g of protein/day, before I go to bed I have a protein shake because I was told most protein breakdown occurs when you are sleeping.
Days of rest, I agree with the 3x a week of weight training, and on the off days I do an hour of cardio to keep with the habbit. I rest on Sunday and try to get new exercies put together to keep variety.
1. Protein
2. Rest
3. Variety
4. The will to stick to a plan.
February 9th, 2009 at 7:57 am
DOMS can be avoided after weight lifting if you stretch the muscle groups thorougly and this will allow you to work out in about 48 hours
if you do dont any stertches for those muscle groups then you can search on the internet for some simple exercises which should be done properly
March 12th, 2009 at 9:16 pm
I have been starting to get back in to shape.I took 7 months off. I work out 3 times a week, upper body and 2 times lower body. Its been almost a month now and I am seing results. I also changed my diet? I find myself with alot more energy and a much more positive attitude.
March 13th, 2009 at 9:17 am
Good for you Bob – it’s amazing how even a single month will make you feel so much better. Combining weight training with smart eating affects your attitude nearly instantly (days-to-weeks). If you are using any particular “system” or books for guides, please let us know. There are many “getting back into shape” programs out there, and almost all are good – as long as you stick to it.
April 26th, 2009 at 8:23 pm
while this “get plenty of rest” makes sense for proper muscle growth, there is something that puzzles me a bit, there is this one guy that lives in a poor third world country, and he works carrying heavy loads of stuff on his back down and uphill every day, he is a poor day laborer, he does not eat protein drinks and i am sure his diet is not the best either, and yet, his calves are soo massive that it rivals those of professional body builders, how does he acomplishes this? he does not eat right and does not rest, he blasts his claves hard every day, that my friends throws out the window everything that is written here, can somebody explaint that away?
April 29th, 2009 at 9:59 am
@ Crazy Eyes – you actually answered your own question – “he blasts his calves every day”. The body is an amazing thing. Regardless of rest, diet, protein, etc. the body will respond to the stimulus it is given. So even without resting, if he’s working those calves all day long, they will grow. But it still holds true that if you work a muscle really intensely for 15 minutes, then never let it rest, it will not grow as fast as if you did let it rest a day or two. But it will still grow. The laborer you mention has large calves simply because they are growing a tiny bit each day but many days add up.
Now, it also happens that calves are a muscle group that seem to require the least rest. Arnold writes about how he had small calves and so he would blast them every day when he was young and they did grow because they heal quickly.
Trust me, in a bodybuilding routine, you need to rest your muscles.
May 1st, 2009 at 10:37 pm
Can the abs take being worked out hard more than twice a week? If so, what is a good guideline for them? Thanks
May 16th, 2009 at 7:35 am
I concur with your conclusions – in the beginning due to the incredible overload placed on a beginners muscles I believe a full 6 days between training the same muscle groups is required.
Once a trainee is a few months in and the resistance increased at each workout becomes less, the less recovery time I feel is required.
I now rest a full 3 days between each major muscle group worked. It appears optimum from my experiences for more intermediate and advanced trainee’s.
Pete Owen
May 31st, 2009 at 9:21 pm
Recovery is the most important part of training. That and nutrition. I do bolieve that light excersize of the muscle groups can help a great deal in between training sesions just to keep the blood flowing and flushing the muscle of lactic acid etc.
Few other things that help is cooling the area right after intense training. For legs, placing them in cold water. You can use ice but make sure it is not in direct contact with your skin.
August 25th, 2009 at 11:36 am
A lot of these statements seem they are coming from lifting weights. What would be the proper rest period with 1) lifting weights and running and 2) lifting weights and martial arts ( includes a lot of hard punching, kicking, and getting hit)?
My second question. I went through a long period, about 6 months where my sleep ranged from 2-6 hours of sleep a night, with only a few nights over 6 hours of sleep. I ate very healthy, exercised, played a college sport (soccer) as well as lifting. I did very little heavy lifting and a lot of light weight, high reps and push ups and pulls ups. My school work and daily life was very stressful. I did drink alcohol about 2 nights a week. It has been 3 months now since I stopped that, now I sleep 8-10 hours a night and when I wake up i feel like a train reck and it lasts for about an hour or 2 to ” wake up”. What would be the recovery time for something like that. How long will that continue? (I am 22 years old)
Thanks.
August 26th, 2009 at 10:13 am
@Pat – great questions. I’m actually in the middle of an alternate post on this very topic, so if you hang for another week or so, you should get your questions answered.
August 27th, 2009 at 10:22 pm
hey i workout every morning at 5;30 before school with a friend this has been really eye opening to me. I didn’t know it was bad to hammer away at the same muscles.
September 16th, 2009 at 8:29 pm
I used a upper lower split its my favorite and I have a night owl work schedule .but after a few weeks I feel run down and it starts being counter productive and i star havening to lower the intensity of my training sessions .so then I went to each muscle group once a week and that I felt better not as worn down but I also felt lie I should be doing more .by the way I am 36 so I noticed I don’t recover like I did when I was 20 .any advice from someone who’s gone through what I’m going through.
