Lifting and rest days

khaleesi_16388

Hi everyone,

So I've just recently started lifting heavy for the first time (the woman in the weight room post really inspired me to start!). In the past I've done programs like T25 and P90X where I was aiming for 5-6 days/week of exercise, but based off information I've found I'm trying to stick to 3 days a week of lifting so I have plenty of time for my muscles to rest, working each muscle group 1x/wk.

That being said, after about 3 weeks it's killing me to limit to 3 days! I enjoy lifting and want to be doing more, but I know how important rest is so I'm limiting myself to maybe some yoga or light cardio on rest days.

How often do you all (women especially!) lift and work various muscle groups? How do you make it so that you don't feel totally lazy on your rest days? What are some good low impact rest-day activity options? Any stories or advice would be awesome!

Thanks!

acbraswell

Hi. I'm 35 and female. When you lift, are you doing a full body workout or breaking down your lifting days to one muscle group (chest/triceps one day, back/biceps another day, etc)?

I've been heavy lifting for about 2 years, before that it was more light weight or using the machines. My lifting routine is currently 4-5 days of lifting a week. I do Back/biceps on Tuesdays and Fridays, Chest/triceps on Wednesdays and Sundays, and legs on Saturdays (I also run, so I only do legs once a week). Run days are Monday, Thursday, and Saturday morning. I try to add 1-2 core exercises on my lifting days, and then I do a yoga/pilates class on Sundays. My advice if you're looking to add lifting days is to do one muscle group heavy one day, then then second day of the same week do more reps, but lower weight. Also add in some super-sets on the lower-weight day. By adding in the extra day or 2 of lifting a week, I was able to increase my bench press from 105 to 145 in about 6 months. Hope this helps.

jemhh

I do an upper body lower body split, alternating every other day. I run on in between days and rest one day. My schedule:

Monday: lower body
Tuesday: rest
Wednesday: run
Thursday: upper body
Friday: run
Saturday: lower body
Sunday: run

Monday: upper body
Tuesday: rest
Wednesday: run
Thursday: lower body
Friday: run
Saturday: upper body
Sunday: run

ILiftHeavyAcrylics

I lift 4 days per week on an upper/lower split. I remember wanting more when I was new but now 4 days is the max I can handle. On the days in between lift days I usually walk for an hour or so and I do some stretching/flexibility work.

erickirb

Usually 3 day/week programs are full body workouts so each muscle gets his 3 times/week. this is usually what is suggested for beginners. Check out Starting strength, stronglifts 5x5 or new rules of lifting.

What are you doing for your current program?
Was it something you made up?
Is it a beginners program?

bugaboo_sue

I work a different muscle group per day alternating legs and abs.

colors_fade

I am a guy, but I feel the same way about lifting. I've been doing Stronglifts for a year - compound lifts, so no isolating body parts - and after a year's worth of strength training, I really enjoy being in the gym and want to do more.

However, I know rest is necessary.

I've heard a saying: "There is no such thing as over-training, only under-recovery". I believe this is true. You have to allow proper recovery time for muscles to repair themselves.

However - if you are doing split routines (back one day, upper body next, legs next), then I believe you can lift 6 days a week and maintain plenty of rest. You will get enough rest between body parts. If you are lifting legs only 2x a week, for instance, you would be doing leg work less than I am. And I get plenty of recovery.

Myself, I prefer compound lifts. They train more muscle groups, together, and these are fundamental lifts that are great for strength training and muscle recruitment. I have only ever known split routines to really work for bodybuilders who have already spent years building strength with compound lifts. Only after they have a great strength base to work from do they move to split routines, and start isolating body parts to get particular looks for those parts. It's about aesthetics then, and that's what those routines are good for.

What I did , to satiate my desire to spend a bit more time lifting is, after a year, I modified the Stronglifts program by adding a couple other lifts (pullups, power clean) and doing more of the exercises on one day. I do more exercises on the three days I go to the gym; instead of just doing squat, overhead press and deadlift on one day, I'll do squat, press, row, bench and deadlift - basically all the Stronglift lifts, on a single day. My workouts are longer because of this, and I get the enjoyment of lifting, yet I still maintain a full day of rest between workouts, so I know my recovery is correct. The only thing I have done lately to modify this is reduce some deadlifting to twice a week, because it is a really taxing lift on my nervous system.

If you want to do splitroutines, I think you'd be fine lifting something like this:

Monday: Upper Body/Shoulders/Arms
Tuesday: Legs
Wednesday: Back/Core
Thursday: Upper Body/Shoulders/Arms
Friday: Legs
Saturday: Back/Core
Sunday: Rest

If you were to do that, you'd have 2 days of rest, minimum, between each major body part, which is more than enough recovery time for that muscle group.

Other split routines break the groups down even further, but I feel like that is only for bodybuilders. Those folks are doing legs only once a week... I just don't think that's enough leg work when you're not a professional bodybuilder with a strong strength base to work from. For us regular folks, we need to be doing more squats, not less.

My 2 cents.

cwolfman13

As a novice lifter, you're best to stick with a 3x weekly full body program...and really, outside of very specific strength/hypertrophy goals I see little reason to do body part splits anyway, even if you're more advanced. I've been lifting on and off for decades and consistently for the last two years and I still prefer full body workouts.

