How much rest is required? i thought one night's good sleep is enough. Is there a way to tell if i am over straining my joints? Is it really that bad? because i had an uncle from Vietnam (now in america) come visit us and he use to worked out on his arms and legs everyday when he was young and he was around 50ish when he visited us and he seemed in pretty fine condition.Originally posted by reneritchie
It's my understanding that joints need rest to rebuild just like muscles. You make a muscle or joint stronger by straining them and then letting them rebuild to deal with the greater strain. If you forget about the second part of the equation (rebuilding) you will not make your joints stronger, you will simply stress them over and over again, adding micro-tear to micro-tear, until something happens and a bad injury results (strained/torn joint which, due to less blood flow than a muscle, takes a long, long time and serious physio to properly rebuild).
When you are 18, you feel as though you are immortal and invincible. What you really are, however, is in a time delay and any abuse you think you can handle now will come back and haunt you when you hit 30, 40, 50, etc. (and wish you'd been more careful in your youth).
Equal parts work, rest, and nutrition. Miss any part of that, and you will likely suffer some way, some when.