Listen To Your Body To Pack On Muscle Mass
By Sean Nalewanyj
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Sean Nalewanyj is a natural bodybuilding expert and best-selling fitness author committed to providing effective, research-based advice for building muscle, burning fat and gaining strength. Sean is the creator of the "No Fail System" bodybuilding program and president of EliteImpact Labs.
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Your success when trying to pack on muscle mass is dependent on discipline and consistency.
There are many days where you would prefer to stay in and lay on the sofa and relax than to keep working hard; but hard work is how you advance.
Some people like to say that 80% of success is showing up, and for the most part I'd agree.
Trying to pack on muscle mass is no different.
Even when you aren't feeling up to it, it's a must to stick with your bodybuilding workout schedule consistently go to the gym. It's a crucial mistake to skip workouts when you are trying to pack on muscle mass and improve your strength as fast as possible…
But is this true?
Actually…
Yes, it is imperative to remain consistent. Yes, when you are trying to pack on muscle mass you must set a workout schedule that you rarely break. Yes, you cannot skip workouts just because you're low on motivation.
However, keep in mind the words of the late Mike Mentzer: "Rituals have nothing to do with science."
The human body is a complicated biological organism, and not every workout or recovery period have the same effects on the body.
Thus, a finite schedule can't determine when and how your body will pack on muscle mass, even if your calendar says this is the day to perform X ,Y, and Z.
When you wake up in pain and are fatigued mentally and physically, and lacking in motivation to exercise, your body could be giving you important clues.
Apparently, you need a longer recovery period, so dragging yourself to the gym to pack on muscle mass will not be fruitful if you don't have the necessary energy. If your mind and body have not recovered from the previous workout, you do not need to force it to follow your calendar to try to pack on muscle mass.
Intense weight training is very stressful on the entire body, and the recovery phase is the period at which your body repairs and builds muscle tissue…
Therefore, if your body can pack on muscle mass on its own, what sense does it make to hinder the process? Why not give yourself a break and only return to the gym when you're mentally and physically up to it?
Shouldn't you do that?
It takes a minimum of two weeks of inactivity to reverse gains in size and strength, so there's no chance of that happening with an extra rest day. Instead, you will actually benefit from greater recover from your previous workout and greater performance at your subsequent one.
So when your body is trying to tell you something, listen.
Rest if you must, as you cannot pack on muscle mass following rituals.
Don't force your body to the gym to pack on muscle mass until it is prepared to go through the rigors of exercise. And just because some random person warned you to never miss a workout doesn't make it a fact.
But don't get too careless...
Don't relax to the point that you only exercise to pack on muscle mass when you feel like it, as you will probably end up skipping workouts because you're lazy and not because you're tired.
You can't discontinue your training to pack on muscle mass just because you don't want to do it mentally; that's not what I've been saying here.
You should only skip a workout for one day or 2 when it is a physical necessity.
Just realize you will lose nothing if you spend an extra day in recovery, but you will cause yourself great damage if you push your body to train to pack on muscle mass when it is not ready.
There is no long term-damage to an extra rest day, but there IS the potential for real harm to your body if you train to pack on muscle mass before you have completely recovered.
When in doubt, skip a day!
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