The Ultimate Guide – How to Maximize Muscle Growth On Rest Days

Once you start vibing with the daily workout session, the last thing you want to do is slow for a while. 

But no matter how much you try to deny it, science clears it that taking rest days is as important as training days for better results. 

It is a mandatory practice among professional athletes and bodybuilders to take rest days for recovery, healing, and regaining strength. 

However, can you build muscle on rest days? 

Though the obviousness lies, the answer to this question depends on a lot of factors such as the number of rest days and and what you do to maximize its effect. 

In this post we’ll find out do muscles grow on rest days. So, stick around to know the details.

Key Insights

• Research proves that muscle grows on rest days because it supports the continuous process of muscle tear, repair, and regrowth.
• Experts recommend a minimum of 2-3 days of rest days in a week for muscle building. 
• To maximize the effect of rest days to build muscle include a high-protein diet, sleep enough, consume more of low GI -carbs, and add supplements. 

Do Muscles Grow On Rest Days?

Answering it straight away, yes muscles do grow on rest days!

Notably, when you are trying to build muscles a lot of heavy weight-lifting exercises are involved in your regime. 

These causes muscle breakdown and microscopic muscle tear in the muscle fibers. 

Rest days repair these muscle tears by increasing muscle protein synthesis and protein breakdown. 

This constant process of muscle breakdown and repair allows the muscles to grow bigger and stronger leading to an increase in muscle mass. 

It is important to understand that continuous strenuous exercise causes both protein synthesis and breakdown. 

However, if you don’t allow the body to rest, it causes a hindrance to the process of rest>repair>growth and results in muscle breakdown. 

Furthermore, during the rest days, the body replenishes the glycogen levels that are depleted during exercise. 

Additionally, as per the studies, excessive exercise without any rest days leads to an overtraining syndrome that has hormonal, immunologic, neurologic, and psychologic effects. 

Due to a lack of certain rest days, your body is bound to hit the plateaus. Therefore, it is important to consider optimal rest days for muscle growth. 

So, do muscles grow on rest days? Of Course yes!

But…

How Many Rest Days A Week To Build Muscle?

If you are doing muscle-building exercises every day, it is recommended to take at least 1-3 rest days for muscle recovery and maximum muscle growth. 

This is because muscle protein synthesis lasts for about 24 to 48 hours for most people. 

Results of a study concluded that muscle hypertrophy is the result of an accumulated intermittent increase in muscle protein synthesis post-resistance exercise in resistance training. 

Nonetheless, it depends on several factors like fitness level, type of exercise, and intensity of workout. 

To explain, beginners need more rest days because their muscles are more prone to muscle soreness. 

In fact, they should include rest days every other day and then gradually decrease it to 2 rest days per week. Athletes and professional bodybuilders should include at least 1 rest day every week. 

Talking about exercise type, those into high-impact aerobic training and strength training workouts are required to rest for 2-3 days a week. 

In fact, as per the American College of Sports Nutrition, rest days of 2 days (48 hours) should be allowed between higher intensity exercise of the same muscles. 

Therefore, it is safe to say that muscles do grow on rest days and you must include them according to the fitness and intensity level. 

Adding to it, rest days can only work on muscle growth only if make the most of it rather than just being a couch potato. 

How to Maximize Muscle Growth On Rest Days?

If you want to witness the real benefits of rest days on muscle growth you need to make your rest period productive. 

This includes paying attention to everything from what to eat on rest days to build muscle and what not to do to maximize muscle growth on rest days. 

Here are some of the tips to consider if you really want to grow muscles on the rest days. 

#1. Stay Active 

Rest days can only lead to muscle growth if you choose to stay active physically and mentally. 

Of course, you don’t need to indulge in any strenuous exercise sessions but that should not be confused with being completely inactive. 

Active rest days deliver nutrients to the muscles for better repair and recovery. 

As per the Journal of Sports Sciences, active recovery after strenuous exercise clears accumulated blood lactate faster in comparison to passive recovery. Go for such exercise that improves heart rate but relaxes muscles. 

