how many days rest?

how many days rest should i be having per week. i'm doing full body workouts 3 days, (tues, thurs, sat) and hiit 3 days (mon, weds, fri) is one day off enough? i don't want to overtax my body and lose efficiency with my workouts and weight loss plan.
~thanks
 
thats exactly what ive been doing recently. i used to do cardio after my workouts, but i was doing a simpler split and not a full body. once i switched to the full body i started cardio only on off days (cause the full body was kicking my butt) and Sunday is my rest day
 
Its hard to answer your question properly without knowing all your stats and your body type.
Some people can put their bodies through hell and repair fine. Others would last a month or so on your program, then burn out.
 
scubadhp said:
how many days rest should i be having per week. i'm doing full body workouts 3 days, (tues, thurs, sat) and hiit 3 days (mon, weds, fri) is one day off enough? i don't want to overtax my body and lose efficiency with my workouts and weight loss plan.
~thanks

Try it and see. Unless your fitness levels are low you shouldn't have any problems IMO.
 
newf said:
Try it and see. Unless your fitness levels are low you shouldn't have any problems IMO.

Some people can only workout 3 times each week, each major muscle group once each week. If they do more, they overtrain.. This does not mean they have low fitness levels, its a matter of body type.
I work out 3 times each week. When I do more, my body doesnt like it. I hit my muscles hard and give them 6 days of rest before i do it again.
I dont mean to sound as though I am taking offence to what was said, but its not always a matter of how fit someone is.
 
niceone said:
Some people can only workout 3 times each week, each major muscle group once each week. If they do more, they overtrain.. This does not mean they have low fitness levels, its a matter of body type.
I work out 3 times each week. When I do more, my body doesnt like it. I hit my muscles hard and give them 6 days of rest before i do it again.
I dont mean to sound as though I am taking offence to what was said, but its not always a matter of how fit someone is.

You can improve recovery levels and work capactity. I seriously doubt any person can't stimulate the major muscle groups more then once a week using a smart program. I never heard of such a situation.

I've been has high has 6 fullbody sessions a week, running about 30min each.

Overtraining while it has merit, alot of people use it has a crutch to take it easy.

I agree people respond better to different programs but the once per week split is something i never use. I think its garabge and the DOMS sucks. Who wants to limp around a few days every week after some heavy squats and deads? I don't. :)
 
newf said:
Overtraining while it has merit, alot of people use it has a crutch to take it easy.
And a lot of people overtrain, don't know why they are not progressing, then spend years adjusting their workouts while maintaining the same frequency and not making any progress.
To each their own i guess. I prefer to stimulate the most muscle fibers quick and then let that area recover fully before i blast it again. Of course i dont stick with this 365, i switch to 10x10's to fend of plateau, and i give myself two week breaks. But this worked for me and when I used to workout out much more than I do now, i was not making nearly as much progress.

I know guys who eat pizza and drink beer every day and they hit the gym 4-5 times times and are jacked. If i tried doing that, I would be fat and overtrained. my body type requires rest and responds well to my routines. Same goes for the thousands of other peeps who use the program im on.
 
Overtraining is BS in my opinion. People that don't progress are usually not eating right, loads are too low or they use wussy isolation excercises and machines.

Believe me once you truly overtrain yourself you'll know what it feels like and be less likely to do it later in the game. I've hit the wall a few times. Its not pretty. I would feel like utter crap and sleep for hours at a time. Headaches, body aches. Geez i reemeber the first time i was in bed for 2 freakin days, smashed. It also can keep you up which is even worse.

Overtrained? Simple rest for a week.

My 2