Why there should be at least a 48 hour recovery period between workouts for the same muscle group?

It is recommended that you strength-train your muscles at least two times per week. Strength training is the process of building and maintaining muscles in the body by using progressively heavier weights (or resistance). Rest at least one to two days in between working the same muscle groups again. For example, if you work your arm muscles on Monday, wait until Wednesday or Thursday to work them again. Small tears in the muscles occur during strength training. Rest is needed to allow the muscles to repair themselves, which is how they become bigger and stronger.

The amount of rest needed between strength training days for a given muscle group depends on your program goal and your level of experience. If you are a beginner trying to lose weight, it is recommended to begin with resistance training which emphasizes stabilization. This type of training uses intensities of between 50%-70% of a 1 repetition maximum for up to 20 repetitions. This type of training can be done from 2 to 4 times per week; a 24 hour rest period is sufficient. If you are more experienced and have a goal of increasing muscle size you should use an intensity of 75%-85% of your 1 repetition maximum for 6 to 12 repetitions and 3 to 5 sets. This type of training is more demanding on the muscular system and requires a longer rest period. There is currently little research available suggesting the rest needed between subsequent trainig sessions of the same body part. This is due to a lack of a standard research procedure and accurate physiological marker indicating the point of maximum recovery.

Important: This content reflects information from various individuals and organizations and may offer alternative or opposing points of view. It should not be used for medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. As always, you should consult with your healthcare provider about your specific health needs.

The general rule of thumb is if you are doing a weight-training exercise and completely causing a muscle to go to fatigue, you really need at least 48 hours for that muscle to recover. For instance, let’s say you go and do a really intense shoulder workout (shoulder presses, upright rows and flies, for instance). Well, you shouldn’t work out shoulders again the next day. You should take at least a full day off before working shoulders again. Your muscles need to adequately rest between workouts.

Now, that’s not to say you can’t work out the next day. You absolutely can. You can work out your legs, your back or your biceps. But again, you want to give your shoulders at least a full day of rest before you have them go to complete fatigue again.

In general, this also works for your cardiovascular system. In the past, I’ve done triathlons, and when you’re training during the week, you really should have only one day where you’re going at race pace. You’ll wear your body out. And you absolutely must give your body a chance to recover from common running injuries, such as shin splints, tendonitis (runner’s knee) and sore Achilles tendons, for example.

Learn to Ramp Up Your Exercise & ‘Listen’ to Your Body

Again, rest increases performance. This has actually been proven in sports studies, and this is actually a principle called tapering. When you have a big race coming up, one of the ideal things you can do is continue to build your volume over time.

Each week, always take one complete day off from exercise. One to two days off completely, each week, from exercise, is the ideal amount of time.

When you have that 5k coming up, or a triathlon or that CrossFit competition, and you want to be at your peak performance in exercise, you want to really build up your volume over time. The week of the competition, however, or even a few days before, make sure you do a lighter load — just very light exercise, maybe half of what you would normally do, and that’s going to allow your body to rest and recover for the next day.

In addition, sleep is critical for improving performance. Getting eight-plus hours of sleep a night is absolutely essential. If you’re only getting six hours of sleep a night or just can’t sleep, then it’s imperative you get more Zzzs or find natural remedies to help you sleep better, as sleep time is repair time for your whole body — muscles, tendons, ligaments, organs (including the brain!), etc.

So listen, don’t overwork your body. More isn’t always better; you want to slowly, naturally, continually build up your volume over time, typically by about 10 percent a week, whether that’s running or lifting or performing a certain sport like basketball, football or soccer. That’s how you really want to do it.

Remember, schedule in those periods of rest. Make sure you’re getting plenty of rest between workouts, body parts, runs, etc. If you follow those tips, you will absolutely increase your athletic performance.

If you want more tips on how to get fit fast, subscribe to my YouTube channel. I’m always going over my top tips for recovery, building muscle, burning fat and increasing athletic performance.

