how many days per week do you workout? do you take 100% rest days?

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  • tiggerlove
    tiggerlove Posts: 225 Member
    6 days once in awhile Ill do a little biking on the 7 day or just rest.
  • ovidnine
    ovidnine Posts: 314 Member
    I lift 4 days a week with light cardio (walking, a little elliptical as a warm-up).

    My ideal plan is to get back to cycling the other 3 days since my leg appears to be healed up enough to handle it.

    But currently 3 days off with just maybe some light walking.
  • bigjack69
    bigjack69 Posts: 12 Member
    Personally I exercise 7 days a week but I do have rest days from weight training.
  • loulamb7
    loulamb7 Posts: 801 Member
    I guess I must be the slacker of the group. I weight train 2-3 days a week. No formal exercise on the other days.
  • sixxpoint
    sixxpoint Posts: 3,529 Member
    Everyday unless I'm feeling sick or use the lazy excuse. Most fit people who eat a balanced, varied diet really don't need rest days.

    Think of it as a lifestyle change, not something to do intermittently. You must have willpower and dedication if you want results.
  • missomgitsica
    missomgitsica Posts: 496 Member
    3 or 4 days a week, and my workouts vary depending what I feel like doing. I try to do cardio twice a week and lifting twice a week.
  • urloved33
    urloved33 Posts: 3,323 Member
    sun mon wed fri sat. i work out (harder on sat and sun) tues and thurs I take completely off from exercise. we blossom when we rest.
  • nossmf
    nossmf Posts: 11,734 Member
    I typically hit the gym twice per week, which day varies each week based upon work schedule, but when I go I go all out, 2+ hrs and end up lathered in sweat. The other days I just walk, whether mowing the lawn, grocery shopping or walking the mile from my office to the work parking lot.
  • GreenValli
    GreenValli Posts: 1,054 Member
    3 or 4 days: treadmill, recumbent bike, weights
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  • DawnieB1977
    DawnieB1977 Posts: 4,248 Member
    I usually work out 5 days a week, although with 3 young kids a rest day is never really a proper rest :)

    Sometimes I can't exercise. When my husband is on late shift and I'm at work until 5, then have to collect my kids straight after, I don't have chance. Luckily I only work part time. Good thing I'm a teacher and on my feet all day!
  • JamesScapes
    JamesScapes Posts: 14 Member
    I alternate every other morning running and lifting. Additionally, I also take bike rides when I can fit the time into the afternoons or weekends, (weekend hikes in the mountains during the warm weather months as well). Intellectually I realize that I should take a day off now and then, but whenever I do the day just doesn't feel right, so I rarely do.
  • Unknown
    Unknown
    edited May 2015
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  • PeachyCarol
    PeachyCarol Posts: 8,029 Member
    I have health issues, so it's variable for me.
  • tracie_minus100
    tracie_minus100 Posts: 465 Member
    I have a bad knee and sometimes have to rake a day off when my knee needs it. But usually only 1-2 days a week off. I lift heavy every other day, and do cardio 5 days a week.
  • jovalis59
    jovalis59 Posts: 1 Member
    It's okay to rest and give yourself time to recover. It also depends on the intensity and type workouts you do. As long as you still watch what you consume (that's really important no matter what your goal is) and consider the light activity you do on the rest days then it should be fine. You don't want to overtrain or injure yourself. Listen to your body and try to stay accountable.
  • kcjchang
    kcjchang Posts: 709 Member
    Rest is an important element! Think as a triangle with stress, adaptation, and rest as the three corners. Without rest you are asking for trouble as well as hampering your adaptation to the stress which will make you stronger, faster, etc. If you are at status quo, not pushing yourself to next level, it's really maintenance and regular rest should do it. But, if you are striving then take rest seriously. Some can augment with light activities while still have a good rest but other can't; it really depends on you and field of endeavor. It's back by good scientific research and not a thing dreamed up by the industry (like drinking electrolytes during exercise which is more or less a money grab unless you have a health reason for doing do). Just do a search for Science of Sports, on PubMed, and on Wikipedia and you'll find MANY published papers. Your intensity will dictate whether rest is needed so listen to your body first and foremost.
  • lucyholdcroft363
    lucyholdcroft363 Posts: 124 Member
    I usually do 5-6 days of exercise ranging from a few hours to 30-60 minutes but honestly, I just listen to my body! I'm usually up and rearing to go, super excited and energised. If I'm not, or I'm seriously sore, or I'm ill etc, I take a day off. It's really whatever works for you.
  • feisty_bucket
    feisty_bucket Posts: 1,047 Member
    I do a full-body lifting routine every other day. On the off-days, I go for a walk. Or sprint. That's it. Growth happens during resting periods. So not having them would be foolish; there's nothing to "feel guilty" about.

  • professionalHobbyist
    professionalHobbyist Posts: 1,316 Member
    I only have 2 hard lifting days and two intense cardio days (HIIT).

    And then two days of what I call normally active cardio glide days where I do an hour just to burn calories... They are easy and have no cardio challenge or value. Just burning calories for my calorie deficit

    I think it is important not to confuse lower intensity calorie burning cardio that does not challenge you to complete, as outright cardio exercise. It is maintenance.

    Do you ever have friends on plateaus ? Or find yourself on one?

    We need to challenge ourselves to really call it cardio exercise. If it isn't a challenge, it is like normal active playing to a kid, just life, not exercise

    So I only exercise 4 days a week. I play actively 2-3 depending on how i feel

    :)
  • Chieflrg
    Chieflrg Posts: 9,097 Member
    I utilize a complete 3 days or 4 days a week of rest. My main goal is strength with a touch of hypertrophy and if if I don't rest, I'm wasting my investment of time and hard work towards that goal. I don't want to spin my wheels, I need all the traction to move forward.
  • GreenIceFloes
    GreenIceFloes Posts: 1,491 Member
    I work out 3 days a week. The other 4 are rest (recovery) days as I follow a progressive overload routine.
  • pumpkinpocalypse
    pumpkinpocalypse Posts: 104 Member
    I take a day or two per week, the lesser the better haha. I workout 4-5 times per week (2 polefitness classes, 1 badminton classes, and 1 to 2 bike rides), but sometimes there are days where I'm either very busy, or the weather won't let me do my biking, etc, and I have to take the day off.
    I walk a lot everyday anyway, 30 min minimum at a fast pace, and usually will schedule grocery shopping or whatever on my rest days, so even then I still end up being somewhat active. I can't stand sitting on my butt for a long period of time lol, blame it on my hyperactivity problem back when i was a kiddo. (like today, I ended up ditching my bike ride and felt sad about it since I didn't actually workout yesterday, but still ended up joining a dance mob on the street and danced zumba like crazy for a hour haha!)
    so yeah, I try to fit in exercice in every day of the week as much as I can as a personal preference, but if your training is much more demanding I'd suggest you give your body a break every 3-4 days to ensure you and your muscles can heal/recover properly and you don't get strained permanently etc.
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