Is rest the best for recovery?

[BigJavs]

mcdonalds and cheap protein powder ftw

[tweakxc03]

Recently I have been avoiding any exercise other than my barbell training. This is both in the hope of helping recovery and for not unnecessarily burning precious calories.

This differs quite greatly since before this winter, when I was doing a lot of cycling and a lot of general active messing around with skateboarding, basketball etc..

For the past 3-4 months I have however been doing NOTHING but the barbell training sessions. I have also ramped up my eating to as much as I can financially and volumetrically manage.

I was just wondering if this is the best course of action? It hasnt actually helped my progress much. When I was doing a lot more and eating less I was progressing faster but it may just have been due to being more of a beginner. But I am finding endurance harder definitely, in terms of higher heartrates kept for longer and the feeling of higher alertness/more energy.

I also have more persistent aches & pains now than when being a lot more active.

What have your experiences been?

Does regular participation in other sports/activity actually work better than doing nothing else?

All I know is that in my experience with running, the best way to recover from a really hard workout is go to out and put in some easy miles to flush all the crap out of your legs. Sitting around and just resting didn't really do anything but make me more stiff/sore for longer. I think there has been a lot said regarding the benefits of "active rest"... whether it's using the foam roller or triggerpoint work, doing some VERY light cardio just to get the blood moving, doing a long stretching session, etc.

But, it may be different for strength training vs. conditioning. That and runners are generally insane.

Either way, you noted a decline in endurance and cardio... that is obviously to be expected if you have done ZERO cardio for 3-4 months, plus put on a lot of weight (both fat and muscle). The added weight is going to exacerbate the endurance/cardio problem because it's just more bulk you have to carry around....

but again, conditioning isn't the goal of the program.

If aches and pains are the problem, do some active rest on the off days. you can do a lot for recovery just by stretching and foam rolling to get that myofacial release... even getting out and walking for 20 minutes would do a lot i think without hurting your gains.

[Albert987]

I have been writing this down in my log recently.

yesterdays eating: Non training day.

you've gotta be kidding? you are eating TWO eggs for breakfast and you think that's a lot?

as i'm typing this, im eating 8 whole large eggs cooked with 2tbsp of butter and a mountain of shredded cheese. i'm also eating a bunch of almonds to get my fiber.

[Chewie_jrc]

That is nowhere near enough food. Not even close. There's your recovery issue right there. I see 175-200 grams of protien there maybe. You need to double or triple that amount at least and then you'll start recovering.

+1

You said you were progressing earlier but perhaps you haven't been upping the food proportionally with your new found gains/?

[Chewie_jrc]

Dont know about that. The guys who do best on these boards seem to incorporate a good amount of conditioning work in addition to strength training. They're quite fit. Not doing conditioning work might help you get 70sbig (ha), and i'm sure it leads to longer rest periods between sets (10 minutes bro for heavy presses), but i'm not sure that's such a great thing.

First of all, troll harder...you seem to have lost your touch.

Second of all, the rest periods don't get longer because you're getting all winded (you would know this if you lifted). It takes several minutes (7+ min) because you're just drained....CNS fatigue, whatever the fuck it is. It aint cuz you can't breathe. This occurs because you are getting closer and closer to your potential, especially since you near the end of your linear progression.

And for the millionth time...it depends on your goals and level of training experience/adaptation (novice, intermediate, etc.). Couple scenarios and key points(again):

• Need conditioning for work (mil/LEO/athlete/etc) then throw it in. There are several programs that are good for this, pick your poison.
• You like that kinda shit and want a "healthy cardiovascular system". Knock yourself out. The SS forum members will not be deployed to your 24 hrs fitness and hit you in the head with a barbell.
• You're an intermediate. Congrats, you've exhausted your novice gains and have laid an excellent foundation for fitness. Pick a sport and go nuts.
• You're a novice and do NOT need conditioning or feel super compelled to walk on a treadmill. In this case, any additional work will hamper your already taxed system (especially at the end of linear progression). When I was in the middle of linear progression I could afford to fuck up my eating, party pretty hard, fuck all night and miss some sleep and it wasn't a big deal. Now I need my 9 hours, my full gomad, and a ton of coffee or I feel like a dog's dick before my workout.

I'm getting sick of these threads.

EDIT: Are the guys that are super fit that way because they had awesome conditioning which allowed them to get stronger? Or did they get fucking strong which gives them a larger total capacity for conditioning? Guys like Ryan Dell Whitney come to mind. The guy is pretty fucking strong and can still tear up the APFT and conditioning-type workouts. He's not "hyoooge" but aint a fucking little stick either, check out his log.

[Dastardly]

you've gotta be kidding? you are eating TWO eggs for breakfast and you think that's a lot?

I do not think the eggs are a lot, and I know most of you lot are eating 5 minimum. But they are too expensive for me to eat that many.

I do have cheese and some greens with my eggs too.

I eat a lot of peanut butter and other things to make up missing protein & calories.

[confuzzl3don3]

And for the millionth time...it depends on your goals and level of training experience/adaptation (novice, intermediate, etc.). .

Agreed. For me, i had to drop cardio to actually make progress and i never looked back since. But i guess my goals may be different to some lifters here. I love to lift and get stronger, and i will try my best to be 100% rested for it, and have time for it, but i still go out and play sports with my friends. Just yesterday i ended up playing around 3 hrs of basketball and ended up jarring my pinky. I know that this might interefere with my training, but i guess i don't want lifting to be my be all and end all. (don't beat to me a pulp for saying this)

[The Laughing Man]

Time heals all wounds... wait actually that's bullshit.

Rest on the other hand, that's good shit!

[crc]

Assuming you're not already, you might want to get into the habit of keeping track of grocery store sales(if you have a fridge and space of your own). I cut my food bills by at least 50% when I started making an effort at scanning the weekly ads. Typically one of the several nearby stores would be be selling at least one of the protein essentials for a good price one week, then another store would have something comparable the next week, and so on. Buy dry goods in bulk - even if you're in an apartment you should have room for 20 pound bags of rice and beans. When you buy cheese for pizza are you buying pre-shredded or blocks? You have to scrutinize every purchase you make and actively look for a cheaper but equally nutritious alternative.

I've been poor and it sucks, but there are ways to manage your diet effectively in that situation. The trick is to work hard at bargain hunting while also balancing on that edge between thrift and miserliness(which is a really miserable state of being).

On a side note about rest I get the impression that you spend way too much time on the internet, get yourself worked into a state of anxiety about all these potential issues you've read about in addition to feeling like you have to contribute to every topic you see, and all that nervous stress is what's really crippling your recuperative ability. I'm not saying this to just give you shit.