You’ve probably heard the saying “Less is more” applied to many aspects of life.
But did you know it’s also applicable to fitness?
You see, many people assume that the fastest way to sculpt a muscular body and get into shape is to train as often as they can.
So they force themselves to train 5, 6, or even 7 times a week.
And the result?
They start feeling more and more tired each week, their performance drops, and eventually, they get injured.
It is at this point that most people realize that less is actually more when it comes to fitness.
This is because your body needs time to recover between sessions.
Especially if you train to failure.
Besides that, if you’re training for hypertrophy, you’re never going to get the results you want if you don’t give your body enough time to recover.
Because when you lift heavy, you’re basically tearing up your muscle fibers.
And they can’t repair themselves if you don’t take enough rest or if you don’t get enough sleep every night.
So you could say that muscles are built while you sleep.
As a consequence, natural lifters (those who don’t use performance-enhancing drugs) shouldn’t train more than 4 times a week per body part.
However, there are some exceptions depending on your age.
If you’re really young, like in your early twenties, you can get away with training 4 times a week per body part.
But if you’re older than 50, you should cut your training frequency down to 2-3 times a week per body part.
This doesn’t mean you should turn into a couch potato on your days off.
Quite the contrary, you should stay active during your rest period.
For example, you can hike, bike, or do some light stretching and yoga....better yet pick up games of basketball, tennis, pickle ball, or whatever is fun!
Or you can spend some time in hot tubs and saunas.
Even a short sauna session will help you maintain cardiovascular health, reduce inflammation, and alleviate muscle pain.
All of these methods of active recovery will eventually lead to better performance in the gym.
This is why active recovery is the best thing you can do.
And whatever method of recovery you choose, just keep one thing in mind...
You should never feel guilty for taking rest because recovery is an equally important part of the training program as the training itself.
AND....nothing is better for recovery than takin Oh!mino pre, intra, and post workout...even on rest days!
Stay fit my friend,
Michael
Founder & CEO