Rest Days

joshuakcaron

So I was given a routine to follow by the owner of the gym I go to - basically warm up, Leg press: 235lbs(2e)
Leg extension: 70lbs
Shoulder press: 50 lbsx
Lat pull: 70lbs (2e)
Chest press: 55lbs
Seated row: 60lbs
Triceps: 85lbs
Biceps: 40lbs

(20 sets x3, circuit)
And 20 minutes of cardio.

I want to do the cardio daily, he mentioned doing the strength training every other day. What's the best option to maximize weightloss?

pinggolfer96

By expending more calories than you're digesting! That's your best option(: either by reducing food intake or increasing energy expenditure

joshuakcaron

pinggolfer96 wrote: »

By expending more calories than you're digesting! That's your best option(: either by reducing food intake or increasing energy expenditure

I assume the point of the strength exercising is so that your body expends more energy by repairing the muscle tissue. I guess the question should be would it be better to continue to work out the muscles to achieve this or do I absolutely need to give them time to rest.

Unknown

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dhimaan

joshuakcaron wrote: »

pinggolfer96 wrote: »

By expending more calories than you're digesting! That's your best option(: either by reducing food intake or increasing energy expenditure

I assume the point of the strength exercising is so that your body expends more energy by repairing the muscle tissue. I guess the question should be would it be better to continue to work out the muscles to achieve this or do I absolutely need to give them time to rest.

The body does expend energy to repair muscles but you still need to be in a deficit to lose the fat. Training the muscle will ensure that you look good when you have lost the fat. Your body needs more energy to maintain the muscle than it does fat so that is an extra metabolic boost.

As for rest if you can go every other day then do it, but if you are too sore then rest for an extra day. I on the other hand trained through pain with lower weights just to get blood flow to that area. It reduced some of the soreness.

joshuakcaron

dhimaan wrote: »

joshuakcaron wrote: »

pinggolfer96 wrote: »

By expending more calories than you're digesting! That's your best option(: either by reducing food intake or increasing energy expenditure

I assume the point of the strength exercising is so that your body expends more energy by repairing the muscle tissue. I guess the question should be would it be better to continue to work out the muscles to achieve this or do I absolutely need to give them time to rest.

The body does expend energy to repair muscles but you still need to be in a deficit to lose the fat. Training the muscle will ensure that you look good when you have lost the fat. Your body needs more energy to maintain the muscle than it does fat so that is an extra metabolic boost.

As for rest if you can go every other day then do it, but if you are too sore then rest for an extra day. I on the other hand trained through pain with lower weights just to get blood flow to that area. It reduced some of the soreness.

Awesome, thanks.

Not sure how sore I'll be in the morning but I'm pretty sore now. My gym is having a biggest loser competition and I really want to do my best for any reasons (my health, the prize (which in turn would yet her benefit my health). I figure I can go hard for 60 days and tone it down a bit once it's over. I gained over 70lbs in the past year and I needed some sort of motivation to lose it again.

joshuakcaron

Update: I feel like I got ran over by a train. Haha, guess I'll have to see how I feel tomorrow.

lynn_glenmont

joshuakcaron wrote: »

pinggolfer96 wrote: »

By expending more calories than you're digesting! That's your best option(: either by reducing food intake or increasing energy expenditure

I assume the point of the strength exercising is so that your body expends more energy by repairing the muscle tissue. I guess the question should be would it be better to continue to work out the muscles to achieve this or do I absolutely need to give them time to rest.

You need to give them time to rest. Your body builds muscle during the recovery periods, not while you're in the gym lifting.

xXGearheadXx

joshuakcaron wrote: »

Update: I feel like I got ran over by a train. Haha, guess I'll have to see how I feel tomorrow.

First time, or first time back, you're going to be sore from that first workout for a while. Regardless, do not use soreness as an excuse to not work out. You'll feel better if you hit it again while sore.

As far as rest goes, i try for at least 48 hours between working out any specific muscle group again. My routine has me hitting all muscle groups on monday (2 exercises per muscle group), then chest/tri, back/bi, shoulders/legs on wed/thu/fri (4 exercises/muscle group). It gives ample recovery time for each muscle (to avoid over working them) and still allows me to hit each group twice per week.

As others have said, calories in will be the biggest determining factor for your challenge. Lifting weights doesn't add much to your calorie burn, and definately not as much as cardio....but you want to have a good frame underneath so you look good when the fat melts away.

daniwilford

I do cardio 6 days a week and strength training, 3 days a week per group . I find it refreshing to take one day a week as a total rest day from both cardio and strength training. A rest day keeps you safe from injury and gives your muscles time to repair.

cityruss

Listen to your body. Not arbitrary internet numbers.

cwolfman13

joshuakcaron wrote: »

pinggolfer96 wrote: »

By expending more calories than you're digesting! That's your best option(: either by reducing food intake or increasing energy expenditure

I assume the point of the strength exercising is so that your body expends more energy by repairing the muscle tissue. I guess the question should be would it be better to continue to work out the muscles to achieve this or do I absolutely need to give them time to rest.

you shouldn't work the same muscles/groups of muscles on consecutive days. resistance training is going to allow you to retain more muscle than not while you're cutting fat...in the absence of resistance training you will lose a greater portion of muscle mass while you cut than you otherwise would.

