Most people live very hectic lives and they don’t get the rest or sleep that they need. If you are training hard then you need rest to recharge your batteries. You can’t be at peak efficiency after staying up until 1:00AM and getting up at 6:00AM the next morning for days on end. There was an article in the 1970 Ironman Magazine written by Arthur Jones the creator of Nautilus workout machines. The article stated that Arthur Jones could add 1/2 inch to any highly motivated bodybuilder. Arthur Jones basically took some of these bodybuilders in and told them to sleep and rest for the next 3 nights and days. After the 3 days and nights most of the bodybuilders had already gained 1/4 inch on their arms. Most bodybuilders overtrain. By simply resting the bodybuilders were able to get their muscles to recuperate and grow. Apply the following rules to your routine to make your muscles grow.

* Get 10 hours of sleep per night if you are a teenager

* Get 8 to 9 hours of sleep per night if you are an adult

* Schedule a 15 minute nap in the middle of the afternoon(I know most people can’t do this, but try)

* Keep vigorous activity on your days off to a minimum

* Take a week off after 6 months of steady training

If you get the rest you need your muscles will grow.

If you have been training for a while, using the same routine, it is time to “Mix It Up”.

* Try doing a different routine. Change the exercises around.

* Perhaps it is time to get back to basics. Hit it heavy doing those squats, deadlifts and bench presses.

* Try some drop-sets. A drop-set is when you do an exercise at a certain weight and then you peel off a little weight and keep going. Drop a little more weight and keep going until you reach total muscle failure. This makes for an awesome pump.

* Try some tri-sets. Here is an example of a tri-set for chest. Make sure your equipment is ready before starting. Start with incline barbell presses. As soon as you reach failure, between 8 and 12 reps, pickup up a pair of dumbbells and rep out as many flies as you can. From there go straight to the cable crossover machine and squeeze out 12 to 15 more reps. This makes for an awesome pump.

* If you want to grow make sure that you train with plenty of intensity. Carry those sets out to muscular failure.

* Make sure that after trying these things you get adequate rest and food if you want to grow.