How long to weight between lift days

[Vincent302]

How long should I wait until I lift again. For example, if I work my biceps Monday...

Then on Tuesday I am kind of sore. If on Wednesday, I feel no more soreness, do I lift again? Is lifting every other day too often?

Thanks

[Lee J B]

If your working your biceps only every other day, well I dont think you will do very well after a certain period of time to be honest, you will be over-training them, twice a week might work quite well, depends what works for you though.

[ralex5]

If you work your biceps everyother day, then when do you work legs and chest? If you're not sore, then I think you're probably ok. Sometimes I'll go a week of so working bi's and back everyother day but I still take at least one day off a week from working out. Also if my bi's or back are sore I won't work them that day and if my elbows are sore I don't work upper body at all. This is just what I do.

[Fudomyo]

If I'm not dieting I go nine days. It all depends on what works best for you. The less you have worked out, the less rest you'll need to recouperate.

3 days minimum, since you should be doing legs, chest, and back on separate days. That gives you 2 days of rest. Not much.

Fudo

[sterstar1]

I agree with most of the above. Working your a particular muscle group every other day is definitely overtraining if your workouts are suficiently intense. However, if you arent sore at all during the next two days, I'd have to say that your workouts are probably not intense enough.

I would suggest working your biceps no more than twice a week but make sure you can hardly lift your arms before you leave the gym. Make sure you bring the muscle to failure every time and you will definitely be soar the next day.

Good luck!

[Vincent302]

Thanks for the advice

I am really down right now. I need some advice or something.

I lifted to work my biceps, forearms, and chest last Friday. On Saturday and Sunday, all these muscles were hurting like hell. Today, Monday, all these muscles are just hurting a little bit. I decided to wait on lifting until tomorrow.

The problem is that I am seeing no gains. My muscles look the exact same size, if that. I am taking Protein, Creatine, and Glutamine. I am only taking about 100 grams a day of Protein, 5 grams of Creatine, and 5 grams of Glutamine.

Right after I lifted on Friday, it's like my muscles were really bulging. My biceps were looking pretty damn good right after lifting. Then they just slowly went back to the usual small size. Have you ever heard of this.

Please, anyone that can, help me out. I really want to improve my physique, but seeing no gains is really getting me down.

[Fudomyo]

Vincent, try once a week. If you work out your biceps on Monday, work them out next Monday.

Muscles don't grow in the gym. You actually break down your muscles in the gym. Resting is when you build muscles.

Your muscles look bigger after you workout from increase blood flow. It's normal that it goes away. It doesn't help or hinder you as far as muscle growth.

Good luck
Fudo

[sterstar1]

Vincent, first off, dont be discouraged by not seeing results. Making good gains (naturally) takes time. The key is consistancy. Many beginner body builders lift like crazy for three or four weeks and after they see no results, they give up. When I started training hard, I didnt see any decent gains until about the 6 week mark and even then they were not huge gains. So stay with it, make sure your workouts are intense and make sure your getting at least one day a week of rest. (I find two days works best for me) Also, as far as your protien intake goes, the rule of thumb for most serious bodybuilders is to take in at least one gram of protien per pound of body weight. So, unless you are about 90 pounds, you need a lot more protien in your diet. Make sure it's a good quality protien and make sure you take it sparatically throughout the day. Do all of this and stick with a good lifting program and I guarantee that in 6 to 8 weeks, you will definitely start seeing progress in the mirror.

[Vincent302]

Thanks a lot.

I am going to keep trying and stick with it.

[mustang GT]

I always wait a week before I work the same muscle again. The body needs plenty of rest.