do you reccommend a rest day

tonilizzy88
tonilizzy88 Posts: 920 Member
edited October 7 in Fitness and Exercise
im not athlete to say the least. but i do workout everyday for 30-60 min on either my cross trainer or zumba wii plus a nice walk with my puppy :bigsmile:

i worked really hard last week and lost nothing not even 0.5lbs and to be honest i was totally bummbed out by this.

ive been told by my boyfriend i need to have 2 days a week off to let my mucles rest??

can you please tell me is this true
i did take seurments this morning and will do again in 4 weeks.

thank you

Replies

  • LuaLiz
    LuaLiz Posts: 56 Member
    your body needs rest to re-coup and re-fuel. i take sundays off.
  • Di3012
    Di3012 Posts: 2,247 Member
    im not athlete to say the least. but i do workout everyday for 30-60 min on either my cross trainer or zumba wii plus a nice walk with my puppy :bigsmile:

    i worked really hard last week and lost nothing not even 0.5lbs and to be honest i was totally bummbed out by this.

    ive been told by my boyfriend i need to have 2 days a week off to let my mucles rest??

    can you please tell me is this true
    i did take seurments this morning and will do again in 4 weeks.

    thank you

    When working out, you get tiny muscles tears, these tears then mend. If you never have a rest day, they don't get a chance to repair themselves.

    I have tried exercising everyday before now, it does me in and I usually end up injured after a few weeks. I just stick to one day on, one day off now.

    Another possible reason you didn't lose anything is that your muscles haven't been given a chance to dispel of the fluid that surrounds them after working out.

    Rest days are definitely advisable.
  • revren10
    revren10 Posts: 116
    if your just starting to work out, you can take up to two days off to allow your body to readjust and heal to what your putting it through. after a couple months you can bring it down to one day off depending on your goals.
  • I do not take days off unless I feel like it (I listen to my body). I think it depends on what type of exercising you are doing. I know how to go hard, light, medium and it balances out for me. At this stage, consistency is key for me so I need to do it daily. If i miss a day, it is ONE day and I'm back at it. However, if I'm just tired mentally or physically, traveling, etc, I will take a complete rest day with no problem.
  • addisondisease
    addisondisease Posts: 664 Member
    Pro body builders will often say, there is no such thing as over training, just under eating. As long as your are eating clean enough and getting enough calories for the muscle repair, training every single day is totaly fine. Just look at the people who teach classes at gyms, they are doing RIPPED 3 or 4 times a day often 5 days a week. They are able to do so much because they eat enough.
  • Pro body builders will often say, there is no such thing as over training, just under eating. As long as your are eating clean enough and getting enough calories for the muscle repair, training every single day is totaly fine. Just look at the people who teach classes at gyms, they are doing RIPPED 3 or 4 times a day often 5 days a week. They are able to do so much because they eat enough.

    Very good point!
  • Di3012
    Di3012 Posts: 2,247 Member
    Pro body builders will often say, there is no such thing as over training, just under eating. As long as your are eating clean enough and getting enough calories for the muscle repair, training every single day is totaly fine. Just look at the people who teach classes at gyms, they are doing RIPPED 3 or 4 times a day often 5 days a week. They are able to do so much because they eat enough.

    They are professional though, they have built up to that training after years of training. People starting out on MFP are not, you can tell this by the questions they ask.

    Over-training is a very real problem and can result in injury putting the person out of action for quite a while.
  • wish21
    wish21 Posts: 602 Member
    Rest days aren't for everyone. See how you feel after your rest day when working out. Its hard for me and a total set back when I take a two or more rest day so I don't. I do allow myself 1 rest day a month
  • addisondisease
    addisondisease Posts: 664 Member

    Over-training is a very real problem and can result in injury putting the person out of action for quite a while.

    Fair enough, but seeing as she is only do 30 min work outs, i doubt she would even know how to over train.

    OP work out till your heart is content, if you ever feel like you aren't sleeping enough, aren't eating enough, don't have as much patience, just take a rest day or two and come back to the exercise.
  • MaximalLife
    MaximalLife Posts: 2,447 Member
    ive been told by my boyfriend i need to have 2 days a week off to let my mucles rest??
    He is 100% correct. Rest is just as important in a well rounded fitness program.
  • kneeki
    kneeki Posts: 347 Member
    Pro body builders will often say, there is no such thing as over training, just under eating. As long as your are eating clean enough and getting enough calories for the muscle repair, training every single day is totaly fine. Just look at the people who teach classes at gyms, they are doing RIPPED 3 or 4 times a day often 5 days a week. They are able to do so much because they eat enough.

    They are professional though, they have built up to that training after years of training. People starting out on MFP are not, you can tell this by the questions they ask.

