Rest??? What is that?

leahrochelle
leahrochelle Posts: 218
edited December 2024 in Fitness and Exercise
Hello all.
I just joined MFP well like 20 minutes ago.
I joined a gym a week and a half ago and am down 7.5 pounds already. I am going to the gym 6 days a week and that is working out great for me but I was told today that I am supposed to give my muscles more time to relax and heal or something.
Im not sure, I am loving working out. Also I am afraid if I take to much time away I will get out of the routine and screw it all up.

How often are you supposed to take a day off?

How long should you wait between work outs?

Is it damaging to do a hard core work out everyday?

thoughts? knowledge?
I would love some input.:smile:

Replies

  • Di3012
    Di3012 Posts: 2,247 Member
    Hello all.
    I just joined MFP well like 20 minutes ago.
    I joined a gym a week and a half ago and am down 7.5 pounds already. I am going to the gym 6 days a week and that is working out great for me but I was told today that I am supposed to give my muscles more time to relax and heal or something.
    Im not sure, I am loving working out. Also I am afraid if I take to much time away I will get out of the routine and screw it all up.

    How often are you supposed to take a day off?

    How long should you wait between work outs?

    Is it damaging to do a hard core work out everyday?

    thoughts? knowledge?
    I would love some input.:smile:

    Hi Leah! Welcome to MFP!

    Rest days are vitally important, gives your body a chance to repair itself, especially after heavy training sessions.

    Personally I only train (I do running) every other day, but that's because I am getting older now and take longer to recover :laugh:

    A hard core work out (are you talking about weights?) everyday may not be the way to go if you are talking about working out the same muscle-group every session. Overtraining would come to mind here.
  • ishtar13
    ishtar13 Posts: 528 Member
    It depends on what you're doing.

    If you're primarily doing cardio, including classes, then just one rest day a week should be fine.

    If you're lifting heavy weights, you can't work the same muscle group two days in a row. That means either full body every other day or a split routine.
  • Phrak
    Phrak Posts: 353 Member
    Depends on your workouts, but i weight train 9 times a week. As long as i get 48hrs rest between each muscle group I am fine..

    I do not believe in over training, only under recovery.
  • xTwK
    xTwK Posts: 121
    If someone told you that you need to give your muscles more time to relax then they were implying that you're working out the same muscle area every single day, which in that case yes you need to give them a break. Never workout the same muscle within 48 hours of the last time you did so.

    I take 2 days off from exercise a week but do cardio every day.

    What exactly do you mean "wait between workouts"? Like you're working out more than once a day or something?

    Working out is suppose to be damaging in a sense, you build muscle by tearing down the muscle from exercise and it rebuilds while resting. But to answer what I think you mean, no it's not damaging, I workout hard every single day I exercise, that's how you see real results.
  • beccapink
    beccapink Posts: 28
    Welcome leah ! for me i work out 5 to 6 days a week and i take 2 days off a week to rest , my body needs the break and so does my mind. For me i love having days off of being lazy ! lol :tongue: but everyone is different and do what works for you !
  • leahrochelle
    leahrochelle Posts: 218
    I am not working the same muscles everyday.
    I am at least switching every other day.
    So that isnt to much at all right?
    People at my office are telling me to chill but i dont know what they know.
    I am the youngest person in the office by like 10 years. So I figured I should ask you all.



    -I mean, say I go to a zumba class tonight at 7. would it be to much to go to a body pump class at 5 tomorrow morning?
  • jogglesngoggles
    jogglesngoggles Posts: 362 Member
    I too am an exercise junkie, but one day a week I do only yoga or stretching which is soo good for you anyways, and it gives my body time to recoup and rest up for the next week ahead. Welcome, and good luck!
  • leahrochelle
    leahrochelle Posts: 218
    I too am an exercise junkie, but one day a week I do only yoga or stretching which is soo good for you anyways, and it gives my body time to recoup and rest up for the next week ahead. Welcome, and good luck!

    great idea thank you!
  • jogglesngoggles
    jogglesngoggles Posts: 362 Member



    -I mean, say I go to a zumba class tonight at 7. would it be to much to go to a body pump class at 5 tomorrow morning?

    definitely not!! those are two entirely different workouts!! I do both of those classes regularly!!!
  • TadaGanIarracht
    TadaGanIarracht Posts: 2,615 Member
    Welcome! Congrats on your loss and good luck!

