How bad is it to do weight machines 2 days in a row?

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Replies

  • IndianCat3
    IndianCat3 Posts: 158 Member
    usmcmp wrote: »
    IndianCat3 wrote: »
    so, all jokes and bashing aside, you guys are suggesting that he do a lower/upper body split, is that not making my statement correct by me sayin not to work the same muscle group two days back to back...seriously?

    Just because we offered alternate solutions doesn't make you right. He can do the same workout back to back just fine if he wants to. You said it was a horrible idea to do that and even real athletes don't do workout the same muscle group back to back, which was wrong.

    and the word HORRIBLE was never said by me
  • LolBroScience
    LolBroScience Posts: 4,537 Member
    IndianCat3 wrote: »
    well, that was my opinion which i always gotten from Personal Trainers. Im not gonna apologize for it either. Doing the split lower and upper is the best choice. I never said it was BAD, i said that you shouldn't do it, you can easily injure yourself and muscles need time to grow. that is all.

    No.

  • TR0berts
    TR0berts Posts: 7,739 Member
    edited December 2014
    IndianCat3 wrote: »
    well, that was my opinion which i always gotten from Personal Trainers. Im not gonna apologize for it either. Doing the split lower and upper is the best choice. I never said it was BAD, i said that you shouldn't do it, you can easily injure yourself and muscles need time to grow. that is all.


    I'm going to say this as nicely as I can.

    You are clearly in over your head with regards to this subject. There are a few people here in this thread that have had pretty good success in the sports/athletic/weightlifting field that have weighed in here. Listen to those posters - don't argue with them.
  • usmcmp
    usmcmp Posts: 21,219 Member
    IndianCat3 wrote: »
    well, that was my opinion which i always gotten from Personal Trainers. Im not gonna apologize for it either. Doing the split lower and upper is the best choice. I never said it was BAD, i said that you shouldn't do it, you can easily injure yourself and muscles need time to grow. that is all.
    IndianCat3 wrote: »
    and if you are any kind of an athlete, you should know not to work the same muscle group back to back.

    I tried to find the quote where you specifically said you can easily injure yourself and your muscles need time to grow, but I couldn't find that statement from you anywhere above. Maybe you can point it out for me.

    It sounds to me like he'll be resting during most of the week, so I don't see an issue since he said he was only training 3x per week.
  • IndianCat3
    IndianCat3 Posts: 158 Member
    TR0berts wrote: »
    IndianCat3 wrote: »
    well, that was my opinion which i always gotten from Personal Trainers. Im not gonna apologize for it either. Doing the split lower and upper is the best choice. I never said it was BAD, i said that you shouldn't do it, you can easily injure yourself and muscles need time to grow. that is all.


    I'm going to say this as nicely as I can.

    You are clearly in over your head with regards to this subject. There are a few people here in this thread that have had pretty good success in the sports/athletic/weightlifting field that have weighed in here. Listen to those posters - don't argue with them.



    different strokes for different folks. DO NOT WORK THE SAME MUSCLE GROUP TWO DAYS IN A ROW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
  • mustgetmuscles1
    mustgetmuscles1 Posts: 3,346 Member
    IndianCat3 wrote: »
    well, that was my opinion which i always gotten from Personal Trainers. Im not gonna apologize for it either. Doing the split lower and upper is the best choice. I never said it was BAD, i said that you shouldn't do it, you can easily injure yourself and muscles need time to grow. that is all.
    IndianCat3 wrote: »
    he did say that he was not tryin to body build...

    As you said, he is not trying to grow muscle. Recovery may be an issue but that will depend on the program, diet, age, and other factors.

    The blanket statement that he should never do it or that real athletes know better than to do it was the issue that people had.
  • IndianCat3
    IndianCat3 Posts: 158 Member
    IndianCat3 wrote: »
    well, that was my opinion which i always gotten from Personal Trainers. Im not gonna apologize for it either. Doing the split lower and upper is the best choice. I never said it was BAD, i said that you shouldn't do it, you can easily injure yourself and muscles need time to grow. that is all.
    IndianCat3 wrote: »
    he did say that he was not tryin to body build...

