Have you spent any time browsing through the magazine rack at your local bookstore? If you have, you've probably noticed a number of bodybuilding magazines with all sorts of recommendations and advertisements.
They try to sell you all kinds of pills and supplements that will magically put muscle on your frame.
But there's one critical ingredient that is usually missing.
I'm talking, of course, about the recovery phase.
I would be very surprised to see one of these magazines advertise this as a kind of product.
Can you imagine them promoting a DVD or other product that teaches you how to recover? The reason that more attention is not given to recovery is that it's difficult to make money off of it.
However, that doesn't make it any less important.
If you understand the basics of building muscle, then you should already know how important rest is.
In order to build muscle, you have to stimulate your muscles with weightlifting and force them to grow.
Then you'll give them enough calories, including plenty of protein, and your body will rebuild your muscles bigger and stronger than before.
For that to happen, though, you have to get plenty of rest in between workout sessions.
Always remember that your muscles grow when you're at rest, not at the gym.
You have to allow your muscles to rebuild so you can be ready for your next workout session.
Following this principle will have more of a positive impact than any supplement you purchase.
You'll go much farther in your quest to build muscle by paying close attention to recovery than you will with the latest exercise fad.