    But as for your question, I rest when I'm sore but just for a day. Your body needs to rest to repair and that's actually when the muscles "grow". Surprisingly your body does more for fitness at rest after a workout than it does during BUT you have to workout for that to be so, obviously. Lol.
  • allymacary
    allymacary Posts: 54 Member
    I found what works for me is to work out for two weeks straight then take a day off. Now when I say work out it doesn't necessarily mean going to the gym for an hour for two weeks straight. It could be a 20 minute pilates DVD, a run, a walk, just something to get me moving. I do sometimes run or go to the gym when I feel sore. I'll admit sometimes I feel like I can't (well let's be serious, don't really want to) work out but if I push myself to do something/anything more times than not get in a full workout. ((Full disclosure: I love to eat and find dieting very hard. I've just accepted I have to work off what I eat.))

    When it comes down to it, if you really felt physically unable to work out you wouldn't. Do what works for your body. I hope this helps!
  • leahrochelle
    leahrochelle Posts: 218

    definitely not!! those are two entirely different workouts!! I do both of those classes regularly!!!

    LOVE them both!
  • Captain_Tightpants
    Captain_Tightpants Posts: 2,215 Member
    Depends on how you define damaging. Damaging to weight loss success - yeah maybe.

    If you aren't eating enough and are working out too hard you'll likely see a rapid drop at first (as your body freaks out and dumps all its water weight) probably followed by a lengthy (and I mean months lengthy) plateau. Ultimately, if you're stubborn and patient enough you may well get through the plateau and resume weight loss at a more moderate pace. More likely you'll follow the 98% of other statistical dietary failures (yep, 98% is the real 5 year regain statistic), and gain it all back plus about 10% more.

    A better plan is make gentle, permanently sustainable lifelong changes to your eating and exercise habits. I've seen so many people go at it hard and burn themselves out. I've done it myself too. No one thinks it's going to happen to them because they feel so good at first but it inevitably does.

    Anyways, enough rambling... to cut to the chase I'd say slow down a little.
  • leahrochelle
    leahrochelle Posts: 218
    Depends on how you define damaging. Damaging to weight loss success - yeah maybe.

    If you aren't eating enough and are working out too hard you'll likely see a rapid drop at first (as your body freaks out and dumps all its water weight) probably followed by a lengthy (and I mean months lengthy) plateau. Ultimately, if you're stubborn and patient enough you may well get through the plateau and resume weight loss at a more moderate pace. More likely you'll follow the 98% of other statistical dietary failures (yep, 98% is the real 5 year regain statistic), and gain it all back plus about 10% more.

    A better plan is make gentle, permanently sustainable lifelong changes to your eating and exercise habits. I've seen so many people go at it hard and burn themselves out. I've done it myself too. No one thinks it's going to happen to them because they feel so good at first but it inevitably does.

    Anyways, enough rambling... to cut to the chase I'd say slow down a little.

    Thank you.
    You put that into perspective and you are most likely right.

    Slow and steady wins the race right??
  • kylTKe
    kylTKe Posts: 146 Member
    It's pretty amazing that people will try to convince you that working out too much somehow hinders your fitness or weight loss goals. Training more will get you in better shape and make you lose more weight (assuming calories are held constant). The only consideration is if you're trying to put on a lot of muscle mass, which it seems obvious that you're not. Train 7 days a week if you can. Your only minor concern should be over-training related injuries like tendinitis or IT band syndrome. You're not going to hit some plateau because you're burning too many calories, that's insane.

    I suppose one final note is that if you were serious about some sport it can sometimes be helpful to take rest days. But for the average person who just wants to lose weight or get in shape, more is better.
  • jacksonpt
    jacksonpt Posts: 10,413 Member
    In my opinion, they body is capable of a lot more that people realize. People often confuse rest with, um, rest. The rest you need is sleep. The rest you don't need is days off (provided you are giving your body enough sleep and calories).

    Personally, rest is much more mental than it is physical. I take rest days when I'm feeling burned out or my workouts go from being fun to being work. If I'm not into it mentally, I'll take a break. Otherwise, keep on keepin' on baby!

    Edit for clarification:
    When I say you don't need rest days, I'm assuming that you aren't at the gym doing heavy squats and deads every day for 3 weeks. Assuming you have a reasonable variety in your workouts you should be fine with minimal days off.
  • leahrochelle
    leahrochelle Posts: 218
    thanks guys!

    I will keep doing what I am doing.

    Its amazing what a change in diet (that I can realistically stick to) and working out can do!
    Who knew?!?!(sarcasm)

    :wink:
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