# To train every day or not?



## OmegaSlayer (Jul 16, 2015)

How do you guys behave?

I'm doing home fitness because I can't afford to go to the gym.
I'm currently exercising everyday for around an hour, following some kinds of programs I found around.

I read that if you want to build muscles you must make exercises every other day, as muscle developes during the rest period.

What's your experience?
Please mention if you're a fitness expert or not.


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## Ashahalasin (Jul 16, 2015)

For me, I only train 4-5 days a week. However after some of my sessions (usually only 45 minutes), i'll be quite sore the next day, so will take it off to recover.

If you're working out for a full hour each day and are not too sore the next day, I'd recommend shortening the session and increasing the intensity.

Either way, definitely take rest days otherwise you will do more harm than good in the long run. Your muscles will get fatigued and your form (and safety) will suffer for it.


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## OmegaSlayer (Jul 16, 2015)

Yesterday I did some pretty intense 30 minutes on exercise bike (upped 5 minutes from the daily training) and I was fresh after 2-3 minutes like I didn't do anything.
So I must work out something even more intense.
Yeah I have been doing from 20-30 minutes to 1 hour of exercises over 3 weeks.
I don't feel very sore...
I must say that I had been in good shape but I accumulated fat over the last 10 years but the most of my muscles are there, as my abs have started to surface again even in relaxed pose after 10 days.


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## Daar (Jul 24, 2015)

muscles are growing not in the gym
muscles grow while you relax - sleep and etc

so
if u training for a long time (at least a year i think)
than - it might be ok for you totrain everyday
but if u are new to training and not feeling yourself more or less ok on the next day
Do not do it
keep it simple for a while
everything has it's time


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## Kashmir (Jul 24, 2015)

I train 4 days a week and every so often I'll do three days to give my body some rest, and I make sure to switch it up between the days so I'm not exercising the same part of my body two workouts in a row. Are you doing mostly cardio at home or do you do weights as well?


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## bloc (Jul 25, 2015)

I've been going to the gym 3 times a week for the past few years and that's been really good for me. When it comes to weight training you are definitely correct, you want to have rest days in between your sessions. 

You might notice that the day after you workout the parts of your body that you focused on will be sore and that's a really good thing. It means your muscles have these tiny tears in them and they require protein to not only be repaired but to become bigger. 

But at the same time, it's important to give it your all in these sessions. You really want to feel exhausted by the time you're done.


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## All_¥our_Bass (Jul 25, 2015)

After a few days of training you should take 1 or 2 days off, and give your body a chance to recover.


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## HaMMerHeD (Jul 29, 2015)

I have to have a rest day, or I feel sore and tired all the time. So I work out after work M-F, do a little cardio (bike ride to the library with daughter) on Saturday, and rest on Sunday. That way, I always feel fresh and ready on Monday, and by Friday night, I feel like I've accomplished something.

I also lose weight more consistently with a rest day. The weeks I've gone without it have been the weeks I've measured the least weight loss. I don't know if there's such a thing as 'metabolic shock', but when I work out *every* day, I always feel a bit more hungry, more sluggish, and want to stop working out earlier than on weeks when I take it easy on the weekends.


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## donzilla (Oct 4, 2015)

I do things a lil different....I don't "train" every day per say..I do how ever do something every day some days are very intense with lifting or whatever..some days are really light...but I workout every day just because it makes me feel good!! For what it's worth


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## onefingersweep (Dec 10, 2015)

OmegaSlayer said:


> How do you guys behave?
> 
> I'm doing home fitness because I can't afford to go to the gym.
> I'm currently exercising everyday for around an hour, following some kinds of programs I found around.
> ...



No one can tell you whats right for you here, there's no exact science on how to optimize training, it's not something you can generalize. You will have to find what works best for you. It doesn't matter what someone else is telling you, whether they are a professor or a bum.

With that said it's probably best to have at least one rest day per week. If you're a beginner a three day per week program is probably a good start. 

Also you mention that you work out at home. I assume you have a lot of equipment at home? It will be difficult to build serious muscle without weights. Body weight training only takes you so far then you need to increase the load to build more muscle.


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## Jaek-Chi (Dec 18, 2015)

Lot of factors to take into consideration. What kind of training are you doing? If you are doing purely exercise, running, cardio etc, 5-6 a week is pretty ideal. If you are doing weights and sectional body training i'd be doing 4-5 a week. 

Cardio and exercise of that sort don't physically demand certain muscle groups to be that overworked that they need days to regenerate. Whereas when you are pushing yourself to build muscle or get stronger you need rest times.

For instance, i do the following:

Train 5 times a week. 2 x Back/Biceps, 2x Chest and triceps, 1 x pure core and legs. I warm up each training session with Cardio. Running/riding/rowing etc.

By training certain groups like this, you can for instance smash out a hard session of back and biceps, yet the next day go and do core and legs, because you've hardly used this muscle group. This gives your body time to regenerate and strengthen what you've worked out, so by the time you get to the 'back and biceps' cycle again, you've had say 4 days for those muscles to recover.

If you are doing home exercise i imagine it will be a lot of cardio based work, so start with say 4 times a week, and after month, increase to 5. Eventually you may be comfortable with 6. However, if doing this you need to make sure your diet is on top of things, otherwise your body wont be able to cope and reap the full benefits of the exercise you are doing. Do as much body weight exercises as you can. Chin ups, pull ups and dips are all awesome exercises.

Experience - Certificates/Degrees in Health and Fitness, Sport and Recreation PT. Brother has similar degrees plus Exercise physiology and Nutrition. We train together regularly and see the benefits. 

It's all about knowledge. People think weight loss etc is hard because they aren't aware of the correct ways to do it. Naturally, with absolutely no shakes, no crazy stupid diets that you can't maintain, simply from going to the gym and working hard and eating the right foods i lost 16 kgs (35lbs) in 6 weeks. That was while building muscle and growing stronger.

Research is the best thing


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