#2. Focus on Protein Consumption 

It’s a major misconception that only adding weights can help with muscle growth. 

Though lifting heavier weights can increase muscle protein synthesis, it is only enough for muscle repair and lack of growth of muscle mass. 

Therefore, it is important to eat a high-protein meal to improve muscle protein synthesis for an extra 2-3 hours. 

It is recommended to consume around 30-40 grams of protein to elevate the process of muscle protein synthesis. 

#3. The focus of Sleep Quality

You might feel like “This is what everyone recommends”. But there is a reason why experts pressure on improving sleep quality and quantity. 

A study by BMC Public Health clearly concludes that changes in sleep duration and quality affect the degree of muscle mass and fat accumulation. 

Even with enough sleep duration, muscle mass decreases with a decline in sleep quality. 

Therefore, try to sleep well if you want to increase muscle growth on rest days. 

#4. Eat more low GI-carbs 

On the rest days, 40% of your diet should include low-GI carbs. This will help restock the glycogen levels and improve muscle growth and muscle mass. 

Adding to it, it also assists in controlling blood sugar levels and prevents unhealthy cravings during the rest days. 

Some of the healthy low-GI carbs are Peas or leafy greens, Whole-grain bread, steel-cut oats, bran flakes, lentils, chickpeas, baked beans, yogurt, coconut milk, and soy milk. 

#5. Include Natural Supplements 

There is rarely any bodybuilder or athlete whether professional or beginner who doesn’t include any supplements in their diet. 

Since natural veggies and fruits have lost their nutritional value due to pesticides and genetic modification, it’s the need for an hour to supplement the diet with added nutrients.

You can include supplements like D-bal Max that not only claim but are also proven to deliver muscle recovery, explosive energy, muscle growth, and strength. 

It is an incredible steroid-free supplement for men of all ages who are looking to pack on muscles, break plateaus, and get lean muscle mass. 

It has 11 natural and patented ingredients that make it a hit among bodybuilders. 

There is a massive amount of feedback that is present online. You can also check Dbal max Reviews that are from verified users

Complete dedication on training days can indeed help generate maximum results, it’s equally important to pay the same attention to rest days.  Skipping on rest days can drag your progress backward and you’ll end up losing muscle mass rather than witnessing the growth. 

Make sure you know the right way to make the most of the rest days. These Frequently asked questions might serve some help. 

FAQ’s

Muscle-building is a continuous and tiring process that demands complete dedication and discipline to achieve the desired goals. 

Therefore it is crucial to be aware of the nitty-gritty details to understand everything about how to make the rest days more effective.

1. Will I lose muscle after 2 weeks off?

It takes around 2-3 weeks to witness a significant decrease in muscle mass. If you remain inactive throughout the entire 2 weeks, muscle loss is inevitable. 

2. Is it easy to regain lost muscle?

It depends on several factors like as how long you have been on break, your workout intensity, and body type. 

3. Is it OK to skip the gym for a month?

Skipping the gym is not an issue if you continue to stay active and follow a workout regime. Even if you are unable to include the exercise of the same intensity, keep including exercises in your daily routine and it’s absolutely OK to skip a gym for a month. 

4. What are the signs of overtraining?

Unusual muscle soreness, inability to train, heavy leg muscles, slow recovery, and decline in performance are some of the signs of overtraining. 

5. Should you sleep after exercise?

Yes, you can sleep after a workout as it will help with muscle recovery and repair. It reduces muscle soreness and also assists with the growth of muscle mass. 

No muscle gain is possible without investing in a proper rest strategy. 

Conclusion

If you have muscle building as a fitness goal, don’t skip on rest days at least 2-3 times a week depending upon the fitness and workout intensity. 

Adding it, to maximize the effects of rest days on muscle growth, improve your diet by including protein and low GI crabs. 

This will improve muscle recovery and also fulfill the lost glycogen store for more energy. 

The process of muscle tear and regrowth is only effective if you incorporate enough rest days in your routine. 

Don’t ignore the signs your body needs rest from exercise.