Is it bad to workout everyday?

greensaretasty

I'm a bit concerned about my roommate. She does those blogilates workout videos. She works out for an hour every single day. She is going to do that every day for the entire month and next month and even after that. She says it is a lifestyle change of sorts. Sometimes she works out more if she goes to a yoga class or something. She used to go these intense interval trainings for 20-30 min a day and if she missed a day she would make it up by doing two work outs the next day. She does eat chocolate and some snacks (and drinks) every once in a while, though not too often, but usually eats pretty clean. She says she only keeps salad ingredients in the fridge usually so she has no choice to eat anything else. I asked her once if it was to be healthy or for weight loss and she did say to be healthy but weight loss wouldn't be a bad thing. She sounded like she was trying to avoid the subject though. I also told her today not to overdo working out and she said it wouldn't be a problem. She seemed confident in that but I wasn't completely convinced. She doesn't give herself a break. She has class half of the week and a full-time internship the other half. On top of that she is working out every single day. This just doesn't seem healthy to me. if not psychically, then it is not mentally healthy.

Does anyone have any thoughts on this?

workout_ninja

I workout every single day. Well I occasionally have a day off maybe every 3 weeks. Its become an addiction to me to work out and I don't think its a bad thing. I shake it up so sometimes I run or lift weights or go for a bike ride and sometimes I just walk, that one always feels like a rest day. As long as she eats well and listens to her body, she will be fine. Her body will tell her when she needs a break.

HikerRR50

I workout everyday pretty much....I also sit at a desk all day..I think it evens out

TheBadToe

Humans were meant to be active every day, its in our nature. If your friend looks like a zombie then she has to supplement her workouts with nutrition otherwise there shouldn't be an issue.

SingingSingleTracker

I'm a bit concerned about my roommate. She does those blogilates workout videos. She works out for an hour every single day. She is going to do that every day for the entire month and next month and even after that. She says it is a lifestyle change of sorts. Sometimes she works out more if she goes to a yoga class or something. She used to go these intense interval trainings for 20-30 min a day and if she missed a day she would make it up by doing two work outs the next day. She does eat chocolate and some snacks every once in a while, yes, but usually eats pretty clean. She says she only keeps salad ingredients in the fridge usually so she has no choice to eat anything else. I asked her once if it was for to be healthy or weight loss and she did say to be healthy but weight loss wouldn't be a bad thing. She sounded like she was trying to avoid the subject though. I also told her today not to overdo working out and she said it wouldn't be a problem. She seemed confident in that but it wasn't completely believable. This just doesn't seem healthy to me (not ever giving herself a break). if not psychically, then it is not mentally healthy.

Does anyone have any thoughts on this?

Unless one or two of her workouts are really low intensity/active recovery types of stuff - then yes, she needs at least one rest day per week. More if she were older. Sounds like she is "addicted" to it and whether she has researched or not, every day workouts can end up being pretty stagnant. We tear our muscles down so they can regenerate and grow during the rest periods. We come back stronger and tear them down again. Then we rest. And then we tear down the stronger muscles. Wash. Rinse. Repeat. It's called the training effect. Without a rest day - we experience no growth and hence - a huge old plateau/stagnation. Not to mention, after every 3 weeks a rest week of active recovery is traditional. 2 weeks for older athletes and those who requrie more recovery.

It's not like there is a shortage of information on the training effect. Tell your roomate to research the training effect. She'll find plenty of information regarding frequency of training and the ill effects of 7 days a week workouts.

DangerJim71

It depends. When I'm ramping up for a big race I work out 7 days per week 1-3 hours per day. One of those is what I consider an active recovery day but some people would think even that day is intense. It really is all relative but I think and hour of exercise per day does not make an addiction.