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| Old-school lifters like Bernie Baron (shown here finishing a heavy clean and jerk in a contest back in the early 1940s) understood the importance of recovery and recuperation much better than most modern trainees. |
Hail to the Dinosaurs!
Many trainees struggle with recovery and
recuperation - in fact, I probably should
say that ALMOST ALL trainees struggle
with it.
It's particularly common among older
trainees - but make no mistake about
it - the recovery puzzle is a problem
for trainees of all ages.
And it's a problem for trainees at all levels
of strength and development - from total
newbies to intermediates to advanced
trainees.
What do I mean by recovery?
Many trainees think that "recovery" means
a special kind of workout you do on your
"off" days - such as kettlebell training,
bodyweight exercises, cardio, lugging
and loading drills, or the farmer's walk.
But that's not recovery.
That's "active rest."
It may or may not help very much - but
that's a topic for another day.
The term "recovery" means your body's
ability to repair the damage done by any
given workout - and to restore itself to
where it was prior to the workout.
After a hard workout, your body needs
at least 48 hours for recovery - and in
many cases, it may need 72 to 96 hours
for full recovery.
That's why old-school training programs
were usually performed three days per
week.
The three day per week schedule gave
you 48 hours recovery time after two
of your weekly workouts - and 72 hours
recovery time after the third workout.
But if you train extra hard and heavy,
two workouts a week may be even
better - because you have more time
to recover after each workout.
And some trainees do very well hitting
the iron every fourth or fifth day.
Peary Rader noted the case of a man
who went on a specialization program
in the deadlift - and trained once every
SIX days - and ended up gaining 20
pounds of muscle and increasing his
strength so much that he was able to
set a world record in the deadlift!
I know, I know - that sounds impossible.
But it happened.
And it illustrates a very important point.
In short, the key to recovery is very
simple: it's giving your body the time
it needs to "bounce back" after each
workout.
Rest time = recovery time.
Meaning that rest days are just as
important as training days.
In other words - paradoxical as it may
seem - you do better by training less
and resting more . . .
As always, thanks for reading and have
a great day. If you train today, make it a
good one.
Yours in strength,
Brooks Kubik
P.S. For more tips about recovery - and for
workouts and training schedules that help
you maximize recovery, see these books
and courses:
Chalk and Sweat
Gray Hair and Black Iron
Dinosaur Training: Lost Secrets of
Strength and Development
Strength and Development
Dinosaur Strength Training Secrets,
Vol. 1
Vol. 1
(Also available in PDF and Kindle
editions - see the below link for
my Kindle books.)
Dinosaur Strength Training Secrets,
Vol. 3
Vol. 3
(Also available in PDF and Kindle
editions - see the below link for
my Kindle books.)
P.S. 3. Thought for the Day:
"You can train more and gain less - or
train less and gain more. The choice is
yours."
- Brooks Kubik
Brooks Kubik's Kindle Books
http://www.brookskubik.com/kindle.html
We have over 25 books and courses in the Kindle store - including these:
We have over 25 books and courses in the Kindle store - including these:
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For even more Kindle books by Brooks Kubik, visit:
