Exercising Every Day...

SquishyVicki
SquishyVicki Posts: 280 Member
edited September 29 in Fitness and Exercise
Hi all
I just wanted some advice. I now (finally!) enjoy exercise since I found a gym and classes that I love. My question is whether it is really bad to exercise everyday??

I used to reach for food when I came home stressed or tired from work but now I grab my gym towel and head out for an hour or so. I always do something different mixing it up with aerobic and anaerobic classes as well as different machines in the gym and also swimming. Therefore does it really hurt if I don't have a rest day??

I just want to make sure that this hobby that I've developed for fitness isn't going to do my body any harm!!! Thanks all for anyone who has any experience in this :smile: Vx

Replies

  • trud72
    trud72 Posts: 1,912 Member
    some say yes,some say no!
    i do everyday and it hasnt killed me! yet lol
    just take it a bit easier on the weekend! and dont do so much or just go for a walk!
  • Marcieb21
    Marcieb21 Posts: 127 Member
    I would say that you should give your body a rest about once a week, but that doesn't mean you can't go on a walk or something. It's important to not wear out your body. You need to give your muscles a little while to rest up.
  • Bootzey
    Bootzey Posts: 274 Member
    Try it and see how it works out for you
  • jeffpettis
    jeffpettis Posts: 865 Member
    As long as you are not working the same muscles every day you should be fine. Not sure if you are doing any strength training, if you are, try to give the muscles you work at least 24 to 48 hours to rest before working that same muscle group again. Muscle grows during rest, so without it you are putting alot of stress on "tired" muscles, and they don't have time to grow before being asked to do it again. If all you are doing is cardio, and you are not overly sore the next day, there's nothing wrong with working out everyday. Just pay attention to your body. Only you know when it needs a break.
  • JennLifts
    JennLifts Posts: 1,913 Member
    i would recommend taking a day off a week.
  • azsuzi
    azsuzi Posts: 1,169 Member
    You're muscles need a day to repair after an intense workout. Try to work different muscle groups on alternating days and you should be good. Except the abs - you can work them every day!
  • Kelly_Wilson1990
    Kelly_Wilson1990 Posts: 3,245 Member
    I go to Curves M-F, then do Zumba twice a week. On the weekends, I do different DVD's, walk or water aerobics. I do exercise everyday but I change it up throughout the week.
  • corinnak
    corinnak Posts: 51 Member
    I think it depends on the intensity with which you are working out. If you are working out HARD, pushing yourself, feeling fatigued at the end, stretching your capabilities, you are essentially tearing down so you can rebuild stronger. At which point, if you don't take time to rebuild, you will end up..all torn down. AKA Overtrained, or injured. It is the rest period that makes us stronger.

    If you are going out and just using the fitness you have already developed in a comfortable, enjoyable way (brisk walk, easy jog, dancing, having fun!) and you feel energetic and refreshed afterward then you can probably get away with working out daily. You certainly don't have to spend "rest" days on the couch, either - an easy stroll or pleasant bike ride is just fine if you want to be moving while recovering!

    Things to watch for if you do workout every day: If you find yourself feeling worn down, cranky, injured, tired all the time, those are all signs to cut back a little and take more rest time.
  • Qarol
    Qarol Posts: 6,171 Member
    If you're not going to rest every other day, at least do something low impact, like walking or swimming. Your muscles definitely need a rest.
  • jeffpettis
    jeffpettis Posts: 865 Member
    You're muscles need a day to repair after an intense workout. Try to work different muscle groups on alternating days and you should be good. Except the abs - you can work them every day!

    Not trying to discount what you are saying, but "every" muscle works the same, your abs are just like any other muscle, they need the same rest period as any other. There are alot of different muscles in your abs, but it doesn't matter if you are "trying" to work a different ab muscle everyday, you are still going to be working them all at the same time to a certain extent.
  • Tankplanker
    Tankplanker Posts: 365 Member
    I think it depends on the intensity with which you are working out. If you are working out HARD, pushing yourself, feeling fatigued at the end, stretching your capabilities, you are essentially tearing down so you can rebuild stronger. At which point, if you don't take time to rebuild, you will end up..all torn down. AKA Overtrained, or injured. It is the rest period that makes us stronger.
    Agree with this completely.

