Are Rest Days Necessary For Me?
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DX810
Posts: 26 Member
Hi,
I'm kinda new in using this. I've never been overweight my entire life. I'm petite and have always been blessed with having a really nice figure but then my 30's happened and now in my mid 30's I noticed I want to eat all the time and I gain very fast too (this is something I always had though- I gain quickly and I lose quickly).
My biggest disappointment is that my body shape is starting to change too. I'm putting more weight in my legs and stomach but to be fair that could also be due to the fact that I stopped working out consistently.
I'm overall healthy but my body is very sensitive so for example I'm very athletic with very good endurance (particularly for cardio- not so much for conditioning/weights) but I need to start things gradually. If I stop or start abruptly, I feel my body doesn't like it at all.
So I made a promise to take my health seriously now that I'm getting older and I am really really really working hard to drag myself to the gym at 6 am in the morning but there is something right now bothering me. I need tips and advice from advanced athletes to guide me.
My plan was to go to the gym on Monday, Wednesday and Saturdays and do intensive cardio workouts for an hour and so and for this week I am losing about 300+ calories per gym session. In between these cardio workouts I wanted to do pilates at home (Sundays, Tuesdays, Thursdays) because I have a sensitive neck and back and my physio therapist told me to do pilates. Ironically when I was doing pilates only I was experiencing a lot of back pain and it only went away subsided when I started the intensive cardio (not sure why).
This plan; however, didn't work out very well for me and the reason being is that I noticed when I work out every single day, I don't have energy but when I stop working out for an entire day and then do the cardio the following day, I perform REALLY well and lose a lot of calories.
I see people working out everyday so I was trying to do that. I thought it would be faster. I need to lose 2 kilos but I can't seem to be able to do it yet (my nutritionist says the closer I am to my ideal weight, the more my body will hold on to it).
So what do you advise me to do? Should I stop working out in between the cardio sessions? Or can I still do pilates in between but tone it down perhaps so that I can still have energy for the following day? Is this a diet issue? Should I be eating more or dehydration issue or is this normal?
Sorry for the long post but I thought more details would be helpful.
Thank you.
I'm kinda new in using this. I've never been overweight my entire life. I'm petite and have always been blessed with having a really nice figure but then my 30's happened and now in my mid 30's I noticed I want to eat all the time and I gain very fast too (this is something I always had though- I gain quickly and I lose quickly).
My biggest disappointment is that my body shape is starting to change too. I'm putting more weight in my legs and stomach but to be fair that could also be due to the fact that I stopped working out consistently.
I'm overall healthy but my body is very sensitive so for example I'm very athletic with very good endurance (particularly for cardio- not so much for conditioning/weights) but I need to start things gradually. If I stop or start abruptly, I feel my body doesn't like it at all.
So I made a promise to take my health seriously now that I'm getting older and I am really really really working hard to drag myself to the gym at 6 am in the morning but there is something right now bothering me. I need tips and advice from advanced athletes to guide me.
My plan was to go to the gym on Monday, Wednesday and Saturdays and do intensive cardio workouts for an hour and so and for this week I am losing about 300+ calories per gym session. In between these cardio workouts I wanted to do pilates at home (Sundays, Tuesdays, Thursdays) because I have a sensitive neck and back and my physio therapist told me to do pilates. Ironically when I was doing pilates only I was experiencing a lot of back pain and it only went away subsided when I started the intensive cardio (not sure why).
This plan; however, didn't work out very well for me and the reason being is that I noticed when I work out every single day, I don't have energy but when I stop working out for an entire day and then do the cardio the following day, I perform REALLY well and lose a lot of calories.
I see people working out everyday so I was trying to do that. I thought it would be faster. I need to lose 2 kilos but I can't seem to be able to do it yet (my nutritionist says the closer I am to my ideal weight, the more my body will hold on to it).
So what do you advise me to do? Should I stop working out in between the cardio sessions? Or can I still do pilates in between but tone it down perhaps so that I can still have energy for the following day? Is this a diet issue? Should I be eating more or dehydration issue or is this normal?
Sorry for the long post but I thought more details would be helpful.
Thank you.
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Replies
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If you find 6 days a week too much, start and 3 or 4 and build up.
If you get pain from Pilates it could be due to bad form?0 -
TavistockToad, I wish I can workout everyday. I like that after-workout soothing feeling but maybe you're right, I don't know. I just thought it could be something I'm doing that is causing that energy drop or is this something normal that has to happen- i.e. rest days are necessary.
I had sensitive back before I picked up pilates. It's definitely worsened by bad form. I'm working with my physio specialist to fix my posture but while doing pilates and strengthening my core for about 2 weeks, I didn't see any results. It only subsided when I started grilling myself with intensive cardio. It's really weird, no? It could be that it's a coincidence though. The effect of pilates might have been working while I'm doing the cardio, that's a possibility.
