I am 42 yr old and have been doing a simple bodyweight squat/push/pull routine every third day for a few months. Then I had not any time for exercising any more during 13 days. Today I came back to the gym, fearing I might have lose the little progress I had achieved.
To my surprise, my body is stronger, and I found myself repeating almost effortlessly the exercise variations and number of reps of my last workout 14 days ago. I then realized in the mirror that my triceps and shoulders are slightly more noticeable.
Well, what is the lesson one can learn here? Perhaps:
- It is good to introduce one or two rest weeks rest every, say, two months?
- Should I workout less often from now on, by introducing 3 rest days between consecutive workouts instead of 2?
- What I did in those 13 days have kept me in shape? (a lot of playing with my 4 yr old daughter, including lifting her up in my arms, running and jumping all the time)
Any explanation or reference about systematic rest periods introduced in a strength program would be interesting.
(Remark, the day after: Ouch, feeling DOMS everywhere... If a fly landed on my pecs now, I could cry)