Originally Posted by
gear
Thanks in advance for your time. FYI I own Practical Programming, will read it through when have more time, but I've skimmed the relevant sections to this question.
I know there's variation for individuals but in general with the Starting Strength training protocol and it's level of stress on body and muscles, I know that one workout each 48 hours (i.e. a full rest day between workouts) is generally suggested to be enough time for recovery sufficiently to restress the body. That is, 48hrs is the MIN time recommended, with an additional 72 hour weekend rest once/week. I notice my body doesn't recover as fast. I eat, sleep and drink as much water as I can but I notice a general stiffness*, overall body and mind fatigue and deep thirst, in ways that are unique and consistent to the stimulus I get with starting strength. That is this and only this type of program produces this outcome. That obviously means the program works from the stimulate point of view (and I feel no particular challenge in the workout itself), but it does seem to challenge my recovery capacity and ability to function best in life on other tasks. I'm 38, 6'3 and 210 lbs.
So my question is if 1 day between workouts are the MIN for progression, what is the MAX rest recommended that will not result in loss of hard won gains? In other words, what's the buffer window agreed to be? If one can lift before this MAX point occurs, one can theoretically keep growing as in the fast track, just at a slower pace. Is it 4 days, 8 days or what, and would it vary for beginner, intermediate or advanced?
I know it's not a fixed magic number you can quote and I don't want to stretch it to the MAX. I actually want the MIN time optimal for ME, so as not to get stiff, sore, exhausted, etc. So for instance, right now I moved from taking one day between as the program suggested, which I've done for a while**, and now just started to take 2 days between lifts. I'll see how that goes, but I suspect I might even do better with 3 days in between (and I'm trying to eat, sleep and drink appropriately, and yet still live life and work).
This could be a better approach for busy people as well, though that's not my primary motivation. BTW it would also be useful to know for people going on trips or when facilities are otherwise unavailable, for instance this Christmas or COVID. Will your muscles start wasting after 5 days of no work, 10 days, etc? What does the data say***?
*general stiffness is interesting and frustrating. Maybe it's DOMS. It creates feelings of restlessness, makes it hard to stand or sit still, and is correlated with headaches and migraines. I don't feel any pain in my muscles per se, but when I press it with fingers or sharp object, I can feel their tightness and sharpness and soreness.
**I did SS for several months and got up to two and a half plates on squat. Powered through these same recovery issues I'm going through now, lots of migraines, etc but was pretty consistent in my training. Then I had to take a long break and getting back into it has always been in back of my mind. Started back up again, trying to get more knowledge and do it even more by the book, but I don't want to deal with fatigue more than necessary. I want gains and growth but I'm not in a rush, so I'll pad the recovery days, take a slower path. Not a workout issue, I'm fine in gym under bar. It's a a post workout thing, DOMS, headaches, fatigue, and restlessness is the worst.
***I was just on the road for a full week with no access to a gym and so I did absolutely no training, and even under-ate, yet when I got back I was able to do 10 full pullups straight out, whereas before I'd plateaued at 8. I know this is a basic stimulus-recovery process, but I had assumed this length of time would have set me back to 6 or 7 or even 5. Maybe taking more time will benefit me in two ways- an easier path and more free time to do other things? I used to love going to the gym as it was stress relieving and fun but I'm a busier person now, so giving myself more time between sessions will also help whet my appetite as well as recovery my body. Why even train if you're body is not 100 percent recovered but 0% percent wasted back, if that is possible, and if you are not training for competitions or in a hurry?