HighIntensity.net View Mike Mentzer Bodybuilding Topic

is it possible for a beginner that he requires rest for up to 2 weeks?? i just want to ask if someone hir encounter this situation?

2 weeks for a beginner? I would say no. I have realised that beginners or anyone for that matter does not need that much rest between workouts.

y?
im finding it hard to progress even if i rest one week..

please help me..im doing the consolidated routine..

Well, I′m talking from personal experience, but this contradicts with a lot of what Mike said.

I got to the stage where I needed (well thought I needed) up to 3 weeks rest between workouts on the consolidated routine. Thats the frequency I was on. I now workout for an hour a day, 5 days a week and gain strength EVERY workout.

Give HD a try, but if you find you do everything right but stop growing, I suggest you take the advice of many on this board who were veteran HDers but found they did much better with more volume.

Lorenz26: Beginners should start at least three days of rest between workouts. If after a complete workout cycle or two. Strength gains are not immediate. Take two to three weeks off. Then, resume training every five days. The idea here, is to find your optimal training frequency.The layoff will depend on how much of your past training was more volume than usual. Keep a accurate workout log. The log will indicate when you are not resting enough between workouts. For example, if you are only gaining 2-3 reps per exercise per workout. You would probably need to increase your intensity from training to failure. The body will adapt to failure over time. When this happens, change the exercises to keep the body guessing. When progress slows again. It is then necessary to introduce more intensity variables within the workout. Maybe you are not utilizing enough intensity. Try static holds on one set and see if progress improves. If static holds are not possible. Try Rest-pause or omni-contraction. If progress is still not notable in improvement. Incorporate training to failure, followed by a hold to failure, then finally a ten second negative. It really depends on which exercises are showing no improvement. One final note, make sure you utilize enough intensity to warrant those rest periods. You should be very sore when you are through with your workout. To really evaluate your workout. I would need to know which exercises you are doing, how much rest between workouts, the intensity incorporated with each exercise, whether you had a recent layoff, your past training history, your nutrient equillibrium, how many hours you are sleeping, your stress levels, whether you take supplements or not.

On the nutrition side. Get 60 percent carbs, 25 percent protein, and 15 percent fat. Make sure your carb sources are whole grains. Avoid refined sugars. On protein, take in at least one gram for each pound of lean bodyweight. Obviously, if you are overweight one gram per pound would only serve to fuel your fat reserves. Now for fat, take cod liver oil, as this contains all of the essential fatty acids necessary for recovery. I also recommend taking a multi-vitamin multi mineral supplement that is taken at least three times daily. The vitamin serves as a catalyst to energize metabolic functions within the body thus resulting in greater recovery enhancement. Finally, start at 2500 calories. Raise calories by 300 every two weeks. This will fuel the body for continuous growth until you reach the limits of you genetic potential. GOOD LUCK.