Rest and training routines

Rest in general is an indispensable process to achieve good results when you want to lose weight or increase muscle mass. Sleep, and physical rest during workouts, are moments that, especially for people with endomorphic bodies, must be faithfully respected.

In previous lessons, we mentioned how important it is to take breaks between exercises to ensure good performance; precisely in this guide we will teach you how these breaks should be according to the muscles you are working, the advantages of taking these breaks and the risks we assume if we do not do them properly.

Importance of rest in endomorphic bodies: Physical and mental rest is essential for every human being; and if we refer specifically to people with endomorphic bodies we see that there are particular advantages that should not be ignored.

When we have an adequate night's rest, hormones such as leptin are produced and others such as ghrelin decrease. Leptin is one of the hormones that has the greatest impact on the reduction of appetite; therefore, when we rest for a long period of time, the sensation of hunger during the day decreases notably. Ghrelin, on the other hand, intervenes in the stimulation of appetite, which is why it is known in popular jargon as the hunger hormone. Taking this into account, sleeping less can in principle sabotage our diet, increasing appetite and making it difficult for us to rigidly comply with our eating plan.

Although this is a phenomenon that occurs in all organisms, for endomorphic bodies not getting adequate rest causes the acceleration of weight gain to which they have a metabolic tendency.

On the other hand, performing training routines after a bad night's sleep or during periods of great fatigue is detrimental; it not only causes stress and low performance, but also increases the risk of suffering injuries during exercise.

Rest between exercise routines: It is a mistake to believe that we do not need rest days when we train; while exercise is healthy, too much of it is highly detrimental. Rest is an important process for an organism that exercises, as it allows it to regenerate and, in the case of beginners, to adapt to energy expenditure.

If you want to increase muscle mass, it is advisable to train the muscle groups independently, as their recovery periods vary. Small muscles such as biceps, triceps, forearms, shoulders, abdominals and calves need two days of rest before exercising them again, while larger muscles such as the back, legs (femorals and quadriceps) and pectorals require two to three days of rest. A rested muscle will perform much better and presents less risk of injury. Rest per set: In relation to the number of repetitions, the amount of rest time needed per set is established. It is common that a low number of repetitions requires more rest, and if, on the contrary, the number of repetitions increases, the rest time decreases.

Below are the rest time