Working out diff body parts on diff days?

teamAmelia

If you do strength training one day, do you HAVE to not do strength training on the same muscles the next day? I read somewhere that muscles build during that day of rest. Can you harm yourself from overdoing it 2 days in a row?

pcdoctor01

I read that too. Arm muscle need rest and that you shouldn't work them out two days in a row. I'm sure other folks will charm in.

BonaFideUK

I would probably advise not working out the same muscles intensely for at least 1 or 2 days after. Light or moderate use of the muscles for compound movements is probably ok but avoid isolation exercises on the muscles you worked out the day previously.

lithezebra

Yes, you should give your muscles at least a day, and preferably two, before you work out again. Rest is essential to building and strengthening muscles. You can do other kinds of exercise, like cardio. Just don't follow up a heavy leg workout with a hill climbing bike ride.

Flixie00

I was instructed by my PT to split my lifting work outs between upper and lower body and try to give my body at least 48 hours to repair muscle groups.

Brownsbacker4evr

It depends on intensity. If you lift "heavy", be sure to get your protein daily and give it around 3 days for your muscles to repair.

BeachGingerOnTheRocks

It depends on what type of workout you're doing, whether your routine is a total body or a split, how long you've been working out, and your ultimate goals (strength versus hypertrophy).

When you're doing a total body workout, like NROL, then yes, you need a day between to allow muscles to repair. Sometimes 2 days is good, which is why it is a 3 day a week program. The rest days are very important.

When you're doing a split program, upper one day, lower the next, then there's nothing wrong with doing a 4 day a week program, 2 days on, a day off, 2 days on, 2 days off. You just have to work the program so that the days that would benefit more from a longer rest are the days before actual rest days. For example, if you have a chest and tricep day, a back and bicep day, a squat day with accessory deadlifts, and a deadlift day with accessory squats, then try to do the chest triceps, then one of the big leg days, rest, back and bi, big leg day, rest, rest. Because squats and deads work the whole body, I always take a day off after them. But I don't always take a day off after an upper body day.