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Yeah if you find 6 days too much, then don't stress and just start slow. You can always just go for a walk on your rest days, just to keep yourself still a little active but not to overexercise yourself.
Rest days also allows your muscles to rest and repair itself after strenuous workouts throughout the week.2 -
TavistockToad, I wish I can workout everyday. I like that after-workout soothing feeling but maybe you're right, I don't know. I just thought it could be something I'm doing that is causing that energy drop or is this something normal that has to happen- i.e. rest days are necessary.
The energy drop may be due to how much and/or what you're eating? how large is your deficit.
there's nothing to say that after a few months you wont be able to work out every day, if that's what you choose.0 -
2 weeks of pilates is nothing. And unless you went to a highly qualified practitioner your form could be horrible and your weak back/core exacerbated, not helped. Pilates is great if done correctly but can be terrible if done wrongly.
I'm a huge advocate for at least one rest day a week, even if it's active rest. I am also a huge advocate for not comparing yourself to others. I don't want to work out 3 hours a day 7 days a week so I don't.
You also have to adjust your expectations, you don't have much to lose and say you are petite. Your losses should be small, your deficit should also be small. If you aren't eating enough to fuel your activity then you are going to be tired, end of story.0 -
Thank you all for taking the time to help.
Janekana, I will try the walking, yes!
TavistockToad, I tried raising the protein but my body hated it. I tried the Paleo diet when I started my workout regime at the beginning of this year and then developed horrible IBS symptoms and intolerance to food I never had intolerance to before. My body is very sensitive, I have to figure out how to deal with it all the time. At the moment, I introduced dairy back into my diet and I'm trying to eat (not so clean as I used to) and slowly my body is getting adjusted to normal things but I still don't eat a lot of protein. I love vegetables/carbs more. Before going to the gym, I eat a small bowl of rice with cucumbers and just a couple of slices of avocados and I drink green juice. Been doing this for a month now and so far it's enough. After the gym, I feel SO hungry so I eat a banana and wait for lunch. During lunch I have to eat protein and at night I don't eat protein cuz it/digestion bothers me while I sleep. I need to drink more water too.
VintageFeline, I used to take dance classes a lot so my body alignment/posture is overall good. I've been also doing yoga and pilates on and off for years and I never needed 'a lot' of advice on my posture. The only issue is that I have a weak core, which I'm working on now. Because of my neck bulging disc, I also need to correct my posture more than usual. Thanks to technology I hunch forward now. I just need to point out that my back pain wasn't 'from' pilates, neither was I insinuating pilates made it worse. It just happens to be that WHEN I started the cardio workout, it could be that everything fell into place with the pilates. I just need to be consistent now.
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Yeah if you find 6 days too much, then don't stress and just start slow. You can always just go for a walk on your rest days, just to keep yourself still a little active but not to overexercise yourself.
Rest days also allows your muscles to rest and repair itself after strenuous workouts throughout the week.
This whole post is almost word-for-word what I was going to say - especially the bolded part.
Personally, I lift 4 days a week. 2 of the other 3 - Tuesday and Friday, generally - I go for a 1-1/2 mile walk at lunch. Saturday, I'll generally do some stuff around the house - not exercise per se, but at least somewhat active.
eta: I'm losing about 0.4 lb per week with this exercise regimen - right about where I want to be.
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Six days of week exercising full out is something you need to work up to. It's not a starting point.
Take rest days. If you want to be somewhat active on those rest days, a nice walk is fine.
Your body needs recovery time. Don't be that person who thinks it doesn't.4 -
You can't really go from 0 to all of the exercise overnight, that's a recipe for disaster. Fitness is something you build...I would think this would be common sense.
At any rate, I'm definitely an advocate of at least one rest day if you're doing moderate to vigorous training...not so much if most of your training is pretty light. I'm also a big advocate of my training days being of various intensities...not every training bout has to be balls out...most athletes know this...most athletes realize that improvement comes from resting and recovering and working at varying levels of intensity to train different aspects of their fitness.
Also, a rest day doesn't mean you have to sit around eating bon-bons and watching netflix...I walk on my rest days or do some yoga...sometimes I take a recovery ride (which is basically at a grandma pace) or I go for a recreational ride with my kids or something.3 -
My rest days consist of walking and maybe some ab work if I feel like it. I call it active recovery so that I can keep my TDEE high.3
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Thank you all for taking the time to help.
Janekana, I will try the walking, yes!
... VintageFeline, I used to take dance classes a lot so my body alignment/posture is overall good. I've been also doing yoga and pilates on and off for years and I never needed 'a lot' of advice on my posture. The only issue is that I have a weak core, which I'm working on now. Because of my neck bulging disc, I also need to correct my posture more than usual. Thanks to technology I hunch forward now. I just need to point out that my back pain wasn't 'from' pilates, neither was I insinuating pilates made it worse. It just happens to be that WHEN I started the cardio workout, it could be that everything fell into place with the pilates. I just need to be consistent now.