    Over-training is a very real problem and can result in injury putting the person out of action for quite a while.
    Over training is a real problem, yes, but you can easily be in the gym every day without risk of injury as a result of over training. This is why we split out workouts. You may sometimes hear "3 day" or "5 day split". It allows you to be in the gym every day, but you're not working the same groups. If you don't want to take a break from the gym, you don't have to. Just make sure you're being safe about it.
  • Di3012
    Di3012 Posts: 2,247 Member
    Pro body builders will often say, there is no such thing as over training, just under eating. As long as your are eating clean enough and getting enough calories for the muscle repair, training every single day is totaly fine. Just look at the people who teach classes at gyms, they are doing RIPPED 3 or 4 times a day often 5 days a week. They are able to do so much because they eat enough.

    They are professional though, they have built up to that training after years of training. People starting out on MFP are not, you can tell this by the questions they ask.

    Over-training is a very real problem and can result in injury putting the person out of action for quite a while.
    Over training is a real problem, yes, but you can easily be in the gym every day without risk of injury as a result of over training. This is why we split out workouts. You may sometimes hear "3 day" or "5 day split". It allows you to be in the gym every day, but you're not working the same groups. If you don't want to take a break from the gym, you don't have to. Just make sure you're being safe about it.

    Ahh yes, I see what you mean there.

    I was thinking along the lines of running and other aerobic activity, apologies :flowerforyou:
  • dsckrc
    dsckrc Posts: 194 Member
    i try to rest atleast one day a week but seldom do. my workouts are minimal - 30-45 minutes of biking or elliptical. if i take off, i feel guilty like i'm going to gain all my weight back overnight (so silly, i know). don't schedule days off just take it if you need it!
  • kneeki
    kneeki Posts: 347 Member
    Hrm, I was thinking in the lines of lifting... *bonk* Ah well. We're both right. ;)
  • turbomom22
    turbomom22 Posts: 1 Member
    I am the same as you, I do take a rest day a week, however, if I take two in a row it is much more difficult for me to get motivated again!!
  • BigDaddyBRC
    BigDaddyBRC Posts: 2,395 Member
    ALWAYS minimum is 1 per week
  • allierae14
    allierae14 Posts: 113 Member
    I do two "rest" days a week, meaning not at the gym. I picked the two busiest days in my schedule - and I often find time to go on a walk or horseback riding on my gym-free days. It works for me and so far it has helped my motivation and training as I can't wait to my next gym day!
  • wonca
    wonca Posts: 81
    Rest days are a part of my routine, that plus it allows me to mentally stay committed. My brain just can't handle the idea of working out EVERY DAY FOREVER... but, 5 days a week with 2 days off seems very manageable to me.

    Also, weight loss/gain and results frequently (I really want to say ALWAYS ) starts with nutrition, so I'd throw in a follow up question for you.

    How was your food/nutrition last week? Were they clean calories? Were you drinking lots of water?
  • taso42
    taso42 Posts: 8,980 Member
    Rest days are good. Rule of thumb - if you are no longer making progress (whether it's strength, speed, or endurance), then you probably need a rest day. If you are making continual progress, then you are probably ok as long as you feel ok.
  • I very rarely have a rest day....I'm in the teaching category, I teach upwards of 4-6 classes a day, before and after my real job! lol and I also workout on my own body as well....so you can work out 7 days a week, especially cardio, 30 minutes a day everyday isn't too much
  • Absolutely but take them only if needed. In the past I used this formula for every 4 hours of workouts completed - take one rest day. On that rest day eat your exact calorie count or within 100 under it and Lower carbohydrates on that day to about half normal daily intake.
  • xsmilexforxmex
    xsmilexforxmex Posts: 1,216 Member
    A rest day is supposed to let your body heal from stresses and even illness.. it is advisable to take at least one rest day a week and to give your body 48 hours before working the same thing again to allow the muscles in that group to heal..
  • skywa
    skywa Posts: 901 Member
    take some rest days.
    you probably haven't loss because your muscles are swelling with water and carbohydrates in an attempt to recover.
    its normal. i'm surprised you haven't gained a little.

    take a break. eat lots of healthy food. drink even more water. and in 2 days you'll likely see a loss again, and feel a lot better too!
  • DannyNovela
    DannyNovela Posts: 39 Member
    one thing i found is getting out of your exercise routine for a day or two almost feels like a day off. i workout at the gym 5 days a week and on weekends i go for a long hike or a very long bike ride and sometimes i do both. due to it not being in the gym it almost does not feel like exercise or working out even though i burn more calories the longer i go.

    another thing i did when i felt my knees were going to rip apart, was that i still kept on exercising but i focused on muscle groups that did not require any knee or quad movements. i did push ups and sit ups and bench presses. didnt break much of a sweat but i let my knees rest and i still got a bit of a workout done.
  • momtozmc
    momtozmc Posts: 418 Member
    I run anywhere from 2.5 to 5 miles a day... and I have only had 4 rest days since Thanksgiving... listen to your body and rest when needed...

    L
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