Is it okay to workout every day?

[FreshTressa]

I get such mixed info on this. I have been going to the gym every other day, alternating with jogging for about 30 minutes on my off days.

I am ready to kick it up a notch...do you think it is okay to do weights every day? Or should I still alternate days?

 

[ohMom]

as long as you don't work the same muscles groups everyday. Have you heard of Body for Life? It has great strength training routines and exercises in the back of the book that target legs one day and arms another. You could modify something like that and alternate your groups. (check your library for the book and just copy the exercises)

be careful not to burn yourself out!

good luck and PD

 

[DVCTiff]

It's good to take one day "off" to let your body rest but that doesn't mean you have to sit on the couch that day. Just do something less strenuous. And I totally agree with ohMom, you can do weights every day but just do different parts of the body - lower one day, upper one day, etc. As long as you're into it, you should make the most of it, without overdoing it.

 

[MelanieC]

Hi there,

You definately don't want to work the same muscle groups everyday. When you lift weights your muscles tear and break down. They need about 48 hour to "recover" and grow. If you worked the same muscle group the next day you would tear them more and they would never heal and grow.

Your body does need REST and recovery. It doesn't mean that you can't work out everyday, but I wouldn't lift weights even alternating every day. I try to alternate cardio in between weight lifting to give my muscles time to heal. Some weeks I do work out 6-8 days in a row, but when I feel tired, fatigued etc I rest. This week I overdid it on Sunday so I took Monday and Tuesday off and didn't do anything (cardio) till last night. You must listen to it. Overtraining can cause you to be irritable, tired, moody, depressed etc. If you listen to your body it will tell you when you need rest and you can adjust accordingly.

I fight not wanting to rest every week. I hate to rest when I feel good exercising, so what works for me is to watch my body and rest when I feel I need it. Trust me, my body tells me!!

If it were me, I would stick with the every other day / with cardio in between and move up to higher weights and maybe longer or more strenous cardio to kick it up.

The book that Molli mentions, Body for Life is very interesting. He alternates like this (this is taken from his website Body for life)

Day 1 Upper Body Training Chest/Shoulders/Triceps/Back/Biceps
Day 2 Cardiovascular Workout
Day 3 Lower Body and Abs Training Quads/Hamstrings/Calves/Abdominals
Day 4 Cardiovascular Workout
Day 5 Upper Body Training Chest/Shoulders/Triceps/Back/Biceps
Day 6 Cardiovascular Workout
Day 7 Rest

Don't be afraid to play around with your exercise schedule and find what works best for you. Good luck!

 

[NancyIL]

I bought the book Body for Life today after a friend recommended it. I did the cardio as recommended in his book on Monday and today. Yesterday I did my usual lower-body weight workout, but will give the upper-body workout featured in the book a try tomorrow.