More Rest Days

R

RjRocker

New Member
I was wondering what a 1 day on 2 day off deal would do. So instead of mon, wed, fri, it would turn into mon, thur, sun, wed, sat... you get the idea. I know that would stretch the cycles out more. Do you think the extra rest would help or hinder?
 
I have taken more rest days in my "post 5s" when I am going really heavy. But in the 15s and 10s and 5s I think you would lose the benifit of frequency.

Bob
 
I would have to agree with Bob E. I think that when doing HST the two days rest is enough, & going longer may hinder your results. This would be especially true for a conditioned lifter. That being said, if you were to try HST as a new lifter, then the extra days may help some...but I don't recommend HST for a complete newbie fresh out of the box.
The newbie should spend 2-4 wks working on each of his chosen exercises to prefect his form & get his strength up. This WILL greatly reduce the chance of injury!!!!!!!

Omega
 
Rick: Doing what you suggest would be training 7 times every 3 weeks as opposed to 9 times. If this fits in with your scheduling better then that's great. You will still be doing a full body workout each time so you will be hitting every bodypart at least twice a week. I don't see a problem. Some studies suggest that twice a week is not much different to three times a week anyway.

Effectively, you will be missing two workouts every three weeks which means that over a year you would manage about 4.5 cycles (asuming just over 10 weeks a cycle with 1 week SD) compared with about 5.75 cycles (8 weeks a cycle with 1 week SD).

I think (but I don't know) that this would mean that, as you don't complete as many cycles in the year, you will not be increasing your maximums as much over that time and hence will not actually be as big as you could be (assuming you get your nutrition right).

In real terms I suspect that the differences would be very minor, even over a whole year. If you decide to try this let us know how you get on.
 
I believe that anything less than working each muscle every 48 hours is inferior. However, twice per week is a heck of a lot better than once per week! If time is a problem then go with twice. If time is not a problem, I would suggest sticking with 3 to 3 1/2 times per week. (I schedule 3 workouts and if I get in an extra one, I either keep it in the 'bank' or average it out over the subsequent weeks so that my overall cycle hits each part at least 3 times per week on average.)
 
Rick, you might want to check this article on frequency on Dan's site:

Frequency

Again, it seems the jury is still out on this one. Personally I find three times a week, full body is working really well.
 
I say do both...if you get bored.

Expierement and see what works the best...but the higher frequency does seem to be the best route, as long as you eat.

But if you are going for a good bulk...I think 3 days ever 7 is the perfect way.
 
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