Gains aren’t made in the gym. That’s where muscle tissue is broken down. Size and strength is built up when your muscles recover from the breakdown of resistance training. So how long does this process take? A study published in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Researchsuggests the duration might vary between exercises.

Sixteen men in their mid-20s with significant weight training experience performed 8 sets of preacher curls with one arm and seated rows with the other using 10 reps max resistance. Peak torque decreased 15.1% for multi-joint exercise and completely recovered 24 hours post-workout. The decrease was 26.8% after single-joint movements and peak torque remained 8.4% lower than pre-workout measurements 24 hours later. Delayed onset muscle soreness was also greater and took longer than 72 hours to recover for the single-joint movement.

True Strength Movement: This research shows the importance of changing up your training day to day. If you don’t give your muscles enough time to fully recover, you might be robbing yourself of some hard earned gains.

Via @optimumnutrition
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