days off from exercise?

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NWfluffy
NWfluffy Posts: 48 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
I've been working out really hard lately (lots of free weights & core) & my muscles are tired. I can actually do less now than 2 weeks ago. Is it better to take off one day at a time and workout several in between, or take off 2 in a row to really give my body a break. Also, since exercise = more food, should I do some cardio on my days off or just eat less and rest?

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  • srp2011
    srp2011 Posts: 1,829 Member
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    You definitely should not be doing weight training on the same body parts 2 days in a row - you need to allow the muscles time to rest and repair themselves, otherwise you won't see any improvement and/or you could cause injury. If you do a whole body workout one day, that means no weights the next. And yes, you can do some cardio cross-training on the off days, though it is good to allow 1 day a week off for rest.
  • BJPCraig
    BJPCraig Posts: 417 Member
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    Please note that I'm NOT an expert, but this is what works for me.

    I usually "take off" one day a week (usually Sunday). However, "take off" doesn't mean NO exercise at all. Part of my regime is walking the dog everyday, and he won't let me take off from that! I also tend to do something like yoga or (more often) tai chi on those days.

    From what I've heard/read, your body actually will do better in the long run if you vary the intensity of your workouts (otherwise, it gets used to what you're doing and your loss decreases). So you might want to work out heavy 3 or 4 days a week, go moderate 2 or 3, and then light as a "break" day. I've also come to the conclusion that you have to do all kinds of training to really be healthy: strength training (which you're apparently doing with the weights & core work), cardio training (which you didn't mention), and a little stretching (especially if you're doing a lot of strength training, you want to make sure you don't get too tight).

    So, I hope this helps. Hopefully you'll get a response for someone more knowledgeable than me, but you can also hit up Google for exercise advice or tips. Oh, and congrats on staying with it so long. If you've exhausted your muscles, you're a the point where they will start growing stronger.
  • velvetkat
    velvetkat Posts: 454 Member
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    I'm sure some of the people that do a lot of weight training will comment but I will try to help with what I know. Be sure you are training your upper body one day then lower the next so you are giving the other area a rest day in between.
    I know that I do cardio almost every day but when (and its seldom) I take a rest day I dont do any exercise. There are plenty of days that I do less meaning instead of doing the elliptical for 40 min and my pool for 60 min I will maybe only do the pool or cut both in half.
    Plus you dont want to over exert your muscles and then hurt yourself.. Right now I am fighting a sore hamstring which limits my exercise time at times.

    Hope this helps!

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  • Arizona_JR
    Arizona_JR Posts: 275
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    Listen to your body. Diminished returns means you are over-training. Other symptoms are higher resting HR, moodiness, sickness, chronic fatigue, injury, insomnia, and achy bones/ joints, to name a few.

    Less can sometimes be more. With days of heavy intensity, you need days of lower intensity, and never 2 intense days in a row. when I competed in Triathlons, I frequently took 2, and even3 days off per week to rest (mostly schedule issues), and still was still very competitive in my age division. Do your body a favor and let it rest. :smile:

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