Is Recovery time really that important?

[jerbo007]

When supplementing AAS is recovery time as important? Don't AAS speed up recovery therefore allowing me to hit each muscle more often each week? Please advise.

A little more about my personal situation...
I used to do a 3 day per week workout that focused on the entire body and increasing my heart rate. I did get lean but I constantly was plagued with injuries and did'nt really put on much muscle mass. I have decided to go to a 4 day split for that reason but I am eager to hit the gym 7 days a week. How important is it for me to rest and recovery completly?

Thanks!

J

[onthecumup]

you dont grow when you lift, you grow when you sleep. rest is a huuuggee factor. granted aas does speed that recovery time up but i would still always allow 48 hrs.

[ricker35910]

your muscles need rest to grow.

[preistfan]

Originally Posted by onthecumup

you dont grow when you lift, you grow when you sleep. rest is a huuuggee factor. granted aas does speed that recovery time up but i would still always allow 48 hrs.

Glad that this was the first response because it is the unmitigated truth. I lookat it this way, yes AAS help you recover faster but they also help you train harder which in turn requires more nutrients and recovery. I try not to train more than five days a week, every so often I get a sixth in there. I currently break my body up as follows;
day 1-chest
day 2-back and traps
day 3-shoulders
day 4-arms
day 5-legs
each workout is roughly 90 min+10minw/up on treadmill and 20min moderate cardio 2-3xweek
intensity is more important than frequency. If you hit a bodypart hard enough you will need a week to recover fully. Full recovery doesn't just mean youre not sore, it means that bodypart has recovered to the point where it can be maximally trained again. there is a difference.

[CPT316]

AAS doesn't prevent overtraining, in fact, you have to be more cautious about overtraining because you may not feel some of the symptoms due to the effects of AAS.

Overtraining is not necessarily of the muscles, it is actually burning out your neurotransmitters which deliver messages to your nerves to stimulate your muscle fully and specifically. Once your neurotransmitters are burnt out, it's no use doing more sets, you are not working the muscle because the neurotransmitters are not sending any signals.

And the only time neurotransmitters recuperate in the body is during sleep, and I don't think AAS will do anything for your neurotransmitter endurance or response. Mind-muscle connection is only established through countless, consistent, correctly performed repetitions of an excercise, you need tens of thousands of reps to develop a very sharp mind-muscle connection.

[lV3GlVl4]

excellent post..i especially agree with the statement of mind muscle connection taking so long..my older brother doesnt work out often...but has on and off, and he does the same exact movements as me when we do it together, but something is missing...some intangible to each one of his reps...that intangible is the mind muscle connection. No shortcuts to it either. A trained eye knows someone has it or doesnt just by watching them work out. The more you solidify it over time as CP said, the more youll be able to quickly burn out the neural network in your muscles and overtrain quicker the longer you workout. AAS lets you extend the workout considerably. As a natty, I cant hang 90 minutes as hard as i push. Just not acheivable because I activate so thoroughly and burn out quickly.

[jerbo007]

Thanks for the good replies..I understand what you are saying and I have taken a new approach as of this week. I am using the 4 day split (Tri-Phase) workout that is posted here on AAB.This will allow me to fully recover and hit each muscle harder when its time. I hope this will help me stay healthy as well and not be a prone to injury. I will also think more about mind muscle connection as you mentioned below, makes good sense.

[CPT316]

With good mind muscle connection, you can make any weight stimulate the muscles. The only thing that can build mind-muscle connection is time and good form. You need to pay your dues with those thousands of reps, and it will show in the quality of the muscle. That's why you see a lot of the pros get better with age.

You'll notice in Pumping Iron, Arnold touches upon the subject, you think of the exercise, envision the muscle moving... it is a beautiful exercise that will make your muscles grow.

[preistfan]

"muscle maturity" doesn't come fast and it doesn't come in a bottle..... there's a big diffrence between a muscular 18" arm and a really mature muscular 18" arm.

[Triposinator]

I took me a long while to appreciate the importance of recuperation between workouts. Then I got to know a couple of 40ish Pros.

Basically what I learned was to take a day off after working large muscle groups. Back, chest and legs. Arms, shoulders, abs, I do fine working out the next day. I use the off days for cardio.

Younger guys may not benefit as much, they seem to not think so anyway. But I figure if you are doing 16 set workouts at max load, most people will benefit from a day off. This is the part that's hard to measure from person to person. We all seem to think we are killing the weights at the gym