    As you said, he is not trying to grow muscle. Recovery may be an issue but that will depend on the program, diet, age, and other factors.

    The blanket statement that he should never do it or that real athletes know better than to do it was the issue that people had.

    THANK YOU!
  • lishie_rebooted
    lishie_rebooted Posts: 2,973 Member
    IndianCat3 wrote: »
    well, that was my opinion which i always gotten from Personal Trainers. Im not gonna apologize for it either. Doing the split lower and upper is the best choice. I never said it was BAD, i said that you shouldn't do it, you can easily injure yourself and muscles need time to grow. that is all.


    There are so many bad trainers out there.
    I trust @USMCMP and @lolbroscience far more than any trainer I've met
  • jofjltncb6
    jofjltncb6 Posts: 34,415 Member
    I know you need to do a day off between resistance training sessions because muscle builds during rest.

    But right now I'm doing a total body workout 3x/week on weight machines. I'm using moderate weight/high reps for toning rather than body building as I'm dropping weight.

    It is so much easier for me to get lifts in on Saturday/Sunday rather than Saturday/weekday.

    Can I get away with doing light, total body workouts on machines two days in a row?

    PS I'll accept "no" LOL. I'm looking for advice not just wanting to hear what I want to hear.

    Thanks

    Probably fine. That whole "need a rest day between workouts" isn't necessarily sound science in all cases.

    (Now as for your "toning rather than body building" claim. That's more based on dietary intake than weight/rep scheme. In fact, moderate weight/high reps is a very popular bodybuilding approach.)
  • Velum_cado
    Velum_cado Posts: 1,608 Member
    IndianCat3 wrote: »
    well, that was my opinion which i always gotten from Personal Trainers.

    Eh. A personal trainer once told me I'd never lose weight if I ate fruit because my body would use the sugar from the fruit to power itself rather than burning calories. So, you know... even "experts" give awful advice.

  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    I am generally of the school of alternating days for a full body program...but I'm also of the school of hitting it pretty hard on those days and needing some recovery time...I'm also 40 and sometimes just existing hurts.

    I still do other things on recovery days though...I cycle pretty much 5-6 days per week and I do pull ups pretty much every day as well as push ups and some kind of core work on most days. I do not however get under a heavy squat bar on back to back days, etc. In my experience it is counterproductive, but that's going to depend a lot on what you're after.

    I think for what you're doing, you'll be fine
  • feralX
    feralX Posts: 334 Member
    IndianCat3 wrote: »
    and if you are any kind of an athlete, you should know not to work the same muscle group back to back.

    Tell that to Olympic Lifters, Norwegian powerlifters, Chinese Weightlifters, and various other athletes.

    I think the disagreement here is stemming from different training objectives. Strength athletes train at much higher frequency because they're not training high volume and taking sets to failure. Bodybuilders won't normally train the same body part until it has recovered because they are seeking growth not strength. High volume and failure training requires longer recovery, so they wouldn't train the same body part back to back days.

    The OP is training for weight loss and isn't likely doing high volume to failure, so back to back shouldn't be a major issue, though the upper/lower split would be the best option under the circumstances.
  • zipa78
    zipa78 Posts: 354 Member
    One can't compare how the bodies of professional athletes respond to training and how they recover to an unfit and overweight amateur. And the aforementioned athletes certainly won't train like that all the time, and probably not even the majority of the off season.

    Rather train twice a week than on back-to-back days if you are doing a full body routine. If you want to train once during the week and then sat & sun, you could do a full body strength focused exercise during the week, and then an upper/lower split in the weekend where you go for more volume.
  • LolBroScience
    LolBroScience Posts: 4,537 Member
    feralX wrote: »
    IndianCat3 wrote: »
    and if you are any kind of an athlete, you should know not to work the same muscle group back to back.

