PNBA Pro Mitch Jarvis reduces his workout volume for adequate recovery.
A dilemma with working out is finding the right training volume that maximizes muscle growth but facilitates adequate recovery. And professional natural bodybuilder Mitch Jarvis concurs.
Mitch Jarvis is a Men’s Bodybuilding competitor for the International Natural Bodybuilding Association (INBA)/Professional Natural Bodybuilding Association (PNBA) and United Kingdom Drug Free Bodybuilding Association (UKDFBA). He was the runner-up at the PNBA World Championships and a UKDFBA champion in 2021. And in 2020, he was a UKDBFA Overall champion.
To optimize recovery, Mitch Jarvis has reduced his training volume from five days a week to four days a week. He noticed that his body wasn’t getting enough rest lifting five days a week. On social media, Jarvis stated,
“I’ve changed up my split this week so that I’m only training 4 x per week. Body wasn’t recovering from 5”
Below you can see Jarvis performing deadlifts.
https://www.instagram.com/tv/CbkHVpqDeLS/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
Training Volume and Recovery
Adequate training volume is imperative for maximizing muscle growth, but so is recovery. So how much volume should you do? The simple answer is enough to grow muscle but not too much that it causes overtraining.
Although doing more seems like it can yield more significant results, often, less is more when it comes to training. Doing too much volume will only hinder your progress because recovery is essential for optimal results.
You should give each muscle group a rest from training. For example, if you’re on a split routine, you should rotate between the muscle groups you train each day to give your body plenty of time to recuperate.
And you should give your body complete rest from training at least one day a week, but it can be beneficial to take more days off. Even if you’re targeting a different muscle group each day, your body still needs time to rest. For example, Mitch Jarvis has learned that his body wasn’t recovering well from training five days a week, so he reduced his training volume to four days a week.
Training Volume Per Workout
How many days you rest versus how many days you lift will also depend on the volume you’re doing per workout. For example, if you’re training each muscle group with heavy volume each workout – exercises, reps, sets – it will be beneficial to implement more rest days each week. Conversely, if you’re doing lower volume workouts, you can work out more often throughout the week and train each muscle group more often.
For example, you will typically only do 1-2 exercises per muscle group with full-body workouts, which means you can work out each muscle group more times throughout the week. However, you usually do many movements in a given workout with split routines. So you’ll need more time to grow and repair muscle tissue between training the same muscle group again.
Recovery for the Natural Bodybuilder
As a natural bodybuilder, it’s even more important to train smart and hard. Natural bodybuilders rely only on intelligent training and nutrition to put their bodies in peak condition for shows. In addition, steroids and performance-enhancing drugs will allow your body to do more volume than it would otherwise be capable.
Recap
Enough training volume is vital for muscle growth; however, ample rest time is essential. So if you’re struggling to recover and build muscle from workouts, try reducing your workout volume.
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