Rest More!
August 09, 2009
Matt,
I am extremely frustrated. I don’t seem to get any stronger, despite lifting 6X/week, for 1.5 hours at a time. How can this be? I thought that the more time you put into something, the greater the reward. I am also a basketball player, I play pickup for 2 hours, 4 or 5 nights a week. Any insight you might have would be greatly appreciated!
-Ryan
Ryan,
No wonder you are not getting any stronger! 6 days of strength training AND all of that basketball? You are doing way, way too much physical activity, and your Central Nervous System (CNS) is on overload right now. People don’t understand the difference between physically being ABLE to do something, and the physical ABILITY to do something WELL. In other words, because you feel like you physically “can” strength train, you are doing so. However, you shouldn’t be doing so, because you are overtrained, and cannot train hard, recover, and make gains. In some ways, you are driving a vehicle cross country when the “Check Engine” light is on. Not good!
The human body is a highly intricate machine, and the skeletal muscular system is only one small part of the big picture. Overlooking the recovery ability of the CNS is a surefire way to spin your wheels in the gym. Cut down your training to 3 sessions per week, 1 Upper, 1 Lower, and 1 Full Body, and don’t train for longer than 45-60 minutes. Get plenty of rest, eat well, and I am willing to bet the gains will come.
Just remember, there is no point in training if it is not going to be a productive session…sometimes more rest is the answer,
Matt
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