In order to realize their most-important goals and dreams
all he-men need their sleep.
Whatever it taykes, Bro!
This article fits nicely with the last one by Bruce Page that is here:
How often have you heard it said, or have you yourself been the one to mention to a training partner:
"Man, that was some workout I just had; every muscle really aches."
And if you do feel this aching sensation following a workout, do you feel that you have added greatly to your chances of increasing your muscular girths.
But have you?
Oh-oh. Is this working to exhaustion the way to reach your ultimate goal? I have a few theories on this subject which might interest the reader.
In the first place, exercise should not be painful. It should be pleasant, leaving the trainee feeling refreshed and better for the experience, not worse.
Some of the old guard and certainly many of the beginners are of the impression that if they are scheduled to perform a certain number of reps of an exercise on a particular day then they must follow this through or suffer the consequences; these being the possible loss of muscle size. Nothing could be further from the truth.
The accepted theory among baby bodybuilders today appears to be that in order to be effective, the reps or contractions of an exercise must be in succession with no pause allowed between them, until the last, almost impossible rep has been made. These last contractions are supposed to be the real size producers. However, for the exerciser to fight the weight is, in fact, only to fight himself.
To illustrate a point let's look at the rate of blood pumped by the heart. In normal activity the heart pumps between 3 and 4.5 quarts per minute [QPM's, a term used frequently in beer-drinking games], but during strenuous activities such as weight training, as much as 35 quarts per minute are pumped. Your heart has to work pretty hard and fast in order to pump this much blood in such a short time. Do you feel that it should be forced to work like this without a rest?
The trainee must not feel that he is under compulsion to exercise hard, heavily and continuously over great periods of time. If he feels this way then he is indeed in error. He should employ his weights as a means of progressive resistance, providing easy, gradual resistance to his muscles. The handling of excessive poundages should not be the main consideration of his training, although adequate weight should be used, but rather he should regard the controlled, constant conditions of breathing, form, alternate periods of work and rest as primary factors.
The bodybuilder must at all times remember that he is engaged in a special, exceedingly arduous type of exercise [they just love to exaggerate how demanding lifting is and I hope you don't. We could go back to the wee baby jokes here but won't. For fuck's sake, it's something you choose to do for a few hours a week.] Such exercise, for best results, must be performed under optimal controlled conditions or in a shed out back in the middle of the night when you have free time. Persistence at this type of training, under ideal working conditions will produce favorable results, but only if they work efficiently and intelligently. There are no "secrets" to obtaining the end result, just common sense, so that by dividing the task at hand into smaller units of work, better attention can be directed at perfection of form; to those little fine points that can mean so much faster progress.
Take plenty of time. Use goof, er, good form and be certain to breathe deeply. When resting, breathe deeply again, from 3 to 10 times, if necessary. Work rhythmically, slowly and sensibly.
Remember, success is eventually measured by how well we have rested not by how hard we have worked. Give the body a chance and it will respond. Feeling tired is definitely a symptom of faulty exercise, of abuse of the organism [the organism? Oh, I see. He means me. My body. How sadly distant sounding, the organism, the experiment, the test tube. It's no wonder some guys get so sick in the head about themselves, i.e. their bodies.] You should always feel exhilarated, full of pep and energy, piss and vinegar, hard and hairy. Never be fatigued.
Rest between your sets -- even between your reps, gives the blood a chance to do its good work. It is the blood which removes the products of fatigue and rebuilds our tissues as we sleep. It is the blood, containing oxygen, blood sugar, proteins, bringing them to the muscles that restores their strength, increases their bulk, cell by cell. Filling the muscles gently allows a steady washing away of waste products and the blues and blahs, and the bathing of the cells with fresh blood filled with constructive material for the next contraction. It is the blood.
To see to what extent we can pack the muscles with blood is not logical since the deposition of body building material in the muscles takes place most favorably under the steady, unhurried flow of blood, glorious blood.
In time, because of the accumulation of fatigue products, the ambitious bodybuilder who originally began his training so enthusiastically finds himself unaccountably drained of strength, and his interest is depleted. He has reached the limit of his reserve force and has finally arrived at that stale old stumbling block, the stinkin' sticking point. However, had he exercises wisely and used poundages within his capacity, he would never have encountered it. Overworked muscles simply cannot work properly nor are they capable of responding as they should. They are simply drugged with fatigue.
As as example of proper rest periods during a workout, let us assume that you are working on a system of training whereby there is a sequence of exercises to be followed one after the other; say 3 for biceps and 3 for triceps. Now this is a very strenuous way to train and if care is not taken your muscles will become overworked and saturated with fatigue products, which, as explained earlier, only retards progress rather than assisting it. Therefore, between each set of this type of routine it is necessary to take a brief rest. Simply stand relaxed and take between 6-10 deep breaths in both lungs or 12-20 in one before continuing on to the next exercise. This will be sufficient time to relieve the muscle group which you are working of a great deal of fatigue products and allow the muscles to function normally again. Of course, during heavy squats it will be necessary to take more time between sets due to the tremendous increase in effort put forth as compared with, say, biceps curls.
You have often seen it written, "Train, don't strain," and this is very good logic. Muscles respond to a greater degree when their contractions are slow and deliberate, so why rush your training and speed up fatigue?
Train sensibly and conscientiously and you will attain the success you desire.
Now get out there and demolish those adrenal glands.
Not much in this one, a possible reminder of some things perhaps forgotten.
Enjoy Your Lifting!
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