All that said, I still train 5-6 days per week...I only lift 3x weekly, but I do other cardio and conditioning on non-lifting days. You just need to make sure you're giving your muscles enough rest from that lifting...it doesn't mean that you have to just sit around and do nothing. As a matter of general fitness, doing other types of workouts on non-lifting days isn't going to hurt anything...but I would suggest a day or two of actual rest per week (I still walk about 3 miles on my rest days).

The one caveat here would be that if you were bodybuilding and in a bulk phase or truly strength training for a meet or event and needing to maximize strength, you probably wouldn't want to do much on your non-lifting days other than maybe some walking. This is the only application for which I could see doing some cardio or other conditioning work on non lifting days being an issue as it would/could negatively impact your gains in either case.

As an example, I lift on Tues, Thurs, and Saturdays. I also ride around 60 miles per week...usually on Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday to and form the gym with a little detour on the way home to extend my distance traveled. My rest day is Sunday usually.

khaleesi_16388

So the way I've been breaking it down thus far is Legs day, Bis/Tris/Shoulders day and Chest and Back day (with some overlap between the upper body days). I try to mostly focus on compound moves like squats, deadlifts, OHP, bench, lat pulls, dips, pull ups, etc. so that I'm also using other muscles.

This has been my beginner routine until I start New Rules of Lifting for Women. I'm in the middle of the book but I'm the type of person who won't start something until I feel like I 100% know what I'm doing (aka want to finish the book before I dedicate to the routines). I'm still working on making sure my form is spot-on and getting used to lifting, but I definitely am feeling like I could/want to do more!

I guess the other important factor to note is I HATE running/cardio. I'll do it, but not happily, and I SUCK at running. Also have some back issues, so I need to be careful with high impact cardio.

stephanielynn76

Take it from someone who almost destroyed herself with overtraining (if you want to read about it I just did a blog post (http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/stephanielynn76/view/a-cautionary-tale-of-overtraining-and-setbacks-688558) … rest is crucial. You absolutely CAN overdo it. You really have to listen to your body. Too many days per week or even too much volume can tax the body's nervous system. Those rest days become even more important as you gain strength and are lifting more weight. My advice… rather than increasing your days per week or your training volume, focus on your intensity!

5stringjeff

I do a full-body routine three days a week, focusing on compound lifts.

Sam_I_Am77

If you're following a good 3-day lifting routine that is working towards your goals than stick to it and don't deviate by adding additional strength training days. That doesn't mean you can't add SOME cardio, but not hours and hours of it. Remember, your body has a gas tank and once it's gone it's gone, and you refill it by nutrition and rest. There is no such thing as giving 110%. If your car has 20 gallons of gas, 2 gallons are surely not going to appear out of nowhere when you're on "E". You have 100% to work with, you can't just add and add and add stuff to your training. If you're just doing a 3-day a week strength training program and not doing any conditioning / cardio then you can add some cardio but it shouldn't be multiple-hours worth of cardio. If you're doing 3-days of strength training and already doing cardio a couple times a week, then leave it alone, or take something out to add something else in. Use your pent-up motivation for the days you do strength training.

willrun4bagels

I do stronglifts 5x5 three days a week. The heavier the weights, the less I see a need/interest in doing other workouts at this time. I walk my dogs but don't count it as cardio as the burns are minimal at best.

xcalygrl

It depends on my schedule. A normal week is:
Monday: run
Tuesday: ruck at lunch, lift after work
Wednesday: run
Thursday: ruck at lunch, lift after work
Friday: run, swim, or rest
Saturday: yoga
Sunday: long ruck, nap, lift in the afternoon

A lighter week looks like this:
Monday: run
Tuesday lift
Wednesday: ruck
Thursday: lift, intervals (running or biking)
Friday: run, swim, or rest
Saturday: yoga
Sunday, long ruck, nap, lift in the afternoon

On my lift days, I do a total body. The muscle groups hit one day are "secondary" muscles on the next lifting day. For instance, one day focuses on hamstrings, chest, shoulders, and core. The next would focus on quads, back, biceps/triceps, and a little more core.

I consider yoga and swimming active rest. I personally find swimming easy, yet a good workout, which is why I consider it active rest. When I do swim, I don't swim super fast so it isn't a very strenous (IMO) workout.

meshashesha2012

I do stronglifts 5x5 three days a week. The heavier the weights, the less I see a need/interest in doing other workouts at this time. I walk my dogs but don't count it as cardio as the burns are minimal at best.

i agree with this (not the dog walking part but the other part). when you start strong lifts you are supposed to progress rapidly through weights as you neural pathways adapt to the movements. once you begin the actual strength training part (ie when it becomes more difficult to increase weights) it takes more out of you, especially if you're eating at a deficit.

i'm finding that now i can really only focus on 1 strength training exercise per workout because it requires so much time between sets and i just dont have the energy to do 3 exercises since it'm pretty close to my max. i broke them up into 1 day for deads, another for bench/pullup progression and another for cleans (power and squat).

i would love to work on my running on the off days, but quite honestly i'm entirely too wiped out on rest days to make much progress and i know, the choices are either to eat more or push less weight