# Some Tips For Recuperation



## Stacked (Oct 11, 2011)

There are some important things to remember when trying to develop and refine your bodybuilding physique. One very important aspect of bodybuilding, which people tend to focus on the most, is the actual training itself. Training is very important, but anyone experienced in the sport of bodybuilding will tell you that your training will not get you anywhere if you don’t provide yourself with proper rest and nutrition. This doesn’t matter who you are, or how good your genetics are, proper recuperation is an absolutely essential part of any bodybuilding program. You would be surprised just how small the actual training is in the big picture of a bodybuilder’s training. There are a number of other factors which affect your successful recuperation as well. Below is a list of tips which will help you to succeed in maximizing results from your intense training. 

*Macro Nutrition 
*
If you are bodybuilding, it is essential you eat the right amount of all three macro nutrients (protein, carbohydrates, and fat). You need protein to build your muscles and repair exercised muscle fibers, carbohydrates to keep your energy levels up, and fat to keep your internal organs healthy, as well as to provide a long - term fuel reserve. Be sure to limit calories directly from fat to around 15 to 25 percent of your total intake, but don’t limit your fat intake too much, because if your fat supply is too low, you may find yourself getting excessively hungry, and find yourself losing energy and strength as well. If your protein supply is low, you’ll find that your muscles won’t be able to grow as much as they potentially could because you won’t be providing your body with the basic source of muscle fiber repair. If your carbohydrate stores are low, you may find yourself getting lethargic, and not feeling your workouts as effectively as you normally do (you may or may not achieve a pump for example). The general rule of thumb with protein is to consume 1 to 1.5 grams of protein per pound of body weight, and to keep your carbohydrate intake at 25 percent or more of your total caloric intake. Following these simple rules, you will see your energy and strength levels increase, and maximize your training results. With proper macro nutrition, both your training, and the recuperation and repair processes which follow, will be welcomed with greater success. 

*Micro Nutrition 
*
Vitamins, minerals, and other micro nutrients can play very important roles for muscle growth. Your blood level amino acids will increase rapidly if you take free - form amino acids on an empty stomach. Branched - chain amino acids (BCAAs) play an important role in muscle metabolism. Taking BCAAs before and immediately after working out may help you fill the anabolic window and give you a head start on the recovery process. 

*Sleep* 

Get enough sleep during the night! This is very important and cannot be stressed enough. Your most restful (stage - 4) sleep will occur during the first four hours after hitting the hay. Growth hormone is released by the anterior pituitary during this stage of sleep. This occurs for about 30 minutes after the first hour of sleep, and occurs once more for an additional 30 minutes, one hour and a half after that. Slow - wave sleep is the time during sleep when your body does the repair work. The harder you train, the longer your body will naturally spend during this sleep. During rem sleep (which follows stage 4 sleep), a greater amount of protein synthesis occurs. To conclude, allow yourself enough sleep (generally between eight to 10 hours), if you want to minimize soreness, and feel more energetic in your subsequent workouts. 

*Training Frequency 

*Although many people think the way to get big is to train as often as possible, this is far from the truth. You’ll make far greater gains training less frequently, but working harder during every exercise; performing every exercise with proper form throughout the entire range of motion and feeling your muscles hard at work. If you’re a beginner, training only three to four sessions per week, you’ll be amazed with how much progress you make if you work hard in the gym. If you train more than three days in a row, you run the risk of stalling your progress. This is especially true as you get older, because your body’s natural hormone secretion slows down, as well as your metabolism. The solution to this is simply to train harder and rest more. Train with heavy weights, but only those weights you can handle, concentrating on focused repetitions with perfect form throughout the entire range of motion. 

When you’re working out, it’s important to concentrate on the task at hand, and rid your thoughts of anything depressing or de-motivating. This will help your training, and of course, your results. If you think negatively, you’ll find that you experience persistent, tiring and unmotivated workouts. Don’t set your mind to thinking you can’t achieve something, because you’ll find that may be the only thing stalling you. The results you get out of your training are also directly related to the stress levels in your day to day life. If you find you are stressed out with your job, social life, or anything else, you will not achieve the results you want. Although bodybuilding or any physical activity is a good step to ridding your life of stress, it’s important to remember that stress will hold you down in your training as well, the same way it negatively affects everything else.

Recuperation is a key factor to maximizing your bodybuilding and fitness gains through training. It is very important, and is sometimes misunderstood. Always provide your body with the nutrition and rest it needs to get the results you want. Find out what works for you and stick with it until it stops working, because, as the old saying goes: “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”. You may want to consider employing the instinctive principle to your training. By giving your body proper recuperation, you minimize the chances of overtraining, and maximize the results from all that time and effort in the gym.


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