Basic question really....

jeanettemahon499

Hi everyone, I have a question: which is best-exercising every day or having a rest day in between? I am confused by the conflicting information/advice I am reading lately. I currently do home exercise (low impact aerobics, yoga style etc) daily up to a max of 50 mins. However, I am reading that muscles need to rest and repair? Your thoughts/advice/comments will be well appreciated. Thanks in anticipation. x

HilTri

I take an active rest day by going for a hike and one complete day off and work out regularly the other 5 days.

tinkerbellang83

Rest and repair time, as you mentioned is a good idea, this helps prevent injuries fatigue, etc, that doesn't mean you need to do absolutely nothing on those days though (although if you do want to do nothing much, that's also fine), you can have an active rest day - walking, some gentle yoga, etc will be fine.

callsitlikeiseeit

there is no right answer, because it is whatever is right for YOU.

I typically don't workout on the weekends. saturdays are usually busy and on Sundays the gym doesn't open till mid afternoon and I think its stupid.

lemurcat2

I like to take a rest day once a week, but will still be lightly active (walking, maybe a restorative type of yoga class). For running I tend to do it only 4 or 5 times a week at most (more 4 vs 5 as I get older). With something like recreational bike riding I think daily would be fine. Generally, it depends on how intense the exercise and the type (for weights I'd take a full day off per week even if doing a program that alternated muscles enough to go every day). And also for weights for benefits you won't want to exercise the same muscle groups daily, but take time off inbetween.

bubus05

Low intensity training is fine everyday but one has to be careful not to burn out. Chances are low intensity probably won't hurt you physically you can recover quickly enough, but it might get boring. But if you increase pressure-to keep it interesting- you will need more time to rest as well. Yoga is ok everyday IMHO.

SnifterPug

It's not a great idea to do exactly the same thing every day. But you can exercise every day if you feel like it, even at a high intensity, if you are smart about it. Exercise different areas of the body on alternate days. Listen to your body. If you are energetic and looking forward to your exercise, with no (or minimal) muscle aches from previous exercise then go for it. If you start feeling sluggish, de-motivated, get constant muscle aches, get niggles in tendons etc then rest.

spiriteagle99

It depends on your level of fitness and what kind of exercise you are doing and how much. A new runner probably should run every other day at most for a while, to build up muscle, tendon and joint strength, rather than every day or even several in a row. A very experienced one may be able to do a daily running streak that lasts for years without issue. If you're running easy for 2-3 miles you'll need less rest than if you're following a challenging training plan that has you running 70+ mpw with hard workouts. If you're lifting weights, then you need breaks to let your muscles heal, but you can do other activities on non-lifting days. I walk every day, but I've been doing that for years, so it isn't a stress on my body. It would be if I were carrying a pack and climbing mountains rather than strolling with my dog through the neighborhood. Then I'd need rest days every week or so. Mixing up your activities, doing some easy low impact days, and resting when you need to mean you can be active every day or almost every day if you want. But I wouldn't recommend it to someone just starting out.

heybales

jeanettemahon499 wrote: »

Hi everyone, I have a question: which is best-exercising every day or having a rest day in between? I am confused by the conflicting information/advice I am reading lately. I currently do home exercise (low impact aerobics, yoga style etc) daily up to a max of 50 mins. However, I am reading that muscles need to rest and repair? Your thoughts/advice/comments will be well appreciated. Thanks in anticipation. x

Not exactly the kind of workouts that are stressing the muscles so much they need repair once you get over the initial starting of the workout - that may require some extra time.

Once past initial startup - could probably do that daily, sort of like walking, not doing a lot of damage that needs repair that causes improvement - it's just movement that burns some calories, good for heart health up to a certain point.

Context matters.

cwolfman13

jeanettemahon499 wrote: »

Hi everyone, I have a question: which is best-exercising every day or having a rest day in between? I am confused by the conflicting information/advice I am reading lately. I currently do home exercise (low impact aerobics, yoga style etc) daily up to a max of 50 mins. However, I am reading that muscles need to rest and repair? Your thoughts/advice/comments will be well appreciated. Thanks in anticipation. x

This is something that really depends on context. Generally, you need more rest and recovery when performing more strenuous exercise that stresses the body and tears it down...you need the recovery to build it back up. This is why people who lift weight will typically do a full body program 3x per week with time in between workouts or they do a split to where they can work on consecutive days, but they will work different muscle groups. Same for more strenuous cardio bouts...either in regards to distance and duration and intensity of the work.

What you describe I would generally say any full stop rest day is likely not necessary, with the caveat being your current fitness level. If you are coming from a more or less sedentary lifestyle and not particularly physically fit, you may require more rest and recovery...this doesn't necessarily have to be an every other day kind of thing.

I'm active most every day of the week, but my work is also variable in intensity and duration...I have some very hard days and other days are easier to very lite work. A rest/recovery day for me would generally include a 2.5-3 mile walk at some point and either an easy cruise on my road bike or trail bike or some yoga...maybe both.

sijomial

That some people need structured recovery and rest periods or alternate training days doesn't mean every one does.
"Best" is individual depending on your capabilities and your overall training load.

If you are conditioned to your routine I doubt you are doing any damage that needs repair.
If you are feeling any soreness or fatigue that might indicate you are pushing your current limits and then taking steps to remedy or manage that would be sensible.

Not seeing any need for you to rest either with a short duration and low intensity exercise.
Isn't there significant rest periods in your normal days anyway (sleep for example!).

If whatever you have been reading doesn't give context around rest/recovery/repair I would hazard a guess it's not a great resource.

jeanettemahon499

Thank you for replies.

age_is_just_a_number

I agree with callsitlikeiseeit — there is no right answer, because it is whatever is right for YOU.

For me, I generally do an active recovery day of Pilates or yoga or light cardio and I often take a full rest day. I find as I get older I need the full rest day more than I used to.

sisu89

If you're doing low impact as you say, you're probably fine. Rest days are most helpful when you're doing high impact, or if you're starting a new routine. If you've already 'worked into' doing low impact daily, and you aren't feeling sore, you're good to go!