Thursday, September 27, 2012

Beginner Workout Plans: Common Mistakes Part 3

Mistake: Overtraining

I sort of touched on this is the first part of this beginner mistakes series (impatience), but overtraining deserves its own separate mention. It's easy to get into the mindset that if you just workout harder, you'll gain muscle faster.

Believe it or not, it's actually the opposite that's true: When you're figuring out your workout plans as a beginner, it's actually more beneficial to train less. Your muscles aren't used to all this extra strain, and they need time to recover.

Every newbie knows this by now, but it seems like the knowledge just evaporates the first time you step into a gym: Muscles don't grow during a workout. During a workout, you're actually tearing the muscle tissue down. It's the rest and recovery that allows your muscles to grow back.

That's why I'm such a huge proponent of recovery days. Most people say one-day recovery is enough. I always suggest two days, especially with beginners. You can't rest too much. Do you know what Chris Hemsworth said when he was bulking up to play Thor in the recent Marvel movies?

He said, "I spent a lot of time eating and working out, but I slept more than anything."

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