Rest days???

kitticus15

I hear this term rest days and am wondering how many I should have in one week?

II have watched all sorts of weightloss tv shows from biggest loser to a year to save my life... they all push exercise everyday, no rest days...

Jillian Michaels, Insanity programmes like those push you to train hard six days a week...

I am very confused and new to this so any help you can give would be really great...

thanks in advance...

fight_for_fit

If you have a rigorous workout routine. Then you will need more rest days.
For example if you do intense full body strength training I would give your yourself least 2 days rest. To help with the risk of injury and giving my body the time it needs to recover.
However if you are doing only moderate strength training and alternating between upper body and lower body. You will need less rest time.
My workout routine is alternating between:
Chest/triceps/shoulders for 1 day plus cardio
Biceps/Back for 1 day plus cardio
Leg day. plus cardio
I usually take 1-2 rest day. However my rest days are kept active. I usually go for a light jog on those days but I never do any strength training.

skjsd

You have to give your body 1-2 rest days to recover. You don't need to push yourself too hard either. I started off with just walking 30 min each day and then increased it slowly. Now, I go for 45-60min and I just started Jillian Michaels 30 day shred. I did 2 days of the shred and had to take a rest day to let my muscles recover. I think the best thing to do is listen to your body.

GetSoda

Depends on your recovery, which depends on genetics, diet, rest.

htimsm87

Listen to how your body feels. Also rest day does not equal laying in bed all day. A rest day may be going for a 30 minute walk instead of a regular run it could be a nice and easy bike ride, etc..

If your body is feeling run down take a break from you regular exercise and do something light.

djeffreys10

In my mind, rest days are for muscles to recover from thte damage done to them via resistance training. If you are just talking cardio, I don't really see a need for rest days because there is no muscle breakdown which needs time to recover before breaking down further. But that's just me.

kitticus15

Thanks for all that...

also if I do several hours walking and my legs hurt what sort of recovery should I be doing?

I soaked my feet last night but they are still quite tender today...
my legs are very heavy and sore but I think it's cos they are not used to exercise...

gerard54

Usually 2 or 3 a week...

kitticus15

I have a family history of barrel shaped women, so always knew I was gonna have a fight on my hands, but am determined to do this the right way for life