Some people say they've been working out every day for years and haven't experienced any side effects, while others say you absolutely need to give your body a 48 hours of rest, to prevent injury and because it is when your body recovers from the workout and actually builds muscle.
Note: by workout, I mean both strength (weight lifting) and cardio (running, swimming, etc.. that gets your heart rate up). You can mix them, or have them on separate days, but make sure to rest after an intensive workout.
Well, one reason for being able to train everyday and not experience any side effects / injuries is a low intensity workout. As in, working out not in sessions, throughout the whole day, 10 minutes here, 5 minutes there , 6 minutes there…
Such an exercise regimen (scattered), doesn't put enough load on your muscles for them to require a lot of rest. Vice versa, if you workout vigorously and for a long period of time (30-60 minutes) in one go, you definitely should give those muscles a decent rest.
People have different bodies, so your best bet is to listen to your body, if it gives you signals that you're putting too much load on it, in other words overtraining (overtraining causes irritability, trouble sleeping, …), you should slow down and rest.
For some people the scattered workout plan works out to be pretty effective, genetics play a role too, but exercising, if not giving you a toned body, will undoubtedly improve your health.
Yes, it does take a few years before any noticeable changes, but it's a perfect solution if you don't have enough willpower to vigorously train every other day, or your busy schedule just gives you no time for that, in this case, just scatter around short-time exercises throughout the day and be sure to get results in the long run!
Don't forget nutrition! Get carbohydrates (100% whole grain bread, breads in general, rice, pasta, prefer the higher grain versions any time) before a heavy workout for energy, and protein after (this is what is used to build muscle. Examples: egg whites, tuna, cottage cheese).
To summarize, your workout plan depends on your lifestyle and body, choose the one that works best for you and make sure to allow your body to rest, as it's a vital part of body growth, it'd be counterproductive if you didn't let your muscles to heal and grow by constantly tearing them by heavy workout sessions. Another reason for rest is, of course, to prevent injury, don't go and say I'm perfectly fit and it won't happen to me… Think long term.
"Rest is part of the workout."
Note: by workout, I mean both strength (weight lifting) and cardio (running, swimming, etc.. that gets your heart rate up). You can mix them, or have them on separate days, but make sure to rest after an intensive workout.
Well, one reason for being able to train everyday and not experience any side effects / injuries is a low intensity workout. As in, working out not in sessions, throughout the whole day, 10 minutes here, 5 minutes there , 6 minutes there…
Such an exercise regimen (scattered), doesn't put enough load on your muscles for them to require a lot of rest. Vice versa, if you workout vigorously and for a long period of time (30-60 minutes) in one go, you definitely should give those muscles a decent rest.
People have different bodies, so your best bet is to listen to your body, if it gives you signals that you're putting too much load on it, in other words overtraining (overtraining causes irritability, trouble sleeping, …), you should slow down and rest.
For some people the scattered workout plan works out to be pretty effective, genetics play a role too, but exercising, if not giving you a toned body, will undoubtedly improve your health.
Yes, it does take a few years before any noticeable changes, but it's a perfect solution if you don't have enough willpower to vigorously train every other day, or your busy schedule just gives you no time for that, in this case, just scatter around short-time exercises throughout the day and be sure to get results in the long run!
More specifically on workout schedules
- Every day (lightly): if exercising lightly, specific muscle groups or all, no long rest is needed for your muscles to repair, it's still a good idea to give your body 1 day rest a week as a whole, as a system. Don't expect to see results quickly. Also, this is not the (best) way to burn fat, but to tone your muscles.
- Every day (vigorously): by training vigorously, targeted muscles are torn and need enough time to repair and grow… But you can still workout everyday, as long as you target different muscle groups on each day, example: day 1 -> upper body part, day 2 -> lower body part, day 3 -> upper body part again and so on… This way you make sure each muscle group gets 48 hour of rest. Still, again, give your body as a whole 1 day of rest per week!
- Alternate days: train, rest, train, rest, etc… If all muscle groups are trained in the same day (as in a circuit training program) vigorously, take the next day off.
Don't forget nutrition! Get carbohydrates (100% whole grain bread, breads in general, rice, pasta, prefer the higher grain versions any time) before a heavy workout for energy, and protein after (this is what is used to build muscle. Examples: egg whites, tuna, cottage cheese).
To summarize, your workout plan depends on your lifestyle and body, choose the one that works best for you and make sure to allow your body to rest, as it's a vital part of body growth, it'd be counterproductive if you didn't let your muscles to heal and grow by constantly tearing them by heavy workout sessions. Another reason for rest is, of course, to prevent injury, don't go and say I'm perfectly fit and it won't happen to me… Think long term.
"Rest is part of the workout."
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