Are cardio rest days necessary?

angiechimpanzee

I do 30 to 40 minutes on the elliptical machine, now 6x a week but my rest day is always so torturous because I feel lazy and bored on the days I haven't done my cardio .__. I don't think I want to take breaks anymore unless they're necessary.

Is it bad for the body to do moderately high intensity cardio (my heart rate often hits 180, sometimes 190) every single day?

SarahtheJillianfanatic

I do cardio every day (unless there are extraordinary circs), I think it's fine.

helloburger

The only risk doing it everyday is that you could end up bored, why not do some circuit training, or weigh lifting... or even try some yoga, to stretch out the muscles and prevent injury

Cyclink

Keep in mind that your body actually builds fitness on the days that you are not doing intense exercise. If you are training intensely every day, your body never gets a chance to rebuild and repair.

30 to 40 minutes is not a lot, but 180 to 190 is pretty intense. I'd say a day off is a good thing.

That said, a VERY light workout (we're talking 100 to 110 BPM heart rate) can actually stimulate your body's ability to heal and repair by increasing blood flow to the muscles. That would at least keep you from feeling too lazy.

slavonka23

Is it bad for the body to do moderately high intensity cardio (my heart rate often hits 180, sometimes 190) every single day?

Yes, it is. Your muscles need rest day!

http://www.streetarticles.com/build-muscle/how-much-time-do-muscles-need-to-rest-after-a-workout

http://www.dailymuscle.com/2006/02/28/how-much-rest-do-you-need-from-your-workouts/

http://worldfitnessnetwork.com/the-truth-about-muscle-recovery-time-short-version/

senami632

I think you should take a rest day just to rest your muscles. If you're really bored on your rest day, you could try going to a stretch/yoga class, perhaps? xx

Mighty_Rabite

Breaks are something I see as pretty much discretionary, something you should take if you feel like it's necessary, but otherwise.. the human body was meant to move! I took one day last month completely devoid of exercise, and I think I saw my best one-month results ever, aside from when I first got active.

dietpepsi100

I do cardio everyday at least 60 mins on the elliptical for me. sometimes I will return to the gym for an extra 30 mins, I can say for me that on occasion I need to take a day off. but this last time I took a day off after 47 days of going to the gym. I do other forms of exercise also. My suggestion is go until you want a break. Your body will tell you. Best of luck!

wrevhn

my sister had a dr tell her too. but there were specific circumstances (two hours a day of intense burns) and good reasons (ex anni recovering). she has trouble following it though. always looks for an excuse to do something that day. its like a mini obsession of hers.