    Tell that to Olympic Lifters, Norwegian powerlifters, Chinese Weightlifters, and various other athletes.

    I think the disagreement here is stemming from different training objectives. Strength athletes train at much higher frequency because they're not training high volume and taking sets to failure. Bodybuilders won't normally train the same body part until it has recovered because they are seeking growth not strength. High volume and failure training requires longer recovery, so they wouldn't train the same body part back to back days.

    The OP is training for weight loss and isn't likely doing high volume to failure, so back to back shouldn't be a major issue, though the upper/lower split would be the best option under the circumstances.

    I never said it was intended for the OP. I was clarifying the misinformation being regurgitated that you cannot train a movement on subsequent days.
  • LolBroScience
    LolBroScience Posts: 4,537 Member
    zipa78 wrote: »
    One can't compare how the bodies of professional athletes respond to training and how they recover to an unfit and overweight amateur. And the aforementioned athletes certainly won't train like that all the time, and probably not even the majority of the off season.

    Rather train twice a week than on back-to-back days if you are doing a full body routine. If you want to train once during the week and then sat & sun, you could do a full body strength focused exercise during the week, and then an upper/lower split in the weekend where you go for more volume.

    No one was.
  • usmcmp
    usmcmp Posts: 21,219 Member
    feralX wrote: »
    IndianCat3 wrote: »
    and if you are any kind of an athlete, you should know not to work the same muscle group back to back.

    Tell that to Olympic Lifters, Norwegian powerlifters, Chinese Weightlifters, and various other athletes.

    I think the disagreement here is stemming from different training objectives. Strength athletes train at much higher frequency because they're not training high volume and taking sets to failure. Bodybuilders won't normally train the same body part until it has recovered because they are seeking growth not strength. High volume and failure training requires longer recovery, so they wouldn't train the same body part back to back days.

    The OP is training for weight loss and isn't likely doing high volume to failure, so back to back shouldn't be a major issue, though the upper/lower split would be the best option under the circumstances.

    She said, "if you are any kind of an athlete, you should know not to work the same muscle group back to back" which is what he was responding to. She made a blanket statement that was incorrect and he was informing her she was wrong. He wasn't telling everyone to go hard and hit every part every day no matter what their goal is.
  • jofjltncb6
    jofjltncb6 Posts: 34,415 Member
    zipa78 wrote: »
    One can't compare how the bodies of professional athletes respond to training and how they recover to an unfit and overweight amateur. And the aforementioned athletes certainly won't train like that all the time, and probably not even the majority of the off season.

    Rather train twice a week than on back-to-back days if you are doing a full body routine. If you want to train once during the week and then sat & sun, you could do a full body strength focused exercise during the week, and then an upper/lower split in the weekend where you go for more volume.

    I'd argue it's probably better to exercise once during the week and once each on Saturday and Sunday than to exercise once during the week and only once on either Saturday or Sunday.

    There is no certain harm and her goals are not inconsistent with back-to-back workout days. Ideal? Perhaps not...but better (IMHO) than the 2 days/week alternative you provided.
  • feralX
    feralX Posts: 334 Member
    feralX wrote: »
    IndianCat3 wrote: »
    and if you are any kind of an athlete, you should know not to work the same muscle group back to back.

    Tell that to Olympic Lifters, Norwegian powerlifters, Chinese Weightlifters, and various other athletes.

    I think the disagreement here is stemming from different training objectives. Strength athletes train at much higher frequency because they're not training high volume and taking sets to failure. Bodybuilders won't normally train the same body part until it has recovered because they are seeking growth not strength. High volume and failure training requires longer recovery, so they wouldn't train the same body part back to back days.

    The OP is training for weight loss and isn't likely doing high volume to failure, so back to back shouldn't be a major issue, though the upper/lower split would be the best option under the circumstances.

