Never underestimate the importance of getting enough sleep and rest between workout days. If you don’t allow your body plenty of time to recoup, how can you expect to see the type of gains that you want? The one thing that is crucial to remember is that when you work out, you are actually breaking down your muscle. The body only builds muscle when you’re resting- through proper rest and nutrition.
The effects of inadequate rest and recovery between workouts can lead to the following:
- Low levels of energy
- Decrease in Growth Hormone and Testosterone Levels
- Increase in catabolic (muscle destroying) hormones
- Overtraining – this can lead to injury
It’s really simple, not getting enough sleep and rest between workout days will encourage your body to lose muscle and gain body fat; something none of us want when trying to reach our fitness goals. The solution is really simple…get more rest!
Tips:
- Aim for 8 hours of sleep a day. Can’t get 8 hours- squeeze in small naps throughout the day
- Relax a couple hours before bed to prevent your adrenaline levels from rising
- Try to avoid physical activity close to bedtime- which can elevate your heart rate
- Try to go to bed the same time/ and wake up at the same time everyday
- Try not to weight train on consecutive days (no more than two days in a row) your muscles and nervous system need time to recover.
Remember when designing your training split; make sure that rest and recovery are never overlooked-it’s when your muscle truly grows. To maximize recovery try 1 serving of PROLAB Glutamine Pre/ Post workout, and a serving prior to bedtime. Sometimes the simplest solution could make all the difference when trying to reach your goals!
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