Elite Physique The New Science of Building a Better Body

Muscle Rules
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they need to recover between workouts, and find they need to back MUSCLE RULE 8:
off before their scheduled deload.
Deload when
Conversely, a scheduled deload might be a waste of time for
necessary.
someone whose training is less consistent and who ends up with
more recovery time between workouts than the program anticipated.
In either case, your body’s needs should overrule your program’s timetable. If
you don’t need the deload when it comes up in your schedule, postpone it until
you do. And if you feel burned out before your scheduled deload, just follow the
two-thirds rule. You have three ways to do it:
• Put in two-thirds of the effort: Do the workouts as programmed, but instead
of finishing each set with maybe one repetition in reserve, stop with two
or three reps in the tank.
• Use two-thirds of your training load: Again, you’ll do the programmed workouts,
but you’ll use a third less weight on each set of each exercise.
• Perform two-thirds of your sets: If the workout calls for three sets of an exercise,
do two sets instead. If the math doesn’t work out that neatly—the routine
gives you four or five sets of key exercises, for example—add up the total
sets in the workout and cut a third of them. Just don’t cut entire exercises.
Do at least one set of every exercise, and cut at least one set from each one.
Regardless of which option you choose, that temporary one-third reduction in
volume or intensity should allow your body to recover from its residual fatigue,
which means you can return stronger the following week. And if that doesn’t
work, it’s time to change your program.
What Causes Muscle Soreness and Is It
Necessary for Growth?
The discomfort you feel 24 to 72 hours after a hard workout is delayed-onset muscle
soreness (DOMS), an umbrella term used to describe the muscular pain, stiffness,
and tenderness that can follow exercise. It’s most often caused by three circumstances.
First, when you perform an exercise for the first time or haven’t performed
that exercise in weeks or months. Second, when you significantly increase your
training intensity, such as adding 10 percent more load or pushing a set to failure.
Third, when the volume of exercise significantly increases, such as doing six sets
instead of three.
Decades ago, some scientists thought lactate, a by-product of muscle metabolism
indirectly associated with the burn you feel after 50 push-ups, might be the cause of
DOMS. However, lactate levels return to normal within one to two hours after training
ends, which refutes that theory (Goodwin et al. 2007). Soreness is actually caused
by microtears within the muscle, which are a normal part of the training process.
Your body will repair the damage and make the muscle stronger within a few days.
Another common myth is that a workout must make you sore in order to trigger
muscle growth. Although muscle damage is one mechanism of hypertrophy, it’s not
the only one (Schoenfeld 2010). Many high-level athletes rarely experience soreness
but are nonetheless able to keep building new muscle. Soreness shouldn’t be
viewed as a training goal but as an inevitable side effect of adding a new exercise
or changing the training parameters. So if you like to get sore after a workout, keep
mixing things up.