Well, I had eight years of ballet, have been practicing yoga since 1996, became a certified yoga teacher in 2002, lived in a yoga center for a year and an ashram for two years, and still have to be careful about not hurting myself with yoga. Yoga can heal and hurt.
I've become more conservative with my asana repertoire after reading 'The Science of Yoga: The Risks and the Rewards'.
I'm not claiming you ARE hurting yourself with Pilates; just pointing out that I see no basis to rule it out from what you've said.
Walking is wonderful!0 -
Exercise doesn't have to be all or nothing. It sounds like you don't want to be taking a lot of rest days. So why not just take some "50% intensity" days? Do the workout you like but don't do it quite as fast/heavy/hard/whatever. As your body adapts you might be able to amp up those lesser workout days to be 75% intensity or more.
No need to kill yourself every time you workout. There are still benefits to mixing some lighter workouts in.0 -
Thanks
Kshama, I wasn't doing pilates on my own when I was experiencing the pain. My physio therapist was keeping a close watch on me. I also plan to take her classes when she gets back from her vacation. I understand yoga can hurt, but I repeat by saying my back pain HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH PILATES. My pain started 6 months ago and no where during that time I did any pilates or yoga.
What I was trying to say was that DURING pilates my back did not improve. It only improved AFTER doing the cardio workout and having said that, I also think MAYBE pilates helped (who knows) since I was continuing with it along with the cardio but only after the cardio did I feel stronger/better.0 -
Can you swim? I have strengthened my core significantly with swimming and an aqua fitness class. No impact, great resistance, works the whole body.1
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cwolfman13
My cardio day consists of this:
15 mins on treadmill (jogging)
10 mins on the elliptical machine (toggling every minute between levels)
Another 10 minutes on the treadmill (4 very fast sprints)
10 mins cycling
---- HALFWAY - by this time I would have passed 30-45 mins and burned 200 cals ---
15 reps (3 sets) of rowing (to strengthen pelvic/core)
10 reps (3 sets) of pull-down machine (to strengthen pelvic/core)
3/2 sets of planks
A couple of core strengthening exercises (from physio therapist) (cobra, 100s, pull ups/downs, downward, boat)
20 or 15 minutes of legs/abs work
Stretching
---- by this time I would have completed an hour and a little over 15 minutes & burned 300-400 cals.
Note: I am aware that this type of workout cannot be done everyday. What I was trying to figure out is, because I usually do body conditioning a day before this type of workout, I noticed I lose energy. I can STILL complete the workout but I don't burn up to 350 or complete the workout enthusiastically. I still complete it though.
So I was wondering what can I possibly do between these cardio workouts... this schedule runs on Mondays, Wednesdays & Saturdays.0 -
cwolfman13
My cardio day consists of this:
15 mins on treadmill (jogging)
10 mins on the elliptical machine (toggling every minute between levels)
Another 10 minutes on the treadmill (4 very fast sprints)
10 mins cycling
---- HALFWAY - by this time I would have passed 30-45 mins and burned 200 cals ---
15 reps (3 sets) of rowing (to strengthen pelvic/core)
10 reps (3 sets) of pull-down machine (to strengthen pelvic/core)
3/2 sets of planks
A couple of core strengthening exercises (from physio therapist) (cobra, 100s, pull ups/downs, downward, boat)
20 or 15 minutes of legs/abs work
Stretching
---- by this time I would have completed an hour and a little over 15 minutes & burned 300-400 cals.
Note: I am aware that this type of workout cannot be done everyday. What I was trying to figure out is, because I usually do body conditioning a day before this type of workout, I noticed I lose energy. I can STILL complete the workout but I don't burn up to 350 or complete the workout enthusiastically. I still complete it though.
So I was wondering what can I possibly do between these cardio workouts... this schedule runs on Mondays, Wednesdays & Saturdays.
Honestly, it all seems pretty random and arbitrary. I would look at establishing some fitness goals (not calorie burn goals or weight loss goals, etc)...doing so will help to provide purpose and structure to your training.
I'm a cyclist and have followed various training programs over the years depending on what kind of event/race I'm training for or just to mix things up...I follow the program which is going to include rest days...it's going to include lower intensity days...it's going to include higher intensity days...it's going to include resistance training days, etc...it provides structure and my programs are designed to make me a physically better cyclist and improve my fitness and pays no mind to "I burned X calories"...I train for my fitness and eat according to my weight management goals...the two things are separate.1 -
I see. Well I thought I had a goal by doing this: Losing those 2 kilos
I noticed I lose more calories with cardio compared to toning.
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Girlwithcurls, sorry just saw your post. Yes, I should swim more. Will add that to the list! Thank u.0
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Yes that's why I was doing cardio but according to cwolfman:
"Honestly, it all seems pretty random and arbitrary. I would look at establishing some fitness goals (not calorie burn goals or weight loss goals, etc)...doing so will help to provide purpose and structure to your training."
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