September 18th, 2009 at 9:13 am
Hey Van – that’s great that you are learning what works best for your body. It shows that each of us is unique, because I have the opposite effect on recovery when I do more strict splits. You should also check out http://worldfitnessnetwork.com.....t-version/ , especially the longer version if you join LeanLifters, as it goes over many more factors there.
September 23rd, 2009 at 3:35 pm
I am training 6 times per week and i dont know what should i do because,I train on monday and thursday chest and biceps,on tuesday and friday back and triceps and on wensday and saturday shoulders and legs,and sunday its off.When I train chest and biceps again on monday (when it has rested 96 hours from it last training)next day mu chest and biceps feel sore(pain).Is this right or this sore ruins my muscles.pls explain this to me.
September 24th, 2009 at 7:39 pm
@Romeo – Well, the fact that you are asking tells me that you aren’t happy with your results. So you probably don’t need me to tell you this, but I will anyway. Sounds like your routine stinks. Unless you are a competitive bodybuilder, don’t do special exercises for your arms. The Big 7 give your arms plenty of work while working other muscles too. And even if you ignore that advice, your workout doesn’t give your arms any rest. You are doing biceps on Monday, then on Tuesday you are doing biceps again because back exercises are heavy on arms. Then you do biceps again on Thursday, and again on Friday when you do back. So your biceps are getting worked 4 days a week! I don’t know your experience level, but you should think about full-body routines and spend some time on this site reading all the advice.
December 3rd, 2009 at 12:56 am
hey my name is Matt and i got told so many workouts, but i just wanna get the right one for me, i used to work out 6 days a week Sunday rest, and i worked out my body part twice a week i didn’t get any results i still weight 75 kilos, but now im doing one muscle group once a week, so Monday legs, Tuesday chest and triceps, Wednesday shoulders and traps, Thursday back and biceps, Friday abs and cardeo running bike etc. Saturday and Sunday rest. is the right way to build muscle? please i need help Ive been working out for ages and im not getting anywhere, but i heard if you work out one body part a week you will get results but you wont get strength? i want to get muscle and strength please someone write back to me or email me matthew-noy@hotmail.com
December 4th, 2009 at 7:00 am
@Matt – as our followup article shows (http://worldfitnessnetwork.com.....t-version/), it’s not so simple. Different things work for different people. Your particular routine, in my experience, is only optimum for the most advanced lifters – people who have been lifting regularly for 5+ years. But read the other article and if you have additional questions you can post them there.
January 19th, 2010 at 7:09 pm
Hi, I’ve been training around 4/5 times a week until I read this page.
I still want to be regular with my training though, if I split into 3 sessions a week, doing chest and legs on Monday can I do arms and shoulders on Wednesday or will this impede recovery of my chest muscles?
Also any advice on a program for me would be much appreciated, thanks.
January 20th, 2010 at 9:02 pm
@Yahya – you are probably fine for chest recovery, but where is your back workout in this cycle? Also, be sure to read this for more insight into muscle recovery. There are infinite variations for programs. Check out the forums at http://worldfitnessnetwork.com/forum to see if the discussion there would help you with that.
January 21st, 2010 at 3:57 am
Darrin-Yeah I forgot about back, to be honest I’ve only very recently started working it out as I was more focused on developing my chest and arms, my friend gave me a program yesterday and said it’s best to do a big muscle with a small muscle so Monday-chest and biceps, Wednesday-legs and shoulders and Friday-back and triceps.
Thanks for the link darrin, much appreciated.
January 24th, 2010 at 8:39 pm
What i dont understand is how the hollywood trainers do it then? take ryan reynolds for example.(the guy from blade 3, amytville horror, deadpool in x-men origins) the guy used to be a skinny dude, and in 5 months transformed himself from an average looking skinny guy to incredibly ripped, while working out 6 days a week. im just wondering how this is possible if you stuck to the 3-4 times a week routine. i personally work out 5-6 times a week, with chest usually being the only muscle i sometimes give extra rest. im 23 with an incredibly fast metabolism and in pretty good shape. do you think i would get better results by taking an extra one or two days off? even at 5-6 days a week at about 1hour 15 minutes each workout i find it incredibly hard to make my muscles sore for rarely more then 48 hours. unlike most people here i do not do any upper body on leg days. i’m 5′9″ at 160 lbs and 6.8% body fat. would i still see bigger gains if i took more time off?
January 27th, 2010 at 2:02 pm
@scott – see the companion article: http://worldfitnessnetwork.com.....t-version/.
for your specific questions, most of the time, thin guys with “high metabolisms” would see more muscle (size) gains by training less than 5-6 days a week. Eating is probably more important than lifting. See http://worldfitnessnetwork.com.....es-part-2/ .
As far as celebrities, they have excellent personal trainers, nearly unlimited budget, and lots of support. With that, almost anyone could see fast amazing progress.