How often to strength train?

jellio98
jellio98 Posts: 24 Member
edited November 19 in Fitness and Exercise
First post, so be kind. :)

Which is better - strength training 3 days in a row peer week or strength training two days with a rest day in between?

Background:

I have lost 19 pounds so far, many more to go. I want add strength training to my routine. I can only exercise on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. Not ideal, but it is what I have to work with. I have decided to give Strong Curves a try, bought the book, and looking forward to getting started. Since this is a full body program, would I be better served doing it on Friday and Sunday only so that I have a rest day - or Friday, Saturday, Sunday to get three days per week in? I also run 2 miles a day on Friday, Saturday, Sunday. My dog needs the exercise and I enjoy it, so not wanting to cut back on running for the sake of strength training - but I do have ability to run in the morning and strength train in the evening so that they wouldn't be back-to-back cardio/strength training sessions.

Thoughts?

Replies

  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    you don't want to do a full body program 3 days in a row. you don't want to be working the same muscles or groups of muscles on consecutive days. if all you have is Friday, Saturday, and Sunday I would just hit it good and hard on Friday and Sunday.

    Ideally, a full body routine would be done 3x weekly on non-consecutive days. working the same muscles on consecutive days is counterproductive.
  • RoxieDawn
    RoxieDawn Posts: 15,488 Member
    edited May 2015
    I run every day and even on lift days (two hours apart and with my dog as well) if you have bypassed soreness from running then I don't see why you can't lift on all three days... however IMO it is not necessary.. for example, lift on Friday with no rest and then lift again on Saturday you are not giving your muscles the time to recover and repair from the day before... If you were doing splits I would say all three days but not full body 3 days in a row.. I personally would not want to lift all muscles and groups three days in a row.

    But it really will not hurt you... but IMO totally unnecessary..
  • Capt_Apollo
    Capt_Apollo Posts: 9,026 Member
    you really don't want to be doing a full body program three days in a row. is there no way you can exercise on weekdays??

    if not, then i recommend starting off just doing your workout friday and sunday. you'll be fine doing the cardio all three days.
  • Ohhim
    Ohhim Posts: 1,142 Member
    If you are lifting to gain muscle (i.e. fewer sets/reps/heavier weights/lifting until close to failure), you'll need to give those muscle groups 48 hours to recover before lifting again.

    If you are doing lots of repetitive movements with lower weights as a form of cardio, but aren't looking to build muscle, you don't need to give those muscle groups as much recovery time and can lift more often as you aren't breaking them down/rebuilding them.

    I usually just rotate muscle groups when I lift, and usually just work each muscle group 2x/week.
  • jellio98
    jellio98 Posts: 24 Member
    I want to maintain the muscle I have as I continue to lose weight. Although I don't expect to gain a lot of muscle while in a calorie deficit - I want fewer reps/heavier loads.

    So Friday and Sunday it is then . Thanks for the advice!
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