strength training

bchgrl82
bchgrl82 Posts: 9 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
I have a ? my work schedule changes (as far as days off) like this week i was off Thursday, Friday and Saturday ~ is it ok to workout them three days if i don't workout the rest of the week ~ i know you need to rest your muscles so im just wondering if this is ok ~ next week i might be off Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday it just varies

thanks :-)

Replies

  • meshashesha2012
    meshashesha2012 Posts: 8,329 Member
    it's doable but really what i'd do is focus on compound lifts thursday and saturday (compound lifts like squats, deadlifts, bench press, barbell rows, cleans and over head press) 2 days and friday do something else not strength related.

    if you really wanted to strength train all 3 days then you could do a split like upper body and lower body
  • dragonbug300
    dragonbug300 Posts: 760 Member
    There's nothing wrong with working out two days in a row. Plenty of people have only one rest day a week. If you're talking about strength training alone, just be sure to not do the same workout at the gym twice in a row. It's boring and it's not allowing you to hit all of the muscles that you could--also could lead to over-exertion (which I don't think will be much of a problem if you only strength train 3x a week).
    Basic rule for muscles: if it's sore from yesterday, don't work it today.
  • kmh0617
    kmh0617 Posts: 51 Member
    I do this: short cardio + upper body/back on day 1, short cardio + lower body on day 2, very long cardio session on day 3. Then rest a day and repeat or just start the cycle over again.
  • bchgrl82
    bchgrl82 Posts: 9 Member
    ok so basically a upper/lower split 2 days a week then bodyweight workouts/cardio ~ ok i can figure something out ~ i don't go to the gym i workout at home i have a treadclimber and bowflex home gym just wanted to make sure i wasn't going to hurt myself got to lose this weight once and for all lol !

    thanks you guys
  • kmh0617
    kmh0617 Posts: 51 Member
    I do that pattern 2x/week. The other option is to do full body strength training (and short cardio) on day 1 and 3, and a long cardio on day 2. I prefer the lower/upper split.
  • bchgrl82
    bchgrl82 Posts: 9 Member
    ok thank you so much ~ I have another ? I know I need to do a lot of cardio but how soon can I start strength training
  • alereck
    alereck Posts: 343 Member
    I've read in a lot of places that you do not want to do strength exercise three days in a row, only two. But I also have a schedule that changes and I just make sure that I switch upper body two days and lower body the other. If I worked really hard and I am too sore I do something like abs and cardio.

    Ok, I lied. I hate cardio, I tell myself I'm going to do cardio then do the third day strength also, but you should, do cardio I mean. No more than two days strength. But then again, heavy lifters do the same exercise almost 5 days a week so I'm sure you are fine.

    I also have read recent articles that say it does not matter how you schedule your workout week as long as you are exercising a minimum of 3 hours per week. Meaning, you could do a day of 3 hours and nothing else during the week and you would get the same results. They do not recommend doing that but research has shown that there is no difference in weight loss / maintenance.

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