How many rest days do you take?

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sarah_willis110
sarah_willis110 Posts: 40 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Do you take them between training days or all in a row?

I usually do 2 on, 2 off. But thinking of doing 4 straight this week. My arms are sore from upper yesterday, so I don't know if lower is a good idea since I'm deadlifting etc.
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  • herringboxes
    herringboxes Posts: 259 Member
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    Recovery is part of progress, so I always take a day of rest from lifting between lifting days. But I’m doing full body compounds.
  • tara84664
    tara84664 Posts: 3 Member
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    I’d suggest taking them in between training days. Your body needs that time to heal. Rotate muscle groups so that you’re not working out the same ones two days in a row.

    I am a big fan of legit strength training three days a week with two days of core (doesn’t have to be heavy) and one day entirely resting. That muscle needs a chance to rebuild.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
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    sarah_willis110 wrote: »
    Do you take them between training days or all in a row?

    I usually do 2 on, 2 off. But thinking of doing 4 straight this week. My arms are sore from upper yesterday, so I don't know if lower is a good idea since I'm deadlifting etc.

    I would suggest following a structured program. That program will dictate your rest days. It really depends on what kind of split you're running too, as well as how new or advanced you are.
  • williamsonmj1
    williamsonmj1 Posts: 85 Member
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    If you are lifting, it really depends on your program.

    I am doing a classic 'thee day a week/full body'- I work out Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. Each day has heavy lower body exercise, a heavy press and plenty of pulling of some sort. Plus assistance. Since that's quite a lot, I need the 1-day/2-day rests. Sometimes because of work or something I miss a day and end up doing two days in a row to catchup and it's brutal.

    However, there are plenty of programs where you don't need a rest between every day. E.g. a lot of bodybuilders do the famous 'one bodypart per day' thing which can end up being five or six days a week. If one day is arms and one day is back, the overlap is pretty minimal. There's also a very popular template 'Push/Pull/Legs'- one day is pressing (bench, triceps etc), one day is pulling (rows, curls, chinups, etc) and one is squats and so on. This is usually done six days a week, but each body part gets 3-4 days rest each time. There's also programs where each day is organized around one of the 'Big 4'- squat day, bench day, deadlift day, overhead day. Again, these don't need a day's rest every time. You can do like Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday.

    It does get a bit more complex when you also start adding cardio. But you get the general idea.
  • tomcustombuilder
    tomcustombuilder Posts: 1,889 Member
    edited September 2023
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    Really it would come down to if you deadlift or squat. Take a rest day after those otherwise rest days just end up being days where you have other things going on in your life and if you have no life just do what feels best.
  • nossmf
    nossmf Posts: 9,892 Member
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    It is good to have rest days programmed into your routine, but ultimately the point behind a rest day is to recover before working the same muscles again. If your body is telling you that you need another day, listen to your body. I intentionally program in a full week of rest every three months for this purpose.

    If your body is telling you that you are constantly in need to rest days, then it may be worth analyzing your routine to see if you're doing too much volume, either all at once or over consecutive workouts.
  • tomcustombuilder
    tomcustombuilder Posts: 1,889 Member
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    Recovery will be different for different people. Sleep, diet, training intensity and age all play their part. Rest days are more about how you’re feeling rather than a cut and dried rule of a certain program.

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