Is it safe to...

concealedpearl

To work out your upper body every day mainly the Triceps? I am starting to focus more on strength training instead of cardio. So I will be doing one day of Cardio(50-60mins) with 20min strength training(mainly upper body) and the next day will be a full hour of strength training working the entire body. I will be having one rest day per week .

Does this sound safe? I am tired of the cardio and want to improve and build muscle so I can lose more inches especially on my arms.

CodyD18

I wouldn't recommend it. The most important part of weight training is the recovery. You'll over train and your muscles can actually shrink instead of grow.

AngieM76

Arent you suppsed to rest between strength days?

korygilliam

I'm no specialist, but I always heard that you need to give your muscle sets a day of rest to allow them to heal. It is the process of breaking and healing the muscle fibers that cause you to have shaplier muscles (or something like that, maybe another member will have more detailed information. If not, do some light research online about it. I am sure there are tons of articles about it)

Good luck!

bbygrl5

Each major muscle group needs 48 hours to recover from intense resistance training. The recovery time is when the muscle repairs and builds itself, so it's very important to allow the rest.

MrsZMartin

If you want to do strength training every day, you can focus on a different muscle group each day (this is what my bf does) with one rest day. However, for women, it is recommended to do total body strength training 3x a week. Either way, yes, it is unhealthy to continue working the same muscle group on consecutive days. Good luck!

TWEETIE19

You need a day of rest in between weight training...I do 3 days a week weight training and everyday cardio to mix it up...
Good Luck!!!

kklindsey

not an expert either but muscle gains come from the rebuilding process. when you workout you stress, tear, damage, however you want to put it, the muscles. when you rest them the body goes to work repairing the "damage" and building new muscle. If you never rest the muscle, you never make gains. at least that is how I understand it. I do full body workouts every other day, mon/wed/fri. If you want to work harder on an area than you need to do different body parts on each day. you could do upper body one day, lower body the next. but i would never recommend doing the same part every day.

Zen_Master_B

I started doing split sets, upper/lower/abs on three separate days and I saw good results, I always give myself a couple of days of rest after. If you work out the same muscle everyday you will overtrain and get weaker. I would say that if you're REALLY working your muscles on your weight days you wouldn't even want to do a tricep exercise the next. I feel ya though cardio is so boring, I feel like a hamster running on an exercise wheel.

Emmy_Ann

You definitely either want to do like full body workouts 3x a week or do splits.. Most people like upper/lower/full .. I prefer full body.. but you definitely don't want to work just your upper body every day.. If you're intent on working just your upper body, I would do it once every other day if not every 2 days..

runnermel

you will have better success alternating them...cardio one day, weights the next.....repeat three times, take a day of complete rest, and then start over. promise it will show more results.

pftjill

Maybe this has been said, but why don't you have diff groups for each day. Like chest and tris, back and bis, legs and shoulders. You can break it up. I suggest getting leg days in. They are your largest muscles and will give you the biggest bang for your buck!!

concealedpearl

Thanks for the replies...I see the answer is unanimous...I kind of thought the same, just wanted to know if there was some other point of view out there. I guess I'll do more focus on the upper body on my full strength days.

alohabrie

I recently took an evidence based strength training seminar and the facts are that muscles take ~24 hours to recover from a workout and then 24 more hours to build back - so you can train upper body every other day.

MsLadyVirgo

NO EXPERT: A rest day is needed between workouts. I do full body workouts 2-3 times a week with pilates (fitness rings), and 1-2 days a week sculpting w/free weights (Turbo Jam DVD). However I get in some type of ABDOMINAL strength training very often.

The pilates is light resistance, so 1 day a week I add the Turbo Jam right after the pilates work out.

Example of Routine:
*monday: 30 min pilates w/20 mins or more cardio
*tuesday: 20 min abjam w/30 mins or more cardio
*weds: 40 mins Turbo Jam Body Sculpting w/20 mins cardio
*thursday: 20 min abjam w/30 mins cardio
*Friday: 30 min pilates w/1 hr cardio (fat burning zone)
*Saturday: PUSH IT TO THE LIMIT ~FULL ENDURANCE WORKOUT TILL EXHAUSTION (power walk w/2 lb weights & skipping intervals) 4.4 miles, 1hr 30 mins or so
* SUNDAY REST DAY

I have heard that there are only two muscle groups that you can work everyday: abs & calf muscles

ttrotter1960

No you should not workout the same muscle group every day and it is possible to hurt yourself that way. Most people who do this a lot (myself included) will tell you that you should alternate days between weight training and cardio. But it isn't even that simple. Each Weight training day should also have a little cardio as well to warm up and get the blood flowing (say just 10 minutes of brisk walking or a jog) and then you should alternate the muscle groups that you focus on.

For Example:

Monday:
Cardio for 45 - 60 minutes

Tuesday:
Cardio for 10 minutes
Abdominals (crunches)
Bicepts, Back, Shoulders

Wednesday:
Cardio for 45 - 60 minutes

Thursday:
Cardio for 10 minutes
thighs, calves, butt
Abdominals (leg raises)

Friday:
Cardio for 45 - 60 minutes

Saturday:
Cardio for 10 minutes
Abdominals (Thai Plank)
Tricepts, Chest, Neck

Sunday:
Rest

There are many scenarios and workout routines. It's often a matter of what works for you but notice how all the muscle groups are given an opportunity to recover. That is VERY important. Make sure that you are getting a high quality protien in your diet as well because protien is required to rebuild the muscle you damage when working out.

ttrotter1960

Skeletal Muscles are muscles regardless of where they are located and they should not be worked everyday. What you heard was probably about abdominal muscles and that is only because some people separate the abs into upper, lower, and oblique muscle groups because the exercises that work those areas are different. see my excercise schedule above for an example of this.

concealedpearl

No you should not workout the same muscle group every day and it is possible to hurt yourself that way. Most people who do this a lot (myself included) will tell you that you should alternate days between weight training and cardio. But it isn't even that simple. Each Weight training day should also have a little cardio as well to warm up and get the blood flowing (say just 10 minutes of brisk walking or a jog) and then you should alternate the muscle groups that you focus on.

For Example:

Monday:
Cardio for 45 - 60 minutes

Tuesday:
Cardio for 10 minutes
Abdominals (crunches)
Bicepts, Back, Shoulders

Wednesday:
Cardio for 45 - 60 minutes

Thursday:
Cardio for 10 minutes
thighs, calves, butt
Abdominals (leg raises)

Friday:
Cardio for 45 - 60 minutes

Saturday:
Cardio for 10 minutes
Abdominals (Thai Plank)
Tricepts, Chest, Neck

Sunday:
Rest

There are many scenarios and workout routines. It's often a matter of what works for you but notice how all the muscle groups are given an opportunity to recover. That is VERY important. Make sure that you are getting a high quality protien in your diet as well because protien is required to rebuild the muscle you damage when working out.

Thanks for the sample. I'll give it a try although I prefer the whole body workout every other day.