hypertrophy, cyclists, speed skaters and gymnasts

[runner]

a question about rest. i know the standard mantra is that periods of rest are when the muscles recover and grow. i would like to know of some of the studies/science behind that.

my question: is working the same muscle with great frequency counterproductive, or is it just a case of greatly diminished returns?

we all know guys at the gym who work their chest and biceps almost daily. the ones i know that do this have pretty impressive chests and biceps, despite the lack of recommended rest time. cyclists and speed skaters work their quads/thighs daily and produce legs which are huge in proportion to the rest of their bodies. gymnasts can craft impressive physiques doing their routines every day.

is the rest recommendation overrated? what do the studies say?

 

[Silent Method]

a question about rest. i know the standard mantra is that periods of rest are when the muscles recover and grow. i would like to know of some of the studies/science behind that.

my question: is working the same muscle with great frequency counterproductive, or is it just a case of greatly diminished returns?

we all know guys at the gym who work their chest and biceps almost daily. the ones i know that do this have pretty impressive chests and biceps, despite the lack of recommended rest time. cyclists and speed skaters work their quads/thighs daily and produce legs which are huge in proportion to the rest of their bodies. gymnasts can craft impressive physiques doing their routines every day.

is the rest recommendation overrated? what do the studies say?

I'm not sure what you call impressive, but those I seen hitting chest on a daily basis are quite unimpressive.

Perhaps those you see hitting chest with great frequency are simply quick to recover. Perhaps their "pretty impressive chests and biceps" stick in your mind when seen all pumped up, and those workouts are what you remember.

As for the other athletes you have mentioned, I've never seen a distance cyclist with much in the line of muscle hypertrophy (though their body composition is phenomenal.). Many speed skaters and especially gymnasts, on the other hand, have admirable muscle hypertrophy.

Why? For one, consider the progressive resistance principle. The people certainly do not train the same everyday. Some days are hard, some days not so hard. Once they have adapted to a certain level and raised their threshold, that particular level of activity no longer requires much recovery. Look at Ronnie Coleman. The man could probably do my entire weekly weight routine before breakfast every morning as a warm-up, needing no recover.

Second, look at the way they train. Though endurance for speed skaters and gymnasts is a huge part of the game, so is lightning quick feats of massive strength - we all know fast-twitch fiber has a massive potential for growth.

Third, what manner do they train? These athletes practice progressive resistance weight training as well as their sports skills and movements.

Fourth - rest, and plenty of it. You will find that with many top level athletes, rest becomes an obsession. Ever heard "they eat, sleep, and drink" their sport? This is true.

 

[lara_croft]

I have a gymnastics background, and I can assure you gymnasts train at the same high level day after day. The saying is, miss a day and you take 4 days to catch up. Miss a week, and you take a month to catch up.

the difference is, gymnasts often have a relatively short career at the peak of their fitness. This daily training is not sustainable. In addition, the hours of training increase slowly throughout childhood, so the gymnast adapts..until the body breaks, and it almost always breaks eventually.

I still struggle with the concept of rest days, although i can understand the theory behind it. And now i am older, I need a rest day.

 

[Silent Method]

I have a gymnastics background, and I can assure you gymnasts train at the same high level day after day. The saying is, miss a day and you take 4 days to catch up. Miss a week, and you take a month to catch up.

So Lara, you never get better? Gymnasts never improve upon their skills of balance, strength, and endurance?

If gymnasts really train the same everyday in the literal sense, they would never exhibit any evolution of skills or adaptation.

I know what you are saying though, you're busting ass every day. My point is that gymnasts have adapted to that daily ass busting to the point where it does not break them down lower and lower and lower. In fact, having become adapted to that daily ass busting, they can adapt to even more ass busting (to a point of course).

If you were to take Ronnie Coleman again, and force him to match pace with a top-level gymnast everyday, he'd shed muscle fast.

 

[lara_croft]

yes he would lose muscle, gymnasts isnt designed to cause hypertophy, its a side effect, in fact it can be very detrimental to be bulky Having put on a lot of muscle mass recently, I am struggling with my gymnastics, its a totally different kind of strength. Ronnie would struggle from having too much mass for his joints and flexibility i expect

 

[Silent Method]

yes he would lose muscle, gymnasts isnt designed to cause hypertophy, its a side effect, in fact it can be very detrimental to be bulky Having put on a lot of muscle mass recently, I am struggling with my gymnastics, its a totally different kind of strength. Ronnie would struggle from having too much mass for his joints and flexibility i expect

Agreed, in each aspect, no doubt.

However, I believe runner's observation was in regard to the superior body composition, as compared to the general population, that is evident in competitive gymnasts.

Now, I'm a bodybuilder, but some female gymnasts have spectacular leg, butt, and calf development, including a degree of muscle mass above well above an average individual of comparative size.

Many male gymnasts exhibit a very high degree of total muscle hypertrophy when compared to average individuals of comparative size. In fact, as a bodybuilder, I often find myself jealous of their overall development. Mass monsters, no - nut they have a percentage of muscle well above the norm.


Now, is a gymnastic paced training schedule an optimal way to build muscle? No way!