This was a lot of fun!!!
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
article on recovery I wrote..
RECOVERY ARE YOU GETTING YOURS? a short article I wrote for the Richmond Olympic Oval
By Ryan Delaney BCRPA Personal Trainer..
...So your hitting the gym three to four times a week, pumping the iron,tramping on the treadmill and being a dedicated fitness fanatic..so what could be wrong with this picture?
Well nothing actually if your allowing your body adequate time to recover..when we talk about recovery we mean a couple of different things....there is our specific recovery from any form of physical activity, and then there is our recovery as part of our exercise session that will allow our muscles to replenish their cellular energy[e.g. muscle glycogen]
First and foremost,are you allowing your body to fully recover from a good workout? A good rule of thumb according to the ACSM[American College Of Sports Medicine] is between 48-72 hours for muscle groups-so if you have been lifting heavy then two to three days is needed before you involve that muscle group again.
But we also have the concept of ‘active recovery’ which is light physical activity following a heavy workout- usually this would involve some light cardio and believe it or not this will speed up the recovery process ,by flushing the lactic acid and metabolic waste products out of your system....
active recovery can take the form of brisk walking,biking,yoga, light swimming,anything that involves the larger muscle groups in a lower intensity fashion..
So that covers your days out of the gym now what about when your in the Gym?How long should you wait between sets and reps before you go again?Your pounding out a couple of sets of heavy bench presses and wondering what the magic number of seconds to wait for recovery before you hit those next reps..?
Again recovery between sets depends on your specific goals..Are you a Powerlifter,bodybuilder or just an individual staying fit and hoping to stay strong to enhance your health and fitness?
It’s important to learn the basic guidelines from the National Strength and Conditioning Association in regards to how long should you wait..If you are training for muscular endurance (low to moderate resistance, 1-3 sets, >12 reps) you should rest for about 30-60 seconds. If muscular hypertrophy ,e.g. more of a bodybuilding type of training, then its moderate to heavy weight, 2-4 sets, 6-12 reps and rest periods around 45-90 seconds. Training for muscular strength/power (moderate to heavy resistance, 3-6 sets, 1-6 reps), rest ranges are 90 seconds or a bit more..but again everybody is different- listen to your body, and experiment!
By Ryan Delaney BCRPA Personal Trainer..
...So your hitting the gym three to four times a week, pumping the iron,tramping on the treadmill and being a dedicated fitness fanatic..so what could be wrong with this picture?
Well nothing actually if your allowing your body adequate time to recover..when we talk about recovery we mean a couple of different things....there is our specific recovery from any form of physical activity, and then there is our recovery as part of our exercise session that will allow our muscles to replenish their cellular energy[e.g. muscle glycogen]
First and foremost,are you allowing your body to fully recover from a good workout? A good rule of thumb according to the ACSM[American College Of Sports Medicine] is between 48-72 hours for muscle groups-so if you have been lifting heavy then two to three days is needed before you involve that muscle group again.
But we also have the concept of ‘active recovery’ which is light physical activity following a heavy workout- usually this would involve some light cardio and believe it or not this will speed up the recovery process ,by flushing the lactic acid and metabolic waste products out of your system....
active recovery can take the form of brisk walking,biking,yoga, light swimming,anything that involves the larger muscle groups in a lower intensity fashion..
So that covers your days out of the gym now what about when your in the Gym?How long should you wait between sets and reps before you go again?Your pounding out a couple of sets of heavy bench presses and wondering what the magic number of seconds to wait for recovery before you hit those next reps..?
Again recovery between sets depends on your specific goals..Are you a Powerlifter,bodybuilder or just an individual staying fit and hoping to stay strong to enhance your health and fitness?
It’s important to learn the basic guidelines from the National Strength and Conditioning Association in regards to how long should you wait..If you are training for muscular endurance (low to moderate resistance, 1-3 sets, >12 reps) you should rest for about 30-60 seconds. If muscular hypertrophy ,e.g. more of a bodybuilding type of training, then its moderate to heavy weight, 2-4 sets, 6-12 reps and rest periods around 45-90 seconds. Training for muscular strength/power (moderate to heavy resistance, 3-6 sets, 1-6 reps), rest ranges are 90 seconds or a bit more..but again everybody is different- listen to your body, and experiment!
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