In 1999, I was a rookie with the Detroit Tigers. After a game, I strode confidently into the Kansas City Royals’ weight room, rested the weight bar on my shoulders and settled in for some heavy squats. I rocked my hips back and dropped into my form, feeling totally in control. On the way back up, I got stuck. I leaned forward and the bar spilled over my neck. More than 500 pounds went violently crashing to the floor and members of both teams turned to look.
Luckily, nothing was injured that day other than my pride. It could have been much worse. I was over-trained; I had an intense weight training session the day before and was just coming off playing nine innings. “More is better” was my mantra, but I was naïve.
At 23, I lifted heavy weights every day. At 38, I lift three days a week. I’m not quite as strong, but I’m inching closer to that 500 pound threshold now that I understand the importance of rest and recovery. If I understood how the body repairs itself when I was a rookie, I would have been stronger, healthier, and a better baseball player.
It’s essential to incorporate recovery days into your program so your muscles can adequately repair themselves, grow and become stronger. When we train with weights, we actually create small tears in our muscle fibers. Those fibers then repair and rebuild bigger and stronger while we rest. If you don’t build in that downtime, you break the muscle fibers down further reducing the chance for solid growth and increasing the risk of injury.
If your ultimate goal is size and strength, avoid weight training, even targeting separate muscle groups, on consecutive days.
Your body only builds muscle when you are not weight training. Trust the process, believe in the value of rest, and you’ll be significantly stronger as a result.
Gabe,
I just want to say how much I appreciate your blog. It’s strength — and of course, yours — is presenting information clearly and efficiently in a non-intimidating fashion. Please keep up the good work and keep the positive tips coming.
Thank you!
Excellent blog. Very useful information and enjoy the format.
Gabe, what is your philosophy on pushups and pullups? I’m a big fan of both and looking to gain some definition in my upper body but without a heavy weight training program (I don’t have time for that). Would you recommend a solid day of rest if these are all I’m doing or will I see better results hammering through different variations of them that work different areas every day or nearly every day?
Good question, Tom. I too, am a fan of pushups and pullups. I’d add bodyweight squats to your mix and tell you I’m a big fan of your workout. I’d suggest that you do these three exercises 3-4 times a week and see how it feels. Please keep me posted! GK
just YUM
Gabe, I am the GM of my son’s 17/18u travel team. I will forward your blog posts to the coaches of that team and also his high school baseball team. I know the coaches tell the players to not overtrain, but your experience may have lots more impact. Thank you for your intelligent, thoughtful posts.
Thank you, Fran.
Gabe- what is your current deadlift and bench compared to your playing days.
Big tigers fan here gabe, and I must say one of my earliest memories of attending a tigers game you hit a homerun so it was awesome to see you on FS1!
Anyway a question on this post. If I’m trying to get lean as opposed to getting stronger do you still recommend not weight training on consecutive days? Should I abandon lifting 5 days a week for a more cardio heavy approach?
Gabe-
Love the site. What muscle groups do you focus on in those 3 days of weight training? Do you do any activities (cardio, stretching etc.) on your off days or are they strictly rest days?
I have been lifting weights for several years & am due to switch things up as I have been routinely doing a different muscle group each day, 5 times per week. Chest, back, bis/tris, shoulders, legs. When I am dieting/cutting I can get myself down to 4.5% body fat, but I feel like I can do better as far as retaining muscle mass goes. I am 30 years old and am blessed with good genetics, so I would love to be able to try a better program and track the results. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.