There is indeed a class of people who can be considered freaks of nature, like you said. Whether or not you fit this class is hard for me to say, but going by what you’ve told me… it’s definitely possible. On the other hand, it could just be that you have fairy average genetics, and your friends are below average. Either way, the differences in the rate you could increase muscle/strength/etc. and recover compared to them could be pretty big.

The best advice in the history of weight training advice is this… listen to your body. If your results suck… change something. If you don’t feel like you are recovering in time, change something. If you feel like you can handle more work than you are currently doing… change something. And then, after the change, listen some more. So in your case, if your body appears to be telling you that you are a freak that can handle more… give it a shot (gradually, of course) and see what happens.

My one question is about recovery. I’ve gotten great results from a 3 day workout week (MWF), but I always feel I have recovered much faster than my training partners. Moreover, my strength increased much more quickly than my buddies’ and while they were still feeling fatigued, sore and stiff on Sundays, i was itching for more, but never did because I was told it would be harmful to my results and my body. Can some people really recover and gain strength significantly faster than others? Or is my body playing tricks? I’ve always thought i was a bit of a freak of nature for being able to recover so fast while increasing flexibility and strength while having such a short recovery time.