Every day okay or not?
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janeensan
Posts: 66 Member
I just started Z5K and am on Week 2 workouts now.
I'm also doing Stronglifts 5x5 in the gym 3x a week.
My question is: is it okay to Z5k 2 days in a row? The workout tells you to do it only every other day.
I'm also doing Stronglifts 5x5 in the gym 3x a week.
My question is: is it okay to Z5k 2 days in a row? The workout tells you to do it only every other day.
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Replies
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Bumping for later as I'm doing the same: z25k & Stronglifts, and I'm thinking of doing 2 days in a row because I missed a day.0
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I've done it two days in a row a couple of times and didn't suffer any bad effects, but I definitely wouldn't do it several days in a row. The reason the workout tells you to take a day or two off is to give your body a chance to recover to the point where you can push yourself just as hard next time as you did this time. If you think you can do that the day after, by all means go for it.
Just be sure to pay close attention to your body and what it tells you. Pushing yourself is a good thing. Wearing yourself out is not.
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Thanks, Dragonlady!0
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For beginner runners, I'd be far more worried about the impact you're causing to tendons and ligaments that aren't used to it. If you start to have pain in your shins, joints, calves or feet then you should look to take some recovery time rather than trying to work through the pain.
There's a big difference between training your muscles and cardiovascular systems and your joints and tendons recovering from injury.0 -
Why not? I run 10km a day. I'm still alive & going great. I've run with shin splints that stopped me from even being able to walk. I just ran on grass instead. I've run with broken toes (2 & counting). I've run with a bad back (ongoing & will never be better). I've run even after going to the gym.
Do what YOU want, not what others tell you that you SHOULD be doing. If you feel you can push through things...then do it. Only way to know is to try I say.0 -
Common wisdom says 1) listen to your body and 2) new runners should rest at least one day between runs. If you're new to running, consider running every other day to help prevent injury that might sideline you completely for a while.0
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I understand the idea of a rest day between runs, but do you have to rest entirely? What about walking instead of running? A lot of the challenge for me is getting motivated to actually exercise, so I'm concerned that not doing ANYTHING is going to derail my motivation. Also, I find that walking helps me loosen up tight muscles the day after really working hard.
Thoughts?0 -
Walking definitely isn't a problem. There's (at least) two reasons for beginners to take 'rest' days.
1. You build muscle while resting. During exercise you get micro tears in your muscles. That's a sign for your body to make your muscles stronger. But it takes some time to do so. So, if you do not get enough rest you're creating new tears before the old ones have healed and in that way stop your progress.
2. Your tendons, ligaments and bones get stronger slowly, slower than your stamina increases. But running does put a lot of tension on them, so by taking rest days you also spread out your training over a longer period giving your body time to strengthen your tendons, ligaments and bones.
This also makes it clear what you can, and what you shouldn't do on your rest days. You're better of not training your leg muscles heavily because they need the rest. You can do any exercise like walking that doesn't tax your legs very much. You can train your core, your upperbody all you like.
Now, for non-beginners this is different. Firstly there tendons and such are already stronger, so they do not have to take it slowly to build their strength over time. Secondly because their muscles are stronger already they can also run more often. Unless it's a very long, very fast, or otherwise taxing training the will not get as many micro tears. If you look at professional athletes their training schedules can easily be two trainings a week, but the trainings themselves will be vary.0 -
In addition to what MissMormie said, another risk of not resting when you are a beginning is that you might over-do it to the point of either injuring yourself or wearing down your body to the point it forces you to take a longer break. I do understand your concern about motivation, and I share it. I struggle with that myself, and one of the reasons I make myself do something, anything, every day of the week, is to avoid keep the laziness away.
It has helped me to think of my "rest days" as pacing myself. I go to the gym and lift heavy stuff to build upper body strength, and then walk (more like stroll leisurely) on a treadmill for a while. That helps my leg muscles get rid of lactic acid and general soreness and stiffness, and they feel a lot better when I do that than when I take a whole day off and do no working out. Though I do take those, once every week or so, when my body demands it. When it really needs to rest, all it should have to do is ask, after all. It's the least I can do for making it work so hard most of the time.0 -
I'm a beginner, just getting back into exercising regularly (let alone being overweight). I'm just starting week 2, but I definitely take my rest days. I just exercise differently on my off days. I do light stretching exercises for my legs, upper body, core, and some light weights (because I'm a wimp atm). I don't give up on the exercise, so I don't loose my motivation either, I just refocus the part of my body.
Yes, if you feel comfortable running, personally I don't think there's anything wrong with it, if you're just starting out or feel uncomfortable, then stop. Pushing yourself just to keep motivation is not a good reason.
dragon1ady and MissMormie also had some solid advice.0 -
I agree with most everyone here. do what your body tells you and yes you can change up the workout so you can workout every day. I haven't run in a couple of weeds do to my work/school schedule, but when I run, I run every day almost. at least 5 days per week. and I do cross fit or some other strenth training 2-3 times per week. I take only 1 day completely off. 0
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Don't call them rest days.
Call them Repair Days.
They make sense then.
Doing yourself permanent damage rather than say 'I gotta take a break' isn't heroic. It's daft. I've got RA, so I know what joint problems feel like. I've also had most overuse injuries in my time because i was stupid and thought it was more important to ignore my body telling me to stop. If you do permanent danage to yourself through overtraining, you aren't going to like the result when it takes away your normal, healthy life, trust me.0 -
Squeeky Jo: "repair days" awesome way to look at it!!!
thanks for all the awesome replies, everyone! I'm just going to listen to my body and go from there.
I love this group. There's good people here, with good advice. Thanks, y'all!0
