RecOVeRY
Resting is as cRitical as
tRaining. If you’re training hard,
you can theoretically train four to five
days a week and rest two to three. My
clients train four days, I train four days,
and the only ones who are at five or
above are the ones who are preparing
for a bodybuilding show or a sports sea-
son. You can make incredible progress
with a four-day-per-week training pro-
gram, which means on those other three
days you should be relaxing. Spend time
with your friends and family, watch some
TV, read a book, take up writing, just
don’t drag your ass into a gym and think
you’re that special person who doesn’t
need to rest. You do. We all do.
With rest comes sleep. Everyone is
different with how much sleep they
need per night. Studies show that it
ranges from six to 10 hours across the
population. Let’s bet that you need
more than six. You’re training hard and
your recovery depends on sleep. If you
aren’t getting at least seven hours per
night, re-evaluate your daily schedule
and make some time. If you truly cannot
make time for seven hours of sleep per
night because of your schedule, then
supplements aRe
designed tO help
YOu Reach YOuR
gOals when the
basics aRe On
pOint.
don’t expect to recover as well as some-
one who can. Sleep matters. That is a
cold hard fact of training.
The last rule I’ll go into is the most
maddening rule of all and it has to do
with supplements. The market is flood-
ed with them, and while a lot of them
work wonders, they are just what their
name says they are—supplements. If
you’re hell-bent on taking supplements
when your food intake isn’t adequate,
you aren’t training hard, and you aren’t
getting enough rest to facilitate recovery,
you will waste your money. Supplements
are designed to help you reach your
goals when the basics are on point. They
are not made for people who eat like a
Bikini pro in prep while trying to gain 20
pounds of lean mass in a year. Take care
of everything else first before you start to
research what supplements will help you
the most. iM
RecOVeRY
Rules
• Rest days are important
• Sleep means recovery
• Follow all of the preceding rules before you focus on sup-
plements
You will find that you have a solid list to work with as you
establish your footprint in the gym. Your footprint can be
one of, “That guy is starting to look jacked, I wonder what
he’s doing differently than me,” or it can be, “I’ve seen
that guy in here for months and he looks the same, don’t
do what he does.” iM
ironmanmagazine.com | april 2017 69