Resting days or not

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santje00
santje00 Posts: 95 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Hey everyone,

Since I'm quite new to the regular exercise thing I'm a bit lost working out the best training schedule to lose the most weight. I've been doing an hour on the treadmill daily so far, but I was wondering if it is necessary to have a resting day or resting days in your weekly schedule? I still have a considerable amount of weight to lose, which means a lot of fat to burn of. But some training schedules seem to have resting days in the week. Does anyone know the optimal number of days to exercise for weight loss?

Thanks
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Replies

  • grimendale
    grimendale Posts: 2,154 Member
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    Your body needs rest to rebuild. As a beginner to training, I would probably start with 3 rest days (light activity, such as walks, is permitted on a rest day) until you get accustomed to the workouts in order to prevent injury. As you get experienced, you can reduce the number of rest days required by changing which muscle groups are worked on specific days. This will ensure that specific muscles have sufficient time to rest, even if you're working other muscles during that recuperation. Nerdfitness.com and Jefit.com have a lot of good resources for starting out.
  • pinkraynedropjacki
    pinkraynedropjacki Posts: 3,027 Member
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    Only if YOU feel YOU need them. Personally I've never needed a rest day & it's been 16 months for me so far without one. But not everyone can do a workout a day like I HAVE to (it's a habit that I could break if I miss just one day so I do it daily).

    Don't let people tell you that you MUST have a rest day, not everyone IS built the same.
  • schmanarchy
    schmanarchy Posts: 6
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    The training schedules that have rest days in them are designed that way because either they are designed to work certain muscle groups without overexhausting them, or because they are very high in intensity. If you are just doing cardio every day you should be fine. If you feel overly sore or tight (like it hurts to move) then you might need a rest day to stretch and recover, but other than that you should be just fine!
  • __Di__
    __Di__ Posts: 1,630 Member
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    Hey everyone,

    Since I'm quite new to the regular exercise thing I'm a bit lost working out the best training schedule to lose the most weight. I've been doing an hour on the treadmill daily so far, but I was wondering if it is necessary to have a resting day or resting days in your weekly schedule? I still have a considerable amount of weight to lose, which means a lot of fat to burn of. But some training schedules seem to have resting days in the week. Does anyone know the optimal number of days to exercise for weight loss?

    Thanks

    Always have rest days otherwise you will eventually break down and either get an injury (where you are not giving yourself a chance to recover adequately) or you could get run down and if you try to train through that, you can leave yourself open to infections and viruses and that WILL put you out of action for a while.

    If you have only just started out, three times per week for the first two to four weeks and then add on another day per month to a maximum of six days per week.

    Overtraining is also another possibility if you do not take rest days.
  • jamielynas
    jamielynas Posts: 366 Member
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    If you don't need a couple of rest days per week, you're not working hard enough IMO
  • __Di__
    __Di__ Posts: 1,630 Member
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    Only if YOU feel YOU need them. Personally I've never needed a rest day & it's been 16 months for me so far without one. But not everyone can do a workout a day like I HAVE to (it's a habit that I could break if I miss just one day so I do it daily).

    Don't let people tell you that you MUST have a rest day, not everyone IS built the same.

    You are the exception rather than the rule.

    I wish I could train everyday though. Unfortunately, I have a chest infection now, this was due to insisting I train through, over and above my health levels - my body did give me lots of warning signs, but I chose to ignore the lot. Lungs filling up with fluid is not nice :(
  • AntWrig
    AntWrig Posts: 2,273 Member
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    Only if YOU feel YOU need them. Personally I've never needed a rest day & it's been 16 months for me so far without one. But not everyone can do a workout a day like I HAVE to (it's a habit that I could break if I miss just one day so I do it daily).

    Don't let people tell you that you MUST have a rest day, not everyone IS built the same.
    No, but everyone is human.

    IF you're actually training hard, you will need rest days.

    Circuit style workouts need not apply.
  • lisaabenjamin
    lisaabenjamin Posts: 665 Member
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    You need rest days. When you work out, you cause tiny tears to your muscles, which sounds a bit scary, but if you allow a day or two for your body to heal those little muscle tears, your muscles actually get stronger and more efficient over time. If you don't rest, those tiny tears will eventually start causing you problems.
  • Lysander666
    Lysander666 Posts: 275 Member
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    Only if YOU feel YOU need them. Personally I've never needed a rest day & it's been 16 months for me so far without one. But not everyone can do a workout a day like I HAVE to (it's a habit that I could break if I miss just one day so I do it daily).

    Don't let people tell you that you MUST have a rest day, not everyone IS built the same.

    Don't you mostly do cardio?

    Either way rest days are important. My muscles need time to rest, build and regenerate between workouts. Most peoples' do.
  • __Di__
    __Di__ Posts: 1,630 Member
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    Only if YOU feel YOU need them. Personally I've never needed a rest day & it's been 16 months for me so far without one. But not everyone can do a workout a day like I HAVE to (it's a habit that I could break if I miss just one day so I do it daily).