I do cardio most days, including day I lift (but I have hours between sessions to recover)...but I usually take one actual rest day every week where I don't do anything beyond light stuff like walking, etc.

as your weight loss goes, that is going to largely be attributable to your diet and your intake...I ride my *kitten* off usually around 60-80 miles per week...usually fit in a 5K during the week or a swim to cross train...I lift 2-3 days per week and I'm otherwise just generally active outside of my office. I have lost weight, maintained weight, and gained weight doing all of the above...the difference between the weight management goals wasn't the exercise, it was my consumption of food and calories.

diet for weight management; exercise for fitness and general health and well being.

urloved33

joshuakcaron wrote: »

So I was given a routine to follow by the owner of the gym I go to - basically warm up, Leg press: 235lbs(2e)
Leg extension: 70lbs
Shoulder press: 50 lbsx
Lat pull: 70lbs (2e)
Chest press: 55lbs
Seated row: 60lbs
Triceps: 85lbs
Biceps: 40lbs

(20 sets x3, circuit)
And 20 minutes of cardio.

I want to do the cardio daily, he mentioned doing the strength training every other day. What's the best option to maximize weightloss?

and abs????
maximize your training w outstanding kitchen behavior.

joshuakcaron

urloved33 wrote: »

joshuakcaron wrote: »

So I was given a routine to follow by the owner of the gym I go to - basically warm up, Leg press: 235lbs(2e)
Leg extension: 70lbs
Shoulder press: 50 lbsx
Lat pull: 70lbs (2e)
Chest press: 55lbs
Seated row: 60lbs
Triceps: 85lbs
Biceps: 40lbs

(20 sets x3, circuit)
And 20 minutes of cardio.

I want to do the cardio daily, he mentioned doing the strength training every other day. What's the best option to maximize weightloss?

and abs????
maximize your training w outstanding kitchen behavior.

Yeah sorry I copied and pasted it from my notes I'm not using weights for abs but yes three sets of 20 abdominal exercises as well.

Liftng4Lis

Weight loss will come from a deficit. Exercise is for your health and to help the deficit. Yes you should have a rest day.

VykkDraygoVPR

joshuakcaron wrote: »

Update: I feel like I got ran over by a train. Haha, guess I'll have to see how I feel tomorrow.

I'd still do cardio, if possible. It always helps workout any soreness I get. If nothing else, you can sit on a stationary bike for 30 minutes. That said, rest days aren't a bad thing.

If you don't have one, you might want to get a foam roller. My foam roller sees use most every night, but especially after strength training. Works out most kinks pretty easily.

Francl27

Definitely only do strength every other day.

You can do cardio every day, no problem. I don't take rest days unless my legs are too sore.

rankinsect

Strength training - absolutely don't do more than 3x per week. What happens when you strength train is you deliberately overload a muscle, causing microscopic damage. The body must repair this damage, and it overcompensates and becomes stronger. If you don't give the body enough time to repair, the damage will just accumulate and you'll actually get weaker, until you take long enough off to repair all the micro-damage. As mentioned above, you don't build muscle in the gym, you build it in between trips to the gym.

Cardio, I guess it depends on how hard you go at it. I do HIIT instead of cardio, and again, 3x per week is pretty good, as I let my body replenish itself on the rest days. I give my muscles a chance to replenish their glycogen before hitting them with another session of interval training. If you're doing a slower cardio session, 6x per week might be fine. I prefer making my rest days into "pure" rest (I still walk an hour or so because I enjoy that, but I avoid anything overly strenuous).

On the strength training, too, I'd be sure that the plan increases weights regularly - I see some gym owners who treat novices like they were advanced bodybuilders. At the advanced level, progress is very slow and the plan tends to vary less on a day to day basis, but for a novice, if the workout is effective you should be able to either increase your sets/reps or up the weights on a very regular basis, in fact nearly every session if you're a complete novice. The less muscle you already have, the faster building new muscle is.

Yi5hedr3

Weights always take priority over cardio when it comes to fat loss because it builds more muscle which raises your 24 hour calorie burn rate. Cardio is good too, as an extra workout. If done on the same day though, always do the weights first since you'll need the glycogen to fuel it. Then when you do your cardio you'll burn mostly fat.

joshuakcaron

Yi5hedr3 wrote: »

Weights always take priority over cardio when it comes to fat loss because it builds more muscle which raises your 24 hour calorie burn rate. Cardio is good too, as an extra workout. If done on the same day though, always do the weights first since you'll need the glycogen to fuel it. Then when you do your cardio you'll burn mostly fat.

Thanks for the tip! Question, if I do cardio in the morning, then strength at night finishing with cardio is that the same idea? Is that enough time in between?

madhatter2013

cityruss wrote: »

Listen to your body. Not arbitrary internet numbers.