Are Rest Days Necessary?

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  • jthramann
    jthramann Posts: 25 Member
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    ...This is how people seek attention.
  • jheilala63
    jheilala63 Posts: 94
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    I do HIIT 7 days a week, and I have to do this or I restrict my calories. Do I really need a rest day?

    It all depends on how tough and vigorous your workouts are. I would take at least one day off so you aren't overexerting your muscles, however!
  • redambition
    redambition Posts: 39 Member
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    I eat <1,100 calories per day when I am working out.

    That is not healthy nor sustainable and it sounds like disordered eating - especially considering your comment about not being able to eat if you do not work out.

    Please seek professional help. You don't need to do this to your body.

    :flowerforyou:
  • aarondnguyen
    aarondnguyen Posts: 270 Member
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    I do HIIT 7 days a week, and I have to do this or I restrict my calories. Do I really need a rest day?
    too much cardio in my opinion. what are your goals?
    But if I don't exercise then I can't eat anything for the day.
    and what makes you say this? you're not going to gain weight if you have a rest day during which you eat--unless of course, you eat over your maintenance calories... but even then, one day of going over your maintenance calories wouldn't cause weight gain.
  • LolBroScience
    LolBroScience Posts: 4,537 Member
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    I do HIIT 7 days a week, and I have to do this or I restrict my calories. Do I really need a rest day?
    too much cardio in my opinion. what are your goals?
    But if I don't exercise then I can't eat anything for the day.
    and what makes you say this? you're not going to gain weight if you have a rest day during which you eat--unless of course, you eat over your maintenance calories... but even then, one day of going over your maintenance calories wouldn't cause weight gain.

    This x2...
  • SassyCalyGirl
    SassyCalyGirl Posts: 1,932 Member
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    But if I don't exercise then I can't eat anything for the day.

    This is ridiculous and not healthy!
  • kshadows
    kshadows Posts: 1,315 Member
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    Sounds like you have a very unhealthy relationship with food and are heading towards an eating disorder. You need WAY more than 1100 calories, especially when you're working out. And yes, you need at least one rest day per week.
  • only1bones
    only1bones Posts: 21 Member
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    Not eating enough calories will put your body in starvation mode.....which defeats you trying to lose weight. It's important to each often so your body doesn't think it's not going to get fed and needs to store the calories. Like others said...minimum intake should be 1200 calories.
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
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    But if I don't exercise then I can't eat anything for the day.

    What?!

    you CAN eat even if you dont exercise... if you choose not to then thats a whole other issue...
  • Polarpaly05
    Polarpaly05 Posts: 74 Member
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    dont-feed-the-troll.jpg
  • ayalowich
    ayalowich Posts: 242 Member
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    I would say for one, it depends on your age. When you get older, rest days are absolutely essential to allow you to recover and avoid injury. But everyone is different. Some people can work out every day. I never could or actually wanted to. If I get 5 solid workouts in a week and a 6th some of the time, I am good and happy. I actually look forward to rest days, especially if I've earned them.

    But again, coming on a message board and getting responses without proper context is a bit dangerous.
  • kbmnurse
    kbmnurse Posts: 2,484 Member
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    Really, you can't eat anything for the day? This does not make sense. Sounds like you have your mind made up-do what you want.
  • gypsy_spirit
    gypsy_spirit Posts: 2,107 Member
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    Looked at your diary. You're 19. Yes, I'm sure you have it all figured out.

    But to answer your question? Yes, rest days are necessary for muscle repair/recovery.


    ETA: On the off chance that you are serious about your eating and work outs - please talk to some one.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,867 Member
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    But if I don't exercise then I can't eat anything for the day.

    Go for a nice long walk. The point of a rest day is to let your body recover from vigorous exercise...you can still be generally active. You have to understand that while exercise is very good for you, it is also very hard on the body...to boot, you are restricting energy (calories) and nutrients on top of that which makes it more difficult for your body to recover.

    If you are really doing an actual HIIT routine 7 days per week then you are really being hard on your body and breaking it down big time. I wouldn't think a true HIIT routine should be performed anymore than 3 days per week...maybe 4 tops. If you're lifting, maybe even only once or twice weekly to allow your body some recovery.
  • JoRocka
    JoRocka Posts: 17,525 Member
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    But if I don't exercise then I can't eat anything for the day.

    What?!

    you CAN eat even if you dont exercise... if you choose not to then thats a whole other issue...
    agreed. That is no where near enough food to live off of even WITHOUT the training!!!

    Also speaking from experience I did HIIT exclusively (with weights) for almost 2 years (not 7 days straight). While I felt fine and looked great- It took a tremendous toll on my body that I pay for dearly every day now.

    HIIT is not so good for long term training- it's a supplement and a tool and it definitely shouldn't be done every day of every week. So uneahtlhy.
  • FraggleRockerFitnessLover
    FraggleRockerFitnessLover Posts: 307
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    I listen to my body, my rest days are 3 days a week while I slave away in the ICU. I am trying to workout 4 days a week on my days off :)
  • AmyRhubarb
    AmyRhubarb Posts: 6,890 Member
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    Another classic case of over-training and under-eating. Recipe for disaster.

    Or just a troll. :tongue:

    Seriously - you think you can't eat if you don't work out? You do realize your body burns calories all day long, with or without exercise, right? And therefore requires food and nutrition, regardless of exercise? And rest for the body is a very, very good thing.

    No rest days & too few calories = doing it wrong.
  • ngood10720
    ngood10720 Posts: 9 Member
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    I try to follow the exercise pyramid, which says get some moderate physical activity in every day. I don't run every day, and I don't strength train every day. Muscles do need to recover from strength training and the heart is a muscle that needs to recover from vigorous activity. If you are into body building then you don’t train the same muscles every day. So you may workout everyday but change up the muscle groups.


    "Pumping iron is only part of the muscle-building formula. "Recovery is just as important," says Todd Durkin, C.S.C.S., author of The IMPACT! Body Plan. That's because weightlifting creates microtears in your muscles, and hitting the gym again too hard too soon can undermine the repair process (also known as muscle growth). "Your body needs at least one day of rest between workouts," says Durkin. Follow his four tips to make the most of your downtime."
  • jimmmer
    jimmmer Posts: 3,515 Member
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    No rest days & too few calories = doing it wrong.

    ^Agreed.

    You. Are. Doing. It. Wrong.

    Eat to sustain your level of activity. HIIT on alternate days at the most, something like M-W-Fr. Do something low impact T-Th(-Sat).

    Your soft tissue and joints will thank you when you hit 25+

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