Rest Day from Working Out: Why So Important

The rest day in strength training by the majority is regarded as a complete loss of previously obtained results. It would be strange if scientists did not think about it and did not speak out on this subject.

So, an increase in strength and muscle growth is an adaptive reaction of the body to the new, increased requirements presented by you (the body owner) to it (the body), for example, in the form of strength training. The body understands that the owner has lost his mind and is forced to change in order to please the crazy boss, but when he refuses to train, he is in a hurry to get rid of excess muscle and strength, because in ordinary life, all this is extremely irrational. At the same time, the body knows that the owner is an extremely extravagant character and can easily start its strange strength training again and neatly, not immediately, merges muscles, loses endurance and strength.

What happens on the rest day?

1. In the first week of refusal from training, the body understands that the owner just decided to relax a bit and therefore keeps everything you have gained, i.e., there is no decrease in muscle mass, strength, and endurance.
2. In the second week of rest, the body begins to understand that the owner seems to be in a sports outfit, but is not sure about it and therefore slightly decreases the MOC level (maximum oxygen consumption) by up to 7%, and muscle strength and mass are still practically not reduced.
3. By the third week, the body becomes aware that the owner has calmed down – it increases the level of testosterone and growth hormone (an increase in testosterone/cortisol by 68%), while without regret it begins to part with endurance (IPC continues to decrease) by strength and muscles while saying – “Use or lose.”
4. Starting from the fourth week of inactivity, significant losses of all qualities and muscle mass acquired by training are observed.

By the way, scientists noticed that loss of strength indicators in percent of 1RM in less-trained athletes is less than in experienced athletes, which is likely due to the loss of neuromuscular communication.

What do scientists recommend?

Resting your soul and body in the first week, and with the second in order to reduce the possible traumatism caused by a long rest, conduct one workout on the whole body with the same working weights in only 1-3 working sets.

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