Recuperation is vital for the bodybuilder. The faster the recovery from a workout, the sooner training can commence again. And the sooner training can commence, the faster you will grow. On the other hand, if recovery from training does not materialize, then further training cannot give a positive effect. In fact, just the opposite can occur. You will grow stale and lose size, strength, and even enthusiasm.

Repeated training without full recuperation will dig you into the deepest sticking point ever. Your motivation will suffer; your muscles will shrink; brute power will evade you. As over work causes muscle tissue loss, hormone depletion, weakness, a smoothed-out or stringy appearance, inability to produce a pumping effect, and a general lassitude or weakness. It is possible for the central nervous system to stop pumping blood into capillaries that might otherwise rupture. It is a safety valve activated by hormone loss. Going past the pump (too many sets when the body is not used to it) is the most common cause of workout down turn.

Poor recuperation first rears its ugly head the morning after. That is to say, the day after your workout. As you open your eyes to a new dawn, you feel decidedly groggy. In fact, you may feel disinclined to get out of bed. You feel tired and lack interest generally. Your body is saying to you: "Boy, I really had a workout yesterday. I need more time to recover".

This tired, almost exhausted feeling you have on rising is not always accompanied by sore or aching muscles. What sore muscles usually mean 9but not always) is that the body is recuperating, and that the healing process is well underway. Of course, if there is any soreness present, the muscle has not fully recuperated, but at least the healing process is taking place. The general opinion is that a slight soreness in the muscle the next day is ideal. It shows that your workout routine got to the body. But if the soreness is extreme, then you have overdone it, and adequate recuperation will take longer.

One of the tricks of hastening recuperation is to not surprise your muscles too vigorously. There is a fine line between stimulating your muscles with new exercises, more intensity, and added sets, all for the sake of keeping them growing and the obvious mistake of going all out with these tactics and reducing the likelihood of adequate recovery. Let’s take an example. Imagine you have always done 6 sets of 15 reps with your calf work, and you decide that you need to jolt your lower legs into growth by trying something new. Well, you could add on three sets of donkey calf raises. That would give the calves a new exercise, and you would also be making the overall calf work routine longer (more sets). But suppose you wanted to give those calves a real surprise. How about suddenly doing the new donkey raise movement for 20 sets? Wouldn't that be better? Would such a change not shock them into growth? The answer, of course, in No! You would be lucky to walk the next day, let alone boast additional lower leg size, and you would probably not be able to train your calves again for a week or more!

Still under debate, of course, is whether full intensity workouts are right for everybody. Does everyone gain from these heavy-duty workouts? Physiological research indicates that the adrenal glands can become thoroughly over saturated and exhausted if they are forced to overcome maximal stress for any period longer that 2-3 weeks. If high intensity effort is sustained beyond this time, the adrenals will be forced into total remission, and training efforts at that point will illustrate this. The knack, of course, is to train the body without fatiguing it beyond its power of swift recovery. If you do not "heal" between workouts, you will not grow. The possibility of over training looms ever present with the competitive bodybuilder (especially when doing leg work), so we must perform the minimum amount of exercise that will stimulate continued muscle growth. Doing more sets than are necessary to induce growth will only hold back the recuperative process.

Following a workout the body must recover and replenish what used up during the workout. It is only after full recovery has taken place that growth can occur. If you use high intensity (forced reps, negatives, etc.), then you will be fatiguing your body to a greater degree. This increased intensity causes your body to produce increased amounts of lactic acid, hence the greater fatigue. Therefore, when you adopt a more sever program, slide into it by steps. If you increase the volume and intensity of your workouts gradually, your recuperation will likely keep pace.

There is no doubt that a body which is coaxed into handling more will also "learn" to recuperate more quickly. It adapts by becoming less fatigued as your workouts continue. In short, the bodybuilder who keeps to training and follows sensible health rules will develop the art of fast and efficient recuperation, within limits, of course.