Rest Between Workouts

Each muscle requires a certain amount of time to recover and rebuild.  The amount of rest needed depends on the intensity of the workout.  A heavy workout would require at least 72 hours of recovery.  If your muscles are still sore after 72 hours, you may need additional rest.  A heavy workout with some eccentric training causes more soreness referred to as DOMS (delayed onset muscle soreness) than any other type of workout.

A more moderate workout will require about 48 hours of recovery time while a light workout requires at least 24 hours of recovery time.  The most important thing to remember is listen to your body.  Your body will tell you if you had a light, moderate, or heavy workout.

Of course, any workout for a beginner may seem like a moderate to high intensity workout.  Therefore, beginners should initially workout 1 to 2 times per week and rest 2 to 3 days between workouts.  Once a person becomes more advanced, resistance training workouts can increase to 3 to 5 times per week.

Exercise and diet are important.  Sometimes, they can produce all the benefits of medicine without any of the side effects.