Rest Days?

p1nkpr1ncess

Hi everyone!

I love to exercise! I love to exercise every day! My question is about "rest days".

I am just coming to the end of my first week of ChaLean Extreme and tomorrow is a "Rest Day" on my plan but I really hate to not do some sort of exercise each day. I have been following the plan and also adding some extra cardio in on strength days to boost my calorie burn but when it comes to rest days and I still want to exercise is it ok that I just keep up the cardio?

I know it's important for my muscles to rest but I've always been taught that cardio can be done everyday (this is from my Dad who is a personal trainer/gym instructor)?

So my question is - to those who have "rest days" do you still do some sort of exercise or just do none at all? And what is best for the body ect?
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erickirb

You can do cardio everyday, from my understanding, it is resistance training that your body needs rest from in order to repair

SHBoss1673

Even elite athletes give themselves a rest day. It's not about depriving yourself, it's about putting yourself in a good situation. If the rest of the week is full of strenuous exercise of some kind, then you should absolutely give yourself a rest day.

Now I'm not talking about someone who does 45 minutes at 70 to 70% Max intensity every day, you could probably do that for 10 years without serious issue (assuming there are no orthopedic concerns from repetitive stress syndrome), I'm talking about things that truly fatigue your muscles. if you are doing HIIT or weight training routines that fatigue your muscles then you should give yourself a day off once a week or at minimum once every 10 days for some recovery. Maybe you don't need it right this second, but it's a cumulative thing, the less rest you give your body (within reason), the greater the chance of soft tissue injury down the road.

vhuber

I take ONE day a week to rest but that rest is walking anywhere frome 2 to 4 miles. Otherwise I lift three days per week with cardio and the other three days I have max heart rate cardio workouts! Some days I have mental thoughts of not wanting to workout but once I start I give it my best!!!

Cina04

I'm doing two programs at once - but didn't start them at the same time so when it says rest day I'm still doing something.
For example - today is my rest day from Insanity but not for Brazil Butt Lift.

Although once I complete round one of these programs, I'm going to start them on the same day so rest days can match up and on the rest day do an outdoor activity with the family.

luv2run4fun

I have read lots and lots of articles and done a lot of training...I am a certified fitness instructor...3 days a week of strength training and 3 days of cardio...give yourself a day of rest or at least make it an easy day--walking, etc. You need to incorporate high intensity cardio and strength training and alternate with the two. A day of rest would then be a day of walking...
Just my opinion!!!

00trayn

I'm also combining programs at the moment. I've been doing Chalean Extreme 4 days a week, Zumba one day a week and going to the gym to do Couch 2 5K and use the stationary bike 2 times a week. Technically, there isn't a rest day in there, but I do take a day off on occasion. I didn't have my Chalean workout on Saturday because I was at a friend's house overnight. I just went to the mall after and walked around for an hour and a half. So I plan on doing all my workouts, but inevitably life gets involved and I take a rest day. I still try to do something active. And in between days of strength training with Chalean, I've been running on the treadmill or doing cardio to rest my arm muscles. It seems to be working and I haven't stopped losing weight since I started. I've been gradually upping the intensity of my workouts since Feb. and it's helped to keep me from stalling.

glfprncs2

I've learned that I really need my one rest day each week. That said, I also have 3 dogs who need walked, so even though I'm not doing a 'true' workout, I'm still getting 45-60 minutes of dog walking in. Also, today is my rest day and the lawn needs mowed...pushing the non-self propelled mower up and down hills will burn quite a few calories today.

rose1617

I like to play WiiFit on my "rest day" (usually Sunday).
Then I'm still doing something but it's not the crazy high intensity I'm at the rest of the week.

p1nkpr1ncess

Thanks everyone!

It really helps to hear other peoples views. My "rest day" activities are generally some sort of 30-40 min cardio dvd in the morning and then my 3 mile walk home from work. So it's not really as high intensity as my other workout days. I guess my body will tell me when I need a full rest day - I do sometimes have them on a weekend - especially if I've had a late night the night before! I just don't have them weekly!

Thanks again everyone! You've helped me plan tomorrows rest day
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