    Don't let people tell you that you MUST have a rest day, not everyone IS built the same.

    Don't you mostly do cardio?

    Either way rest days are important. My muscles need time to rest, build and regenerate between workouts. Most peoples' do.

    Going by their profile they do weights.

    Regarding the cardio, rest days are vital for cardio, without fail.
  • pinkraynedropjacki
    pinkraynedropjacki Posts: 3,027 Member
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    Only if YOU feel YOU need them. Personally I've never needed a rest day & it's been 16 months for me so far without one. But not everyone can do a workout a day like I HAVE to (it's a habit that I could break if I miss just one day so I do it daily).

    Don't let people tell you that you MUST have a rest day, not everyone IS built the same.

    Don't you mostly do cardio?

    Either way rest days are important. My muscles need time to rest, build and regenerate between workouts. Most peoples' do.

    Going by their profile they do weights.

    Regarding the cardio, rest days are vital for cardio, without fail.

    I don't do 'weights' but I do resistance bands up to about 80lbs in weight. I do cardio every single day regardless though. Never had a rest day yet. Never felt the need to & I know that if I do my habit of exercising will be over cause I'll find an excuse to not do it the next day. Currently doing it with a massive chest infection.
  • santje00
    santje00 Posts: 95 Member
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    Yes, I did feel quite sore today, especially the back of my legs (since they aren't use to running anymore). I had a rest day today purely out of fear of injury. Also thanks everyone for the good advice. I decided to calculate in a resting day when my muscles need it. I'm also having an old dancing injury, which plays up every now and then so I have to take that into account.
  • Timshel_
    Timshel_ Posts: 22,841 Member
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    I use Sunday as a big rest day usually, which means no heavy cardio or strength training. I might do a bit of tennis, or even a moderate walk though. I only strength train 4 or 5 times a week though. Need a few days off from it each week.
  • __Di__
    __Di__ Posts: 1,630 Member
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    Only if YOU feel YOU need them. Personally I've never needed a rest day & it's been 16 months for me so far without one. But not everyone can do a workout a day like I HAVE to (it's a habit that I could break if I miss just one day so I do it daily).

    Don't let people tell you that you MUST have a rest day, not everyone IS built the same.

    Don't you mostly do cardio?

    Either way rest days are important. My muscles need time to rest, build and regenerate between workouts. Most peoples' do.

    Going by their profile they do weights.

    Regarding the cardio, rest days are vital for cardio, without fail.

    I don't do 'weights' but I do resistance bands up to about 80lbs in weight. I do cardio every single day regardless though. Never had a rest day yet. Never felt the need to & I know that if I do my habit of exercising will be over cause I'll find an excuse to not do it the next day. Currently doing it with a massive chest infection.



    The reason I thought you did weights was because you have the following on your profile:

    Goals:
    ............................
    ...........................

    Tone up more, lift more weights.
  • aelunyu
    aelunyu Posts: 486 Member
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    Only if YOU feel YOU need them. Personally I've never needed a rest day & it's been 16 months for me so far without one. But not everyone can do a workout a day like I HAVE to (it's a habit that I could break if I miss just one day so I do it daily).

    Don't let people tell you that you MUST have a rest day, not everyone IS built the same.

    I subscribe to this mentality. However, I'm assuming this person is doing straight cardio. Intense weight training will see you forced to rest every once in a while. As long as you think you can muster it with good effort, then there's probably not need for rest.
  • MelsAuntie
    MelsAuntie Posts: 2,833 Member
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    I live on a working farm. There are no rest days.
  • Lochlyn_D
    Lochlyn_D Posts: 492 Member
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    I do not exercise every third day. My feet can't handle it. Hopefully, they will get better in time.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,876 Member
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    It depends on what you're doing exactly for a workout and what you consider a "rest" day. If you're just doing some walking or whatever on the treadmill, you're likely fine. If you're pushing and pulling a lot of iron, you're going to need rest to allow your muscles to recover and actually get the benefit of your workouts; hell, I take a rest week every 6th week or so of my cycle.

    If you're a runner, four days is pretty good...5+ days you exponentially increase the risk of injury if you're doing a lot of distance. If you're just doing straight cardio, I wouldn't worry about it too much; your body will tell you if you need a break. That aside, use your diet control to "burn" fat and for weight control; exercise for fitness.
  • Garlicmash
    Garlicmash Posts: 208
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    I'm having one tomorrow.
  • bumblebums
    bumblebums Posts: 2,181 Member
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    Are you walking on the treadmill or running?

    If you are walking, you probably do not need rest days. Unless you have a heart condition or are very heavy to a point where your joints are taking a beating from even relatively low-impact exercise. If you are running, on the other hand, I wouldn't do it more than every other day as a beginner.

    Rule of thumb: the harder your workout, the more important it is to give your body time to recover.

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