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Michael  Summers
Each day, and the living of it, has to be a conscious creation in which discipline and order are relieved with some play and pure foolishness. Mary Satton
You’re ready. You’ve bought the gym membership. Perhaps you’ve invested in sessions with a personal trainer (over howls of protest from a parent, spouse or significant other who thinks that there are far better uses for your money). You’ve written down your goals. You’ve thrown away (okay, you’re throwing away) all the junk food. You are READY. Ready to get back in shape…ready to lose the extra weight….ready to get back into those skinny jeans…ready for those six-pack abs and beach body that you’ve always dreamed about but never had or haven’t had in a long time. You’re fired up. YOU…ARE...READY. So here’s my very first piece of advice. You’ve made a wonderful decision, a life-altering decision, and by all means, keep going! Make this more than a phase, but a commitment to healthy living. Focus on your goals. Continue to improve when, where, how and what you eat. Don’t blow off going to the gym or sessions with your trainer just because you’re not in the mood. Finish what you started. But here’s the most important part. Here’s my secret to really maximizing all that time you’ve spent (or are planning to spend) in the gym. Are you listening? Here it is. Know when to take it easy...
...and when to give it a rest.
You might be thinking, “That’s it!? That’s your profound bit of advice? Know when to take it easy and when to give it a rest? Aren’t you exercise and fitness types always talking about tempo and intensity in the gym? You’re right. We do. Tempo and intensity are important—when you’re working out. Appearances aside, random twisting, pushing, pulling and grunting will not help you reach your fitness goals. You have to focus. You have to actually feel the muscles that you’re supposed to be working. You have to be both physically and mentally present. You have to give it nothing short of your best effort—because you deserve your best effort. But when you’re done, once you’ve left the gym or gotten through your fitness routine, whatever that might be, once you’ve “brought it” (Tony Horton’s phrase, not mine), I want you to let it go, to stop, to relax and let your body rest. Because if you don’t? Then you’re compromising your fitness goals, your heath and your hard work. You’re inviting injury. You’re potentially doing more harm than good. I don’t want that. And I’m fairly certain—neither do you. *************** Building lean muscle really is a counterintuitive process. From the time we’re little children, we’re taught the more you do something, the better the result. This generally accepted truth applies across virtually all spectrums of life. The harder you study, for example, the better your grades. The more time you spend practicing, the better athlete or musician you will become. Therefore, it only makes sense that the more time you spend in the gym, the stronger and more muscular you will become. This certainly seems logical. But it’s not true. An introductory workout that I often recommend involves training for only 2 to 3 hours a week. On off days (days when you’re not working out), I suggest no more than 30 minutes of light to moderate intensity cardiovascular exercise. On Sunday, I recommend no activity, meaning, no spinning, no Pilates, no cardio, no running, no strenuous exercise, do not go anywhere near a gym. Now I understand why someone might hear this and think, “Mike, I’m not an invalid. You’re being way, way, way too conservative. I’m ready to get PUMPED up! You’re underestimating my determination and how hard I’m willing to work.”
Trust me…I’m not. You might think—if I double or triple the schedule, I will double or triple the results. Believe me…you won’t. The human body, for better or for worse, simply does not work that way. The Dangers of Overtraining Often referred to as “burn out” in athletic circles, overtraining occurs when the body becomes overwhelmed by the demands being placed on it. Overtraining Syndrome (OTS) is a clinically recognized condition characterized by feelings of fatigue and depression, increased cortisol levels (the stress hormone that breaks down muscle tissue) and decreased blood-glutamine, testosterone and DHEA levels among other indicators. Overtraining occurs when the body incurs more damage than it has the opportunity to repair and rebuild. When you train with weights, including your own bodyweight, your goal is to initiate small tears in muscle tissue with the hope that the body will then repair and rebuild that tissue to be stronger. These tears are necessary to stimulate muscle growth but they are, at least temporarily, muscle damage. If you do not allow the body the opportunity to adequately repair this damage, you will begin overtraining. And OTS is a progressive condition. The more you continue to train beyond the body's repair capabilities, the more you will progress into an increased state of OTS. This is usually when injury occurs. And that’s bad. But here’s the good part. When you are at rest, the body begins to repair itself. That’s when you’re building muscle; not when you’re grunting and groaning in the gym. But there’s more. Without getting too technical, this process of muscle repair and growth requires energy. The energy required to repair your body consumes calories and burns fat. So while you’re sitting home watching television after strenuous exercise, your body is busy at work consuming calories, sugars and fat to repair the damage inflicted by strength training. Pretty cool, huh? There’s a phrase I’d like you to remember—you’ve got to break it down to build it up.
You break it down in the gym. You build it up during rest. So I’m asking you, please just pace yourself. 30 minutes of light to moderate activity on off days means just that—30 minutes of light to moderate activity. You’re not helping yourself by turning 30 minutes into 60 minutes. You’re not going to reach your fitness goals any faster. If anything, you run an increased risk of one of those exercise-related owies that result in your pre-paid gym membership becoming an annuity for the owners of the gym—because you’re not there. And on those days that call for no activity, no activity means don’t do anything more physically taxing than working around the house or playing with your children. Go have some fun. Sleep in. Relax. You’ve worked hard. You deserve it. ************* So what’s the bottom line? Odd though it may sound, your goal in the gym should be to train with the minimum amount of volume needed to yield an adaptive response. Once you’ve done that, you’ve done your job. Any further stress to the body will simply increase your recovery time, weaken your immune system and send your body into catabolic overdrive. So keep working out. Stay focused. Hold onto your goals. Give it your best. But know when to shut it down. When to stop. Know when it’s time…
To simply rest.
Michael E. Summers November, 2009 Updated: May, 2014