Weight Lifting Tips - Growing Muscles Need their Rest

If you started a new weightlifting program recently, you probably are excited and eager to get results as soon as possible. That's a good thing, since the motivation and desire will get you through the tough times ahead. When you're having a bad day and are feeling too lazy to go to the gym, you need to remember why you started this program to begin with. Likewise, when you're feeling the burning and soreness cause by lifting weights, you may be tempted to give up your commitment to muscle building all together. However, here's something you may not have thought of before you started strength training: it's possible to overdo it.

Just as you should be careful not to let go of your commitment, you should also be cautious and not put a strain on your body by training to hard or too often. As you progress and become a more advanced strength trainer, it will be especially important to give your muscles a day of rest. In fact, more than one expert fitness trainer has recommended that you limit yourself to less than 3 hours a week of weightlifting! To understand why, you have to remember that the actual growth of muscle occurs at rest - not in the gym. Exercising with weights will stimulate your muscles to grow, as long as they are challenged beyond their previous limits. The process of rebuilding the muscle stronger than it was before, believe it or not, occurs while you're resting.

If you do not allow for adequate recovery time in between workout sessions, your muscles may not be ready to progress. If you find that you can't lift slightly more weight each week (or even worse, if you can't even repeat what you lifted during the previous session), you need to check your recovery methods. Always allow your muscles to rest so they can keep growing.

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