    I push hard, I workout ten times a week burning over 7000 calories on a full on week of workouts so I'm more than ready for my one day off a week. Pushing hard week after week even with a day off doesn't always give your body enough time to recuperate if you are working hard. I have a recovery week every three or four weeks where I halve the number of workouts by dropping my weights workouts and drop the intensity of my cardio workouts. I find that recovery week gives me the strength to carry on, let my body recover and grow (I find I lose the most weight during my recovery week) and be ready to attack my next month's schedule.
  • Bodhizephyr
    Bodhizephyr Posts: 48
    What do you mean by Aerobic and Anaerobic?

    Long term working out everyday will put extra wear on your joints. You do need a recovery peroid between workouts. When you work out you break down your muscle so imagine the impact if you never let them recover. Having a rest period will increase the efficiency of your work outs.

    Rather than going to the gym everyday try set gym days and active days. Gym days - obvious - go to the gym. Active days - go for a steady walk - to the shops maybe - make it a day that you do something active but not necessarily sweaty!

    Don't swap a food obsession for an exercise obsession. Get rid of obsessing altogether!

    Hope you find this helpful.
  • glenr79
    glenr79 Posts: 283 Member
    Working out every day is perfectly fine. You just have to have a structured program. You can do cardio every day. Usually you want to do 30 to 60 minutes a day.

    You want to do Abs every other day. When you do your body parts. You want to do each one once. So if you do biceps and triceps on one day... do them really hard and don't do them again that week. Same with Chest, back, legs, and shoulders. So you have to find out how to split them up. But don't work the same body part more than once a week. They have to have time to recover, if you keep breaking down that body part it can never grow. It takes 5 to 7 days for them to recover and grow. Also, if you do Chest or shoulders, you don't want to do triceps the next day, because when you are doing chest and shoulders you also use your triceps... so you need to strategically plan your work out.

    When you do cardio, if you do it the same day you do weight lifting, do it immediately after you work out. When you work out at first you use Carbs as an energy source, by the time you get done working out it will be time to use fat as an energy source when you are doing the cardio. Since you will be using fat as an energy source you will be burning the fat!!!

    So Abs every other day
    Cardio you can do every da
    Body parts once a week, split up the days
    Cardio do after lifting weights :P
    Taking one day off a week would probably be good for your joints.... And if you just run, you might want to get on the elliptical to give your joints some rest. The elliptical burns more calories anyways
  • asilmegan34
    asilmegan34 Posts: 256 Member
    What a great question! My opinion is to listen to your body and mind. For example, I am doing the couch to 5k program and I love doing sports whether it be tennis, mountain biking, or frisbee golf. Because I am so overweight, I do give myself rest when doing this running regimen because I am putting so much pressure on my joints, I do not want to overtrain and end up injured. So, I run 4 times a week and on off days I'll swim, do a workout dvd, or mountain bike. But if my body feels worn down, and I believe you can tell, I think it needs a break. If you aren't used to working out a bunch you need to give your body time to adjust! The worst thing you can do imo is overtrain, end up injured and unable to workout for a couple weeks, then your efforts get sidelined altogether.

    I can't stand not exercising. For me, it helps my depression and keeps my eating habits in check! Great job on getting back to the gym though!
  • glenr79
    glenr79 Posts: 283 Member
    You can not work abs every day. They too need rest. Do them hard every other day. I use to do abs every day because that is what the military told me, but I reached a plateau. I started giving them rest and my 6 pack went to an 8 pack in no time. Do some research and you will see. If you just do a couple of crunches and nothing special you can do them every day, but if you really hit them hard like you should, then do them every other day
  • SquishyVicki
    SquishyVicki Posts: 280 Member
    Thank you everyone for all your responses....this was EXACTLY what I was looking for and has really helped me to look at my regime to make sure that I am making it as effective as possible. :smile: Vx
  • DontThinkJustRun
    DontThinkJustRun Posts: 248 Member
    If it works for you work it! Just mix it up like you and everyone said and work different muscle groups different days. I've been working out daily for probably a year, but one of my days is just walking, so that's kind of a rest. Also listen to your body and do not feel guilty if some days you do need a rest.
  • SuperHeroRipped
    SuperHeroRipped Posts: 86
    I was once told by Tony Horton, that life makes ts own rest days no need to give it more.
  • StLGranE
    StLGranE Posts: 5
    Good for you, by re-directing your hunger and stress to something that'll help your weight loss journey. I'm not a professional, but have heard and read, to alternate days (on/off) with the weight training. I wouldn't go overboard and get burned out. Keep up the good work!:smile: .
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