Is a rest day mandatory?

Curleegurlee22

I've been on my weight loss journey for just about 60 days and have lost 23 pounds. I haven't gone one day without cardio. Is this detrimental to my body? I've heard yes and no. Help!

Liftng4Lis

Rest day is awesome and gives your body a chance to rejuvenate and your muscles a chance to repair. WTG on your loss.

Curleegurlee22

Thanks! I wish I didn't feel guilty taking one day off.

dakotababy

Depends on your intensity each day...a "walk" day is a rest day for me while other days I work out too much (according to others on MFP). I never plan rest days, they just pop up every now and then when I do not feel well or if I get busy. If that happens, I do not feel guilty for taking a day off.

I wouldnt worry about it, unless if you are forcing yourself to workout even though your body is tired/you are sick/you are injured, etc. (Basically, are you becoming obsessive and working out comes before everything else in your life, sacrificing your health/wellness to workout, unable to quit)

Speaking of injuries - you are more likely to become injured if you do not take rests.

nicediva007

I don't think non-stop cardio is a bad thing. I'm a runner (I use that loosely; I've run several half marathons and other long races) and have read about many "streakers"; people who don't miss running a mile a day for their entire lives. A lot of men and women swear by it and many are long-lived and still reaping the benefits of daily cardio.

From what I've learned, the rest day is more for those who are actively building muscle and/or are increasing their cardio intensity constantly so they don't plateau. Don't forget that cardio is more about heart health; it's just fortunate that cardio work is also affects metabolism. Focusing on heart health daily is not a bad thing. But, if you are building muscle (like cardio combined with cross fit, or some heavy lifting), it's best to let the muscles groups have time to repair themselves. Otherwise you open yourself up to injury which would definitely dampen your style.

strangesoul79

A rest day is good for you. If you feel like you want to do something do some stretch exercises. Just something to loosen up the body that really doesn't get your heart rate going.

3dogsrunning

nicediva007 wrote: »

I don't think non-stop cardio is a bad thing. I'm a runner (I use that loosely; I've run several half marathons and other long races) and have read about many "streakers"; people who don't miss running a mile a day for their entire lives. A lot of men and women swear by it and many are long-lived and still reaping the benefits of daily cardio.

From what I've learned, the rest day is more for those who are actively building muscle and/or are increasing their cardio intensity constantly so they don't plateau. Don't forget that cardio is more about heart health; it's just fortunate that cardio work is also affects metabolism. Focusing on heart health daily is not a bad thing. But, if you are building muscle (like cardio combined with cross fit, or some heavy lifting), it's best to let the muscles groups have time to repair themselves. Otherwise you open yourself up to injury which would definitely dampen your style.

To be fair, successful "streakers" are people who usually have a really good base to start with. People who a short run is "rest" compared to their usual regime.

My running club does a 100 days of running thing every year. The most successful ones are the ones I described above

"Rest" doesn't have to be nothing at all. Many people do "active rest" like walking or something lower intensity than their regular workout. But you shouldn't feel guilty about taking a day either.

rosnigetsfit

Yes, for sanity sake. It helps repair your muscles too!

malibu927

I would burn out without a rest day

Kalikel

People say its bad, but I've yet to have anyone who is in a position to give me advice say that it's bad to exercise every day. I don't take them. I'm not against them for others. I just don't need them.

A day that doesn't begin with swimming is a day that I won't feel my best, so I do it every day unless it's like 35 degrees out (and sometimes even then.)

ahoy_m8

It is mandatory when your muscles need repair and when you're injured. Cardio every day is fine, but if you push yourself really hard one day, consider whether your muscles need repair time. If you're doing cardio at a level you have sustained for a while, no problem. I get antsy on rest days, but I have a fresher attitude when I go back after missing it. It's more mental for me, FWIW.

cwolfman13

Curleegurlee22 wrote: »

Thanks! I wish I didn't feel guilty taking one day off.

rest should be a planned and part of your overall fitness regimen just like the workouts themselves...rest is where you body repairs and you make fitness gains.

Note that "rest" doesn't necessarily mean you sit around doing nothing...it is rest from vigorous/strenuous activity. I still go for walks on my rest day...I have a 3 and 5 year old...so my rest days are often spent chasing them around at the park, etc. Sometimes I do some yoga. What I DON'T do on a rest day is lift weights or go for training rides/runs, etc. You can still be active on a rest day.

You also have to consider the intensity of the work you are doing...context is important. Someone who's doing 30 minutes on the elliptical or something as their workout probably isn't going to have issues...someone going out and training for a marathon or century ride or something...well, that's a different animal.

Merkavar

How much cardio. Like 30 mins or 2 hours?

Heart rate high?

I would think just for sanity sake and to give your body a break, a rest day is probably good.

But I wouldn't say it's necessary unless your pushing yourself very hard every day.

Curleegurlee22

I do at least 45 min of cardio everyday. Usually 6 miles on the elliptical trainer.

nordlead2005

Hard hard do you work out? I lift 3x a week. I have to take a rest day or I wouldn't be able to lift at the same heavy weight.

I run when I play ultimate. I could probably do that every day if my legs held up (I actually don't know as I've never tried). However, I have to imagine that you would need rest days if you ran a marathon every day.

lemurcat12

I think if you do heavy weights you definitely need rest days between same body part workouts and ideally a whole day off a week. Similarly, although I could run a mile every day, or a light 3 if I thought that was worthwhile, and I might walk or even swim (more casually, not a hard workout) or do pilates on an off day I think an off day from intense cardio is also needed every week or so.

gemdiver00

Don't forget that the heart is also a muscle and it needs time to recover.

jswede1149

You have to rest your body. It needs time to repair and heal. I rest from Friday to Saturday night. I am refreshed t o go on Sunday.

snowflakesav

It comes down to listening to your body. If you are working out while you are sick.. No good. Most coaches agree with the idea of periodization of training. Hard days followed by easy days or rest. Some people respond better to active recovery than taking a rest day.

How do you know if complete rest is needed? If you don't start feeling much better during your workout or if you have that sense that your legs are lead pipes and it doesn't improve or gets worse during a workout.

The risk to not taking rest days and doing intense cardio while dieting is it causes a great deal of stress. Too much stress can result in adrenal fatigue...or overtraining syndrome . I promise you that is going to suck if you get it. Takes months to recover.

hekla90

If your intensity isn't high probably not necessary. I definitely notice when I don't take a rest day. If you run a mile every day (so what 7-9 minutes for most people?) probably not a big deal, but if you're running a lot and pushing yourself for distance or time or lifting weights your body needs some time off. Unless you like over use injuries. I perform much better with a weekly rest day.

thankyou4thevenom

Rest days are good for the body and soul but not mandatory.

OldAssDude

Curleegurlee22 wrote: »

I've been on my weight loss journey for just about 60 days and have lost 23 pounds. I haven't gone one day without cardio. Is this detrimental to my body? I've heard yes and no. Help!

If you are doing intense cardio every day then a rest day is probably in order. If you are doing moderate cardio every day then not so much.

My concern is why you are losing about 3 lbs. per week. That seems a little high to me. Even 2 lbs. per week is bordering on an unhealthy loss rate.

How many calories are you eating per day?

And how intense are your workouts?

accidentalpancake

As others have said, rest relates to work load and intensity.

On non-strength days, I'm typically at the batting cage for an hour at least. For me, it's not particularly strenuous, though for lots of people it would qualify as a workout. I'll also usually take a walk with my kids.

If you think you need a rest day due to fatigue, you probably do. If you notice bad for during lifts, you need a rest (or coaching).

pricelessmuzik1

I do cardio everyday, only take rest days from lifting