Should I take a rest day?

trekkiebeth

My neck and shoulders are SUPER sore from my first attempt at Jillian Michaels' 6 Week Six-Pack yesterday. (See link below.) Should I take a rest day from strength and just do cardio today, or should I do the DVD again?

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/161192-just-tried-jillian-s-6-week-six-pack

RunHardBeStrong

I would just do some cardio and no strength. You should always take a day in between strength training of the same muscles/area. The strength training tears your muscle fibers down but it's the rest day that rebuilds them and makes them stronger, it is essential to let this happen or you're not really gaining any strenght.

sharonmac

I would probably just do cardio. And then to the video again tomorrow

ebkins7

Rest days are SUPER IMPORTANT!!! Your muscles need time to recoop or they won't get stronger! Take a rest day!

pftjill

Depends on the pain. If it is a-I worked out and my muscles are sore- better known as-delayed onset muscle soreness(DOMS) or if it is I did something wrong. It is weird that your neck and shoulders hurt, but I don't really know what you did. If you were doing core work maybe you strained your neck to much. If it is DOMS than I would just keep going, but a different pain, take a break and focus more on cardio that isn't going to strain that area.

trekkiebeth

pftjill: I'm surprised that no one has commented on the neck pain until now. I'm a little worried about it. Here's what I wrote in the other post that I linked to:

The only real problem I had is that I seem to have strained my neck. I've done the 30-Day Shred Level 1 and never strained my neck, so it's not like I have terrible form in general. Maybe it will get better when I'm used to the moves.