The optimal time for muscle recovery can vary, and it's difficult to know when to rest.

The problem with resting too little or not at all is that your muscles won't have time to recover and grow. You'll be more prone to injury, which can lead to months of inactivity and lost progress.

It's recommended to rest for 72 hours before working out the same muscle group again. This gives your body the time it needs for muscle recovery and growth without risking injury from overtraining or under-recovery.

The Muscle Recovery and Rebuilding Process

Muscle rebuilding is an important part of the body. It helps you move and stay healthy. A muscle has muscles attached to it called fibers. When you work out you break down these muscle fibers and if it doesn't get enough nutrients, your muscles won't recover and get stronger.

Muscles need time to recover. If you don't properly rest then your muscles will not have a chance to grow. You will be more likely to get hurt and you won't make any more progress towards your fitness goals.

The Optimal Time for Muscle Recovery

The recommended time for muscle recovery is 48-72 hours. This will depend on your body composition, diet, physical activity, and strength.

When someone workouts at a higher intensity, they will experience a higher amount of muscle damage than someone who works out at a lower intensity. If you have a higher muscle mass, then it may take longer to get the same results as someone with less muscle mass.

Muscles grow when they are stimulated and fed enough nutrients, meaning rest isn't the only thing that matters for muscle growth. You also need to make sure you're eating healthy and performing your workouts correctly if you want to see them grow.

Another important factor that plays a big role in your muscle recovery is your workout split.

Workout splits are when your muscle groups are separated into different days of the week. You can pick a split that works best for your needs and habits or sometimes you can go with what's most popular to see what works well. They all have their benefits and disadvantages and you just need to find the one that fits you best.

If you worked out your chest on Monday then it would not be a good idea to do chest again on Tuesday. You need to make sure you're giving your muscles rest days in between workouts.

Speed Up Your Recovery With Proper Nutrition

BMR or Basal Metabolic Rate is the energy needed to perform daily activities, such as muscle recovery. By calculating your BMR you can estimate your daily caloric intake. Here's a BMR calculator you can use.

The key to muscle growth is making sure that you are getting enough nutrients in order for your body to make muscles rather than break them down. If muscle recovery is a concern then it's important to make sure you are eating enough calories.

Eating the right amount of macronutrients (carbs, protein, and fats) will help your body recover faster.

Speed Up Muscle Recovery With Active Rest

There are ways to speed up recovery after your workout sessions. Start by implementing active recovery. Active recovery is the process of gradually returning muscle function to normal levels.

This can be done by doing light muscle exercises, such as walking or biking. This will decrease muscle soreness and help your muscles recover faster than they would have on their own.

Implementing Active Rest

There are many benefits to active recovery. Active rest is a good way of speeding up muscle recovery because it restores the balance between muscle use and muscle growth. It'll also help your muscles speed up the removal of lactic acid.

If you continue working out while your muscles are recovering from one workout session then there will be muscle imbalance and muscle wastage.

Examples of Active Rest:

Key Takeaways

48-72 hours is the recommended time for muscle recovery. In order to speed muscle recovery, you can implement active rest after your workout session and have the right macronutrients in your diet. You can also try a hydromassage lounger. 

Take note although taking some time off at the gym is beneficial, you don't need to take 3 days straight off. All you have to do is make sure that you're giving the muscle 48 to 72 hours of rest to recover before engaging in the same exercises. You can do this by properly setting your workout split.

Need help creating the perfect muscle recovery routine for you? Work with a Certified Personal Trainer at Fitness 19. 

Citations

Yang, Yifan et al. “Effects of Consecutive Versus Non-consecutive Days of Resistance Training on Strength, Body Composition, and Red Blood Cells.” Frontiers in physiology vol. 9 725. 18 Jun. 2018, doi:10.3389/fphys.2018.00725

Draper, Nick et al. “Effects of Active Recovery on Lactate Concentration, Heart Rate and RPE in Climbing.” Journal of sports science & medicine vol. 5,1 97-105. 1 Mar. 2006