    I never said it was intended for the OP. I was clarifying the misinformation being regurgitated that you cannot train a movement on subsequent days.

    I know, I was just pointing out where I think the different opinions were coming from. You correctly listed a group of athletes that train with an extremely high frequency, but a lot of people on here wouldn't realize those are strength/power sports. Just trying to clarify that for body builders the general rule would be to avoid training back to back, and that's what Indiancat's trainer would likely be referencing. Many of the members of MFP aren't particularly knowledgeable about the different training styles and just assume all weight lifters are following strength protocols. I was trying to reduce the confusion for them.
  • IndianCat3
    IndianCat3 Posts: 158 Member
    feralX wrote: »
    feralX wrote: »
    IndianCat3 wrote: »
    and if you are any kind of an athlete, you should know not to work the same muscle group back to back.

    Tell that to Olympic Lifters, Norwegian powerlifters, Chinese Weightlifters, and various other athletes.

    I think the disagreement here is stemming from different training objectives. Strength athletes train at much higher frequency because they're not training high volume and taking sets to failure. Bodybuilders won't normally train the same body part until it has recovered because they are seeking growth not strength. High volume and failure training requires longer recovery, so they wouldn't train the same body part back to back days.

    The OP is training for weight loss and isn't likely doing high volume to failure, so back to back shouldn't be a major issue, though the upper/lower split would be the best option under the circumstances.

    I never said it was intended for the OP. I was clarifying the misinformation being regurgitated that you cannot train a movement on subsequent days.

    I know, I was just pointing out where I think the different opinions were coming from. You correctly listed a group of athletes that train with an extremely high frequency, but a lot of people on here wouldn't realize those are strength/power sports. Just trying to clarify that for body builders the general rule would be to avoid training back to back, and that's what Indiancat's trainer would likely be referencing. Many of the members of MFP aren't particularly knowledgeable about the different training styles and just assume all weight lifters are following strength protocols. I was trying to reduce the confusion for them.

    You did, they jus want to bash me and they want to be "right"
    I'm over it...do the split options, tha is best.
  • usmcmp
    usmcmp Posts: 21,219 Member
    feralX wrote: »
    feralX wrote: »
    IndianCat3 wrote: »
    and if you are any kind of an athlete, you should know not to work the same muscle group back to back.

    Tell that to Olympic Lifters, Norwegian powerlifters, Chinese Weightlifters, and various other athletes.

    I think the disagreement here is stemming from different training objectives. Strength athletes train at much higher frequency because they're not training high volume and taking sets to failure. Bodybuilders won't normally train the same body part until it has recovered because they are seeking growth not strength. High volume and failure training requires longer recovery, so they wouldn't train the same body part back to back days.

    The OP is training for weight loss and isn't likely doing high volume to failure, so back to back shouldn't be a major issue, though the upper/lower split would be the best option under the circumstances.

    I never said it was intended for the OP. I was clarifying the misinformation being regurgitated that you cannot train a movement on subsequent days.

    I know, I was just pointing out where I think the different opinions were coming from. You correctly listed a group of athletes that train with an extremely high frequency, but a lot of people on here wouldn't realize those are strength/power sports. Just trying to clarify that for body builders the general rule would be to avoid training back to back, and that's what Indiancat's trainer would likely be referencing. Many of the members of MFP aren't particularly knowledgeable about the different training styles and just assume all weight lifters are following strength protocols. I was trying to reduce the confusion for them.

    Solid post for clarity! Kudos
  • feralX
    feralX Posts: 334 Member
    usmcmp wrote: »
    feralX wrote: »
    IndianCat3 wrote: »
    and if you are any kind of an athlete, you should know not to work the same muscle group back to back.

    Tell that to Olympic Lifters, Norwegian powerlifters, Chinese Weightlifters, and various other athletes.

