muscle recovery-how long?

[guns123]

muscle recovers much faster than the cns.. but, the key is to train so tha the cns is not over taxed and numerous workouts can be achieved.. if one trains biceps for 6 sets once a week, why not do 3 sets twice a week?.. the same goes for anymuscle group really.. the issue is then can the joints take the repeated pounds of twice a week workouts.. or would it be more beneficial to split the amounts of sets in half so that the joints are not overtaxed or irritated by cutting the sets in half and training the muscle twice week..???? so what i am saying is that many in my gym would complain about aching joints.. well.. dont do 8 hard sets all in one day for delyts and the ligaments might thank you.. can a growth response be achieved in two or three sets?.. yes.. so if a growth response can be achieved in low volume and low volume does not tax the cns as hard and low volume does not irritate the joints ect ect and allows you to get a growth response twice a week ect ect.. well.. "i'm no rocket doctor..".. in other words it does not take a genius to figure this out.. i have aton more to add but, i am off to see the fights.. will be back later to finish.. i love thsi subject..

lats-

lets take joint pain out of the equation for this.

yes, splitting 6sets into 3sets 2x week i can see the point of.


but what i am saying is that if you do split the sets per bp up, you are just going to replace it with some sets for another bodypart in order to hit bp's 2xweek so the total volume you have done for the workout (all be it different bodyparts instead of just 1) will be the same. so you cns will be working with the same amount of volume as it would have anyway.................

so
1.how long would it take the cns to recover from this-typical 9 set wokout.

2.how many training sessions could you train without taxing the cns

 

[guns123]

just something else

if chest for example is split in half

when i come to do my 'second half' of chets later in the week wont i need to do a few warmup/slightly heavy sets to prepare myself for a movement like flyes and avoid injury-thus ading to the total weekly volume on the muscle/cns

 

[LATS]

i see what you are saying.. but, you are asking a very individual question.. some people suffer little cns fatigue.. some suffer from it worse.. so everyone and their recovery ability is different.. but, lets take a look at a typical workout of chest , delts and tri's... even if one does 6 sets for pecs, 4 sets for delts and 3-4 sets for tri's on a typical lower volume type workout, we are already at 12-14 sets for the workout.. now take that same workout and do 3 sets for pecs, 3 sets for delts, and 3 for tris and you see the total workload is different by roughly 5 sets.. thats a huge reduction and much less on the cns..

using my own workouts as a example, last night i did 3 sets of wide grip dips, 3 sets of wide grip cable upright rows, and incline db ext for 3 sets.. not counting easy warmups i did 9 total sets.. today i did incline db rows for three sets , wide grip incline rows for two sets, hammer curls for 3 sets.. now, i can tell ya tomorrow will be no workout because my cns is going to be not up to it.. i can not , even with my lower volume workouts do more than two days in a row.. i have tried many times in 20 years and the third workout is listless and weak... so i basically do a two on one off, two on one off... ect .. i also will do a every other day routine also..

now i can tell ya i had a workout partner for many years that could workout 5 days a in a row and feel great.. he said he felt great up until the 5 th day .. then he felt shaky ect.. he took two days off and would rest up to do it over again..

so understand what you are trying to find out but, there is no answer as every one is different.. i know i am good for 9 total sets a workout.. anymore than that and the next day workout is crap.. so yes, it is not the muscle that i am worried about but, general cns fatigue.. this rotation is good fo me.. but, will take a day off when ever i need another one..

so in closing, for me, i suffer from cns fatigue more than others.. i need additional days off.. some do not.. they are the lucky ones.. as for the warm ups.. they are just that.. warm ups.. i do not strain at all with them and use them to get my form down more than anything.. my first sets is usally higher reps anyway.. sometimes in the 14-16 range.. then the second is lower ect.. after, say, pecs i dont need much warmups, maybe a set for delts and a set for tris... i try not to add much to the total volume by doing endless warmups.. just trying to get the feel of the movement down then i am ready to go..

 

[animal eater]

Ah the eternal question. For me legs and back need a good 5 days. Chest shoulders and tris about 3 days and for some silly reason bis take about 4 and they are my worst body part- go figure. All about genetics and probably how stressfull your days are.

 

[thebrick]

For me, its not only about the muscle recovery, its also about when are my joints ready for another pounding? For that reason, I pace myself for (hopefully) much more training in the gym in the years to come.

 

[tkav1980]

Dont overthink stuff.......you have a great build so you must be doing something right.

wow! thanks phil!

 

[chris250]

I think everyone recoverly rate is different...You must find what works best for you...I have tried every type of routine there is in my 17-18 years in the gym...From high volume to HIT to DC training...I pretty much have come up with this...I can go all out for about 6-8 weeks, as long as I dont do to much high intensity tech stuff...(rest pauses, static holds, forced reps ,ect) Anymore, now I just go to positive failure, and thats about it...Sometimes, I might do a forced rep or two, but not very often anymore..I have noticed since I have hit my mid 30's or so...I cant do as much HIT stuff like I use to...So as of late I have done this and it seems to be working pretty good now, cause my strengh is going way up, and im growing again (ofcourse I have been eating more, now to)...

MON- Chest, Delt, and tri's
Tues- Back and bi's
Wens- off
Thurs- Legs (all legs)
Fri- off
Sat- Start routine over again (chest,delt, and tri's)
Sun- off

As for sets and reps an example workout for Chest, delt, and tri's looked like this...

Incline bar press- 3 x warm ups (135 x 12, 225 x 10, 275 x 4), 315 x 10 (to positive failure)
Notes- rep speed was very slow and controlled on my main set...Each rep was a pause at the bottom and top of each rep...

DB flat flys- 1 warm up (50 x 10), 100 x 8 (to positive failure)
Notes- againg speed was very slow and controlled

Smythe front press- 3 x warm ups, 270 x 5 (to positive failure)
Notes- Kinda crappy smythe machine, it drags a bit...But, speed was slow and very controlled

DB laterals- no warm ups, 60 x 20 (Vic Martinez reps, partial reps), 50 x 15 (full reps)
Notes- focused on the bottom movement, only doing 1/4 of the rep...second set was focused on doing full reps

Lying triceps exten.- 2 warm ups, 120 x 15 (to positive failure)
Notes- rep speed is slow, and after finshed with closed grip presses for 15 reps...

tricpe pushdowns- 100 x 20 (one set to positive failure)
Notes- used rope, and full extensions...

Thats what a normal day looks like for me...

chris

 

[Nssca]

It's not the muscles that take a long time to recover it's the central nervous system.

PB

BINGO !!!!