How rest contributes to your strength gains

After reading our post or listening to our podcast episode from last week you've shifted your exercise routine to prioritize maximum tension/load/resistance to improve your strength gains.

What I didn't share was your next step which is equally important-and it's recovery.

How does rest/recovery contribute to your ability to build strength? I almost hesitate to say it contributes-it is a requirement for muscle growth.

After you've created maximum tension to your targeted muscle groups-there is muscle breakdown to an extent. This initiates the process of muscle repair into muscle hypertrophy (growth). Your body begins to repair the muscle fibers that were overloaded in your workout through the use of protein synthesis, secretion of human growth hormone, testosterone, and more.

Where does sleep come in? This act of muscle growth and rebuilding happens during sleep, in part because human growth hormone is secreted during REM cycles.

A study done on 10,000+ college students evaluated sleep patterns and muscular strength and found that there was significant increases in strength for the students that slept 7-8 hours or 8 hours or more compared to those that didn't.

By sleeping for longer amounts of time (even if the quality isn't 100%) your chance of reaching REM cycles are higher, therefore improving muscle recovery.

You might be wondering what/how you should prioritize your sleep for muscle recovery. You can do this by prioritizing 7-9 hours of sleep every day. Evaluate/journal how you feel after sleeping for certain amounts of time to find the right time for you.

Then try and improve the quality of your sleep. (Read our full post on sleep quality here) This can help you reach your basal sleep amount and avoid sleep debt which will leave you drained AND has long term negative health affects.

A hugely important technique for improving sleep quality, amount, and muscle recovery is by including active recovery techniques into your workouts. We do this at The Studio and I think its one of the main reasons our clients leave classes feeling energized rather than exhausted.

Looking for an exercise guide that prioritizes all of these things? You've found the right place. Click here to sign up for your first week free of in person classes at our Starkville or Louisville studio locations OR check out Studio Stream for $30 a month.