How often do you guys have rest days where you don't do any exercise?
For a long time now I've been training pretty much everyday doing a full body weights session for about an hour one day and then an hour long cardio session the following day and then back to weights the next day and so on....
I've regularly go for 2-3 months without missing a day. I think I'm probably in denial about over-training but find it very difficult not to train every day (mainly because I feel guilty if I dont).
Is training everyday bad? Is one rest day a week enough or should I do a weights\cardio\rest split instead?
Rest Days
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pdellorto
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Re: Rest Days
I try to get 2 days a week with no training. That leaves me 5 days for 2 weight training days and 3 MMA days, and my extra cardio gets slotted in on those days.
If you're doing alright, that's fine, it's not too much for you. But personally I find it's easier to go too hard than go too easy, so I need to give myself days off and make sure I take them.
If you're doing alright, that's fine, it's not too much for you. But personally I find it's easier to go too hard than go too easy, so I need to give myself days off and make sure I take them.
Re: Rest Days
It's going to be tough to resist traning but I think I need to be honest and admit I'm not resting enough. I think I'll start introducing one rest day a week and see how I go.
Re: Rest Days
I do no exercise at all on monday and saturday of the week - seems to work well for me
Re: Rest Days
You'r doing full body workouts everyday? With cardio everyday? What are your gains like? You gain size and strength while resting.
Re: Rest Days
No I do weights one day cardio the next day and then back to weights the next day and so on.
I've made gains in strength and I feel bigger even though the scales haven't moved at all. But I have started feeling tired and dropped a bit of intensity in recent weeks.
Since I started training about a year ago I've managed to keep upping the workload in sessions but maybe now I've reached a level where I can't train like that everyday and still keep moving forward.
I've made gains in strength and I feel bigger even though the scales haven't moved at all. But I have started feeling tired and dropped a bit of intensity in recent weeks.
Since I started training about a year ago I've managed to keep upping the workload in sessions but maybe now I've reached a level where I can't train like that everyday and still keep moving forward.
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KenDowns
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Re: Rest Days
I'm a beginner myself, but having been at it for 7 months, this is what people told me, and I found it to be true.
As a complete beginner, in weeks 1-8 (appx) I was simply not strong enough to lift enough weights to wear myself out. I was doing split A/B full body 6 days/week, for 3 full body workouts per week.
Then somewhere about 3 months in I switched to 4 days/week almost without thinking about it. It was almost unconscious. Since beginners make rapid gains almost no matter what, I had gotten just strong enough that I needed mental focus to keep pushing the weights, my body would complain "This is not fun, let's stop" long before I had worked out the muscles. Going to four days/week seemed to really help this, it was for me a lot about mental recovery.
I also read here and elsewhere that when you get strong enough to lift heavier, you are also wearing out your neuro-muscular system, and that needs recovery too. I cannot really link this to my experience, having no way to measure it, but it seems advisable to listen to the experts on these things.
So bottom line, one beginner to another, if you can do 6 days/week and you are making gains, keep at it. When the gains stall, adding more rest and recovery would be one of the first things to try.
One more comment. I love working out, I love lifting. I wish I could do it every day. But I can't. I don't get the benefit unless I let my body recover. That's kind of a bummer, but it also tells me I'm doing something right and getting somewhere, so I can live with it.
OK, one more one more comment. When I started taking more recovery days, I also spent more time reading this board and others. That plus the mental cooling off period on off-days gives me time to reflect on the last workout, what worked, what didn't, where I might be sore, why, etc. It's in these times that I usually gain insight, put 2 + 2 together between the latest workout experience, what the experts say, etc., so that I can make productive changes to my program. This is also the time I spend reading up on diet, sleep, and all of those other things you have to get into to make the workout really effective.
As a complete beginner, in weeks 1-8 (appx) I was simply not strong enough to lift enough weights to wear myself out. I was doing split A/B full body 6 days/week, for 3 full body workouts per week.
Then somewhere about 3 months in I switched to 4 days/week almost without thinking about it. It was almost unconscious. Since beginners make rapid gains almost no matter what, I had gotten just strong enough that I needed mental focus to keep pushing the weights, my body would complain "This is not fun, let's stop" long before I had worked out the muscles. Going to four days/week seemed to really help this, it was for me a lot about mental recovery.
I also read here and elsewhere that when you get strong enough to lift heavier, you are also wearing out your neuro-muscular system, and that needs recovery too. I cannot really link this to my experience, having no way to measure it, but it seems advisable to listen to the experts on these things.
So bottom line, one beginner to another, if you can do 6 days/week and you are making gains, keep at it. When the gains stall, adding more rest and recovery would be one of the first things to try.
One more comment. I love working out, I love lifting. I wish I could do it every day. But I can't. I don't get the benefit unless I let my body recover. That's kind of a bummer, but it also tells me I'm doing something right and getting somewhere, so I can live with it.
OK, one more one more comment. When I started taking more recovery days, I also spent more time reading this board and others. That plus the mental cooling off period on off-days gives me time to reflect on the last workout, what worked, what didn't, where I might be sore, why, etc. It's in these times that I usually gain insight, put 2 + 2 together between the latest workout experience, what the experts say, etc., so that I can make productive changes to my program. This is also the time I spend reading up on diet, sleep, and all of those other things you have to get into to make the workout really effective.
Re: Rest Days
I don't even know what an Operator is.
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wilburburns
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Re: Rest Days
Should we be posting links to the complete book?
Cliff
Cliff
Re: Rest Days
Probably not. A hint that a complete book is available is usually sufficient anyway.wilburburns wrote:Should we be posting links to the complete book?
Cliff
Re: Rest Days
Uhh yeah,,, don't say anything about that link, ok?
Re: Rest Days
Well I took more rest this week and felt the benefits, I've had some good sessions this week and was really able to attack it. I'll be making sure I continue taking rest from now on.
