How many days off do you take?

I usually take the weekends off. I will still hula hoop and maybe go for a walk, but I won't do any strength training or more intense cardio on the weekends. Yesterday was an exception because I was going to a wedding and wanted more calories to eat back, haha. Still ended up over but oh well, at least the impact was less than it would have been.

Your body really does need a break! That doesn't mean you have to sit and do nothing, though. If you are really itching to get some activity, just take a day or two and do something lighter than your usual workout routine.

I just got back into the gym. I actually had to force myself to take the weekend off because I worked out so much during the week my arms and thighs were sore and I was not giving myself time to recuperate properly.

Everyone always tells me that it's really bad to work out 7 days a week, and that you can actually do more harm than good working out this much. My problem is, I always feel guilty skipping the gym, even if I had went the past six days that week.

How many off days do you normally take in a week?

None, I find that if I take a day off, it ends up being two then ...well you get the picture I'm sure. I do have a day or two that I do light workouts, like dead lifts or yoga or a little walk. This seems to work great for me and I think I burn more on my hard workout days.

I generally have two rest days per week, and at least one. They are programmed into my routine...they are as much a part of my fitness as the actual work. Keep in mind that a rest day doesn't mean you have to do nothing...think of it as a recovery day if it helps. On those recovery days, I'm still active...I'm just not busting my but and I'm letting my muscles repair, etc. Much of the benefit of your workouts comes with rest...without the rest you aren't going to reap the fitness benefits...and that's what you need to start looking at. You're likely too wrapped up in the whole exercise for calorie burn bit...you need to discover that exercise is done for the purpose of fitness.

it really just depends on my schedule & how the body is feeling...if I am starting to feel beat-up, I'll take a day off even if I'm "supposed" to train that day. And I train hard enough, consistently enough, that if I take an entire weekend off to just do stuff with my kid, it's not a big deal (but even then, we're pretty active - pool, rock climbing, etc, just not "training" (lifting or running or whatever) so it's not like sitting around being total slugs)

1 day off, I feel guilty skipping workouts too, but during my day off I still make sure I still make myself active like walking, going to the mall

I don't "plan" a rest day, per se. I let my body tell me. It usually ends up being Saturday. But I try to get 10,000 steps that day as well.

Otherwise, I run 3-4 times a week, lift 3 times a week, Pilates twice a week, bike (or walk) to work, and walk at least 10,000 steps a day.

Everyone always tells me that it's really bad to work out 7 days a week, and that you can actually do more harm than good working out this much. My problem is, I always feel guilty skipping the gym, even if I had went the past six days that week.

How many off days do you normally take in a week?

None, I find that if I take a day off, it ends up being two then ...well you get the picture I'm sure. I do have a day or two that I do light workouts, like dead lifts or yoga or a little walk. This seems to work great for me and I think I burn more on my hard workout days.

Haha, light workout = deadlifts. I like your style!

Everyone always tells me that it's really bad to work out 7 days a week, and that you can actually do more harm than good working out this much. My problem is, I always feel guilty skipping the gym, even if I had went the past six days that week.

How many off days do you normally take in a week?

None, I find that if I take a day off, it ends up being two then ...well you get the picture I'm sure. I do have a day or two that I do light workouts, like dead lifts or yoga or a little walk. This seems to work great for me and I think I burn more on my hard workout days.

Deadlifts, a light workout... Wow.
Ok, about the days off thing, I can work out about four days a week on good weeks - more than that, and I start hurting myself and have to take time off. Two full-body strength sessions (All Pro's SBR, 5 compound lifts and 2 accessories) and two sessions of heavy bag/Krav Maga training (double classes back to back for two hours). I'm a bit conservative with the weights; I go ham on the bag.

Not counted as "workouts," although accounted for in my daily burns when I do them, are 3-5 miles a day walking most days, climbing 10+ flights of stairs several days a week because they're one of my Fitbit goals, making my weekly 5-7 mile walk to and from the frozen yogurt place after work, doing an occasional Pilates mat sequence at home, randomly hitting the rowing machine at the gym for 15-20 minutes, and jerking around with a hula hoop and pretending I look like I'm dancing. These "extra" things are the first to go when I'm feeling the strain. Working out sore isn't a problem. Working out strained or injured is another story.

If I'm sleep-deprived or eating at a deficit, I recover more slowly and am more prone to injury. Right now I'm just coming off of two weeks downtime from a couple of exercise-related injuries and a minor accident. I don't want to take as much rest as I do, because the things I do are so much fun - but the recovery time seems to be mandatory for me given my current circumstances.

Oh, and I usually have one completely sedentary day during the week, because spending all day on the computer catching up on work.

YMMV.

I do some type of exercise every day! An hour of activity is only natural I think! A simple one hour walk hardly puts stress on my body and is simple . Some days I lift weights.

Mondays and Wednesdays are moderate.

Fridays are super hard.

Saturdays are usually yoga.

Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Sundays I try to take off from on-purpose exercise. I'll still go to the pool with the kids, or we'll just be up and busy with other things - but I'll also spend the day sitting if I want to.

Loose schedule though. This is how I like to lay out my week. Having a family though, and especially now that the older kids aren't in school, I'll adjust as necessary.

I usually strength train 3 days a week, and do cardio 2-3 days. I'm starting to really hate cardio, though, so I think I'll have to think about switching that up. I also usually take weekends off, but I also work weekends, and my job keeps me moving. I started off trying to work out every day, and I got burned out and started getting ill and hurt.

I'm lifting four days a week now as well. I'm considering throwing in some marathon training work over the summer (I'm a teacher) that would take me down to only one day a week that was truly "off", but so far I'm feeling lazy. I'm sure that will begin to change as I start to get antsy with nothing to do.

Almost everyday is a day off for me. *shrug*

It took me a while to get comfortable with taking a rest day. I pushed it one month, doing SL5x5 3x/wk and walking 3-4miles/day with only 2 "off" days. I actually decreased in performance during that month. I wasn't letting my body recover and I suffered from that. I learned the hard way that an effective/productive workout schedule doesn't mean "balls to the wall" every single day. An effective and productive workout schedule means you push your body enough to increase endurance, strength, etc while giving your body enough "off time" to repair and recover to be prepared for increasing expectations.