    I think the disagreement here is stemming from different training objectives. Strength athletes train at much higher frequency because they're not training high volume and taking sets to failure. Bodybuilders won't normally train the same body part until it has recovered because they are seeking growth not strength. High volume and failure training requires longer recovery, so they wouldn't train the same body part back to back days.

    The OP is training for weight loss and isn't likely doing high volume to failure, so back to back shouldn't be a major issue, though the upper/lower split would be the best option under the circumstances.

    She said, "if you are any kind of an athlete, you should know not to work the same muscle group back to back" which is what he was responding to. She made a blanket statement that was incorrect and he was informing her she was wrong. He wasn't telling everyone to go hard and hit every part every day no matter what their goal is.

    I understood what he was saying and wasn't disagreeing with anything he said. Just trying to make it clear to those that don't have a clear concept of the different training styles that there are different guidelines for different objectives.

    And yes, blanket statements are rarely a good idea to make.
  • LolBroScience
    LolBroScience Posts: 4,537 Member
    IndianCat3 wrote: »
    feralX wrote: »
    feralX wrote: »
    IndianCat3 wrote: »
    and if you are any kind of an athlete, you should know not to work the same muscle group back to back.

    Tell that to Olympic Lifters, Norwegian powerlifters, Chinese Weightlifters, and various other athletes.

    I think the disagreement here is stemming from different training objectives. Strength athletes train at much higher frequency because they're not training high volume and taking sets to failure. Bodybuilders won't normally train the same body part until it has recovered because they are seeking growth not strength. High volume and failure training requires longer recovery, so they wouldn't train the same body part back to back days.

    The OP is training for weight loss and isn't likely doing high volume to failure, so back to back shouldn't be a major issue, though the upper/lower split would be the best option under the circumstances.

    I never said it was intended for the OP. I was clarifying the misinformation being regurgitated that you cannot train a movement on subsequent days.

    I know, I was just pointing out where I think the different opinions were coming from. You correctly listed a group of athletes that train with an extremely high frequency, but a lot of people on here wouldn't realize those are strength/power sports. Just trying to clarify that for body builders the general rule would be to avoid training back to back, and that's what Indiancat's trainer would likely be referencing. Many of the members of MFP aren't particularly knowledgeable about the different training styles and just assume all weight lifters are following strength protocols. I was trying to reduce the confusion for them.

    You did, they jus want to bash me and they want to be "right"
    I'm over it...do the split options, tha is best.

    Nope, not looking to bash. Just looking to point out that you shouldn't make sweeping statements and perpetuate misinformation without having much of a knowledge base.

    I'll post regarding any sort of misinformation I come across. Not to bash, but clarify.
  • uconnwinsnc1
    uconnwinsnc1 Posts: 902 Member
    edited December 2014
    You will be a bit fatigued but you aren't just going to fall apart and die like some people might suggest. Look at people like farmers, construction workers, people in the moving industry, athletes,...they do the same physical labor every day every week every year for 20+ years. They break down over time but so does everyone as they age.

    So don't worry about it. You won't optimize your muscle growth by working out two days in a row, since muscle needs recovery time to grow properly. But, you really won't hurt yourself either. Our bodies are more resilient than people give them credit for.
  • JeffseekingV
    JeffseekingV Posts: 3,165 Member
    IndianCat3 wrote: »
    you should not work the same muscle group two days in a row, doesn't matter what machine you are using. Just don't work the same muscle group two days in a row.

    There are many athletes out there that would disagree with that statement.

    I think she was just responding to the context of what is generally touted here. Most here either want to build muscle, strength or prevent muscle loss. In that context, back to back workouts in the same muscle group is generally not recommended.
  • LolBroScience
    LolBroScience Posts: 4,537 Member
    edited December 2014
    IndianCat3 wrote: »
    you should not work the same muscle group two days in a row, doesn't matter what machine you are using. Just don't work the same muscle group two days in a row.

    There are many athletes out there that would disagree with that statement.

    I think she was just responding to the context of what is generally touted here. Most here either want to build muscle, strength or prevent muscle loss. In that context, back to back workouts in the same muscle group is generally not recommended.

    That's not an accurate statement either really...Needs further context. More factors.
  • usmcmp
    usmcmp Posts: 21,219 Member
    IndianCat3 wrote: »
    you should not work the same muscle group two days in a row, doesn't matter what machine you are using. Just don't work the same muscle group two days in a row.

    There are many athletes out there that would disagree with that statement.

    I think she was just responding to the context of what is generally touted here. Most here either want to build muscle, strength or prevent muscle loss. In that context, back to back workouts in the same muscle group is generally not recommended.

    She made a blanket statement and LolBroScience told her that was incorrect.

    Also, in context of the OP: he's just doing 3 full body workouts every week. There's no harm in back to back workouts.
  • JeffseekingV
    JeffseekingV Posts: 3,165 Member
    IndianCat3 wrote: »
    you should not work the same muscle group two days in a row, doesn't matter what machine you are using. Just don't work the same muscle group two days in a row.

    There are many athletes out there that would disagree with that statement.

    I think she was just responding to the context of what is generally touted here. Most here either want to build muscle, strength or prevent muscle loss. In that context, back to back workouts in the same muscle group is generally not recommended.

    That's not an accurate statement either really...

    Well technically neither is yours so it depends how semantic you want to be about it.
  • LolBroScience
    LolBroScience Posts: 4,537 Member
    IndianCat3 wrote: »
    you should not work the same muscle group two days in a row, doesn't matter what machine you are using. Just don't work the same muscle group two days in a row.

    There are many athletes out there that would disagree with that statement.

    I think she was just responding to the context of what is generally touted here. Most here either want to build muscle, strength or prevent muscle loss. In that context, back to back workouts in the same muscle group is generally not recommended.

    That's not an accurate statement either really...

    Well technically neither is yours so it depends how semantic you want to be about it.

    Its a sweeping statement to say there are many athletes and noncompetitive athletes who train at high frequency?

  • JeffseekingV
    JeffseekingV Posts: 3,165 Member
    edited December 2014
    IndianCat3 wrote: »
    you should not work the same muscle group two days in a row, doesn't matter what machine you are using. Just don't work the same muscle group two days in a row.

    There are many athletes out there that would disagree with that statement.

    I think she was just responding to the context of what is generally touted here. Most here either want to build muscle, strength or prevent muscle loss. In that context, back to back workouts in the same muscle group is generally not recommended.

    That's not an accurate statement either really...

    Well technically neither is yours so it depends how semantic you want to be about it.

    Its a sweeping statement to say there are many athletes and noncompetitive athletes who train at high frequency?

    The sky is also blue and water is also wet. In the context of the OP, she mentions muscle building. So to me, that implies a more of a muscle building goal. She also said light weights so she could also be referring to high frequency. I've never used free weights or machines for the same muscle group two days in a row though. High or low frequency.

    She could probably get away with some light workout two days in a row. I'm not sure why she would do that when she has a host of other things she could do vs the same muscles again but that wasn't her question.
  • tomatoey
    tomatoey Posts: 5,446 Member
    edited December 2014
    usmcmp wrote: »
    IndianCat3 wrote: »
    you should not work the same muscle group two days in a row, doesn't matter what machine you are using. Just don't work the same muscle group two days in a row.

    There are many athletes out there that would disagree with that statement.

    I think she was just responding to the context of what is generally touted here. Most here either want to build muscle, strength or prevent muscle loss. In that context, back to back workouts in the same muscle group is generally not recommended.

    She made a blanket statement and LolBroScience told her that was incorrect.

    Also, in context of the OP: he's just doing 3 full body workouts every week. There's no harm in back to back workouts.

    Well there's another nice blanket statement. Harm for whom? Who are you talking about? Pro athletes or middle aged Jo Schmos?
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