Question about "rest days" for muscle repair

anjiila
anjiila Posts: 11
in Fitness and Exercise
I know that for the best results in fat loss and leanness, muscles need to rest for approx. 48 hours after strength/weight training, to repair, and I do follow that for the most part. But on the in between days, I still like to do moderate or better cardio. I worry when I do this, that I'm defeating my muscles repair cycle, particularly my legs, which work so hard during my cardio activities. Does anyone know the logistics of this? Also, the localized core building DVD I do is only 7 minutes a day, but it's intense and muscle aching. She says to do it every day, but again, I worry that those muscles won't get a chance to heal and repair, because they're still hurting quite a bit the next day or two.

Thanks :)

Replies

  • neetneetneets
    neetneetneets Posts: 95 Member
    Bump! I would like to know the answer to this too please :) and had NO idea that muscle needed 48 hrs to repair? I've been doing strength training every day with my workouts and have still got muscles (woo) so would it work more effectively if I did that every 2nd day?
    I know that for the best results in fat loss and leanness, muscles need to rest for approx. 48 hours after strength/weight training, to repair, and I do follow that for the most part. But on the in between days, I still like to do moderate or better cardio. I worry when I do this, that I'm defeating my muscles repair cycle, particularly my legs, which work so hard during my cardio activities. Does anyone know the logistics of this? Also, the localized core building DVD I do is only 7 minutes a day, but it's intense and muscle aching. She says to do it every day, but again, I worry that those muscles won't get a chance to heal and repair, because they're still hurting quite a bit the next day or two.

    Thanks :)
  • vanillarama
    vanillarama Posts: 101 Member
    Ok, The American College of Sports Medicine guidelines are to strength train 2-3 times a week for healthy individuals.

    The cardiovascular guidelines from ACSM are at least 3-5 times a week.

    You're doing fine doing some form of exercise almost daily, but you should take a rest day once a week, or more if you feel you need it.

    You don't have to lay on the couch on a rest day. You can still go for a walk or a bike ride- Just don't be slamming out sprint intervals or something.

    Resistance training every day is a bit counter-intuitive because how your body builds muscle through resistance training is by creating small tears in the muscle which then heal and make the muscle bigger and stronger. By not allowing this healing process to occur, naturally you're not helping yourself.

    A good resource on this stuff is livestrong.com if you need some more information, or feel free to ask me, I will help as much as I can.

    Edit: you CAN strength train every day if you're not doing the same muscles each time. For instance, one day chest and back, next day legs, etc.
  • vanillarama
    vanillarama Posts: 101 Member
    Oh, and muscle needs 24-48 hours to recover. You can work out even if you're sore, but don't if you're experiencing joint, bone, or nerve pain.
  • Hendrix7
    Hendrix7 Posts: 1,903 Member
    Cardio on off days is fine as long as it's not too high intensity, low/moderate intensity cardio actually helps some people recover.
  • mrseelmerfudd
    mrseelmerfudd Posts: 506 Member
    Oh, and muscle needs 24-48 hours to recover. You can work out even if you're sore, but don't if you're experiencing joint, bone, or nerve pain.

    THIS. You should try to get at least 1 rest day a week, as you could risk over-training yourself. but dont think every day you need to exercise you need to wait 2 more days before you can again.
  • TonyStark30
    TonyStark30 Posts: 497 Member
    The easiest way do do it is so switch muscle groups AND types of cardio. So if I do my chest and arms one day, I do Cardio the next but Biking, And when I do My legs, I do cardio the next day but rowing, its not perfect but I can pretty much train every day, I only have a rest day because I'm tired, not because I'm in sore. The Core can be a problem, but every day is fine, everyday doing weighted exercises with it would be different tho, that would need the same rest as anything else.
  • meshashesha2012
    meshashesha2012 Posts: 8,329 Member
    as long as you arent doing HIIT (which technically isnt cardio anyway) then you should be fine.
  • vanillarama
    vanillarama Posts: 101 Member
    Agreed, I believe that the more you cross train (a reasonable amount) the less likely you are setting yourself up for injury, and also, the less likely you are to get bored!
  • neetneetneets
    neetneetneets Posts: 95 Member
    I have been doing it wrong for three weeks. Thank you VERY much for all the advice everyone (even though I wasn't the original poster).
  • BrianSharpe
    BrianSharpe Posts: 9,248 Member
    Agreed, I believe that the more you cross train (a reasonable amount) the less likely you are setting yourself up for injury, and also, the less likely you are to get bored!


    ^^^ This...

    one of the reasons I think training for a triathlon (running, biking, swimming & strength) is just about the perfect fitness program.
  • gxm17
    gxm17 Posts: 374
    I've been alternating HIIT cardio (one day) with strength training (the next day) and, so far, I'm happy with the results. (And every day is a yoga day if I have time to fit it in.) Everyone is different, just listen to your body.
  • anjiila
    anjiila Posts: 11
    Thanks for the great advice everyone :) Now just a follow up question... all my workouts are at home, with a wide variety of DVDs and the basic accessories (weights, blocks, mats, resistance bands and tubes, etc). I have no "real" equipment at all, and am trying to figure out what kind of moderate or more cardio I can do that won't involve heavy legwork after a leg training day? No rowing machines here, and I can't really think of anything else...
  • lcn1220
    lcn1220 Posts: 124 Member
    Might not be the best, but I like doing a kickboxing dvd after leg day. Found it to be just enough cardio and not too taxing on the legs. Actually helps ease some of the DOMS. Other days I do HIIT, boot camp style cardio so kickboxing does feel like a step down in terms of intensity (for me.) You could also just go for a brisk walk.
  • gxm17
    gxm17 Posts: 374
    Just want to add (to Be Better's suggestion) that there are kickboxing DVDs that are chaptered so that you can select only the upper body chapters (no, or minimal, kicking). Also, I love a nice, moderately paced yoga vinyasa practice on my recovery days.
  • vanillarama
    vanillarama Posts: 101 Member
    When my legs are feeling particularly wrecked, I might do low impact aerobics, a belly dancing video, pilates- something to let me rest but still help flush the lactic acid out of my system. I haven't had a car for years so I end up walking about an hour a day at least anyway- that seems to help, too.
  • Determinednoob
    Determinednoob Posts: 2,001 Member
    Only read OP. If you are cutting and you are able to lift the same or more weight as you did last workout, then you are fine. If you are on a bulk and you are adding weight at whatever rate the progression of your routine calls for, you are fine.
  • MoreBean13
    MoreBean13 Posts: 8,701 Member
    as long as you arent doing HIIT (which technically isnt cardio anyway) then you should be fine.

    ^This.

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