question regarding workout, and muscle rest

[DaChroniclez]

I have been trying to get back into shape, because i got a little out of it during school. I've been doing crunches every night, and I'm trying to add more workouts as I get used to the ones im doing. So I added squats into the mix the other day, I did 100 of them and my legs became extremely sore, this was 3 days ago, and they are still sore a little (to be expected). My question is this:

How much time do muscles need (please specify for different muscle groups if its different) to regenerate between workouts (bodyweight workouts) such as squats, crunches, pushups, etc...

I'm not sure if i should just go ahead and do another 100 rep, set of squats today even though they are still a little bit sore (the pain is mostly gone now, its only a little bit sore) or wait until they feel completely fine. I know for example abs can be worked out daily regardless of if they are sore or not.

[chillindan]

Hi, sounds painful!

Seriously it is generally accepted that you rest a particular muscle group for 48 hours between workouts when you begin training. However as you progress this can be reduced. You only have to look at olympic athletes who train every day twice a day to see that there is no hard and fast rule.

What is right for one is not necessarily right for another. A general rule of thumb is 'listen to your body'. When you are training you can tell when you get a pain whether it is a 'stop training' pain or just an ache because you are working the muscle.

I generally try to alternate my training by doing the following

Monday - Rest

Tuesday - Karate

Wednesday - Running

Thursday - Stregnth/Flexibility

Friday - Rest

Saturday - Karate

Sunday - Long run

I'm not saying this is ideal, but it works for me. Also note that I do not work the same muscle group, in the same way each day (i.e. it is ok to do stregnth training on your legs one day and run the next, if you can ).

Hope this helps.

[bushido_man96]

Generally, as said above, 48 to 72 hours of rest will recuperate the muscles. If you do plyometrics, you want 72 hours minimum between workouts.

It sounds to me like you may have overtrained your legs this early getting back into it. I would wait a few extra days, and then try a more moderate building process.

[DaChroniclez]

thank you for the replies, i got most of what i wanted answered. But I still have a question about whether or not the recovery time differs with bodyweight exercises, or a certain type of exercises, because like i mentioned i heard you can do crunches/situps everyday. And also are squats considered plyometric? Like when you are doign the downward motion it is fairly quick, and then its like a 'pump' back up adn tehn back down and so on.

[elbows_and_knees]

squats aren't plyometric. Now, if you add a jumping motion in there, it would be.

[Sohan]

thank you for the replies, i got most of what i wanted answered. But I still have a question about whether or not the recovery time differs with bodyweight exercises, or a certain type of exercises, because like i mentioned i heard you can do crunches/situps everyday. And also are squats considered plyometric? Like when you are doign the downward motion it is fairly quick, and then its like a 'pump' back up adn tehn back down and so on.

Recovery time is dependent on workout intensity and duration. The longer and harder you train, the more recovery time you will require between exercise sessions. Your fitness level and ability to recover will factor in as well. An older person of modest fitness who gets only 4-5 hours rest at night and works long hours at a job that is mentally stressful may not be able to train at a high intensity as frequently as a 20 year old professional boxer who sleeps 9 hours per night and doesn't have to carry an additional job.

The rule is that there is no rule. If you can improve your performance on a given rest period between workouts, then that is what is optimal for you. Many powerlifters train their specialties only once per week, because they need that recovery time between workouts, though they are doing other supplemental training during the week. Less intense training programs may be performed more frequently. You can run every day, but if you perform clean and jerks each day, you may soon find yourself in physical therapy. As for plyometric training, twice a week max is usually recommended because of the intensity involved.

As for me, I run in the morning and do strength training, MA, or conditioning in the evening, rarely repeating the same workout two days in a row. Rest and proper intensity is of interest to me, because if my morning run is particularly hard or long, I will not recover sufficiently to train that evening. Therefore it takes some thought to determine what your goals are for training, what workouts you will need to achieve those goals, and what kind of rest you will need to recover from them.

Best of luck.

With respect,

Sohan

[Orion]

My body recovers at different speeds depending on how much sleep i get. I thought it was all a myth but its actually very true. I normally do;

Monday : Rest

Tuesday : Gym

Wednesday : Karate

Thursday : Gym

Friday : Rest

Saturday : Gym

Sunday : Cycling

Although this week my girlfriend has had exams so i didn't go to the gym and have been up quite late with her. But today I can hardly move, my workout was the same and karate was not as hard as it has been.

Enough about me, like everyone else has said, rest alot at the begining then your body will gradually get used to it and you can reduce the recovery time.

[shukokai2000]

Mon. karate

Tue. rest

wed. rest

thur. Karate

Fri. gym

sat. karate

sun. mothers for big Sunday lunch

[DaChroniclez]

ok, well i guess what my question really was, was HOW do i know my body is ready for the next workout (which in this case was squats)? Is it when my legs arent sore at all already? Or is it normal to work them out again even while they're still sore a bit (or alot)?

btw, thank you very much for the responses

[bushido_man96]

ok, well i guess what my question really was, was HOW do i know my body is ready for the next workout (which in this case was squats)? Is it when my legs arent sore at all already? Or is it normal to work them out again even while they're still sore a bit (or alot)?

btw, thank you very much for the responses

When you start up your workouts, the initial soreness will hang around longer than when you finally get acclimated to working out. So, even though you are still sore, you may still go ahead and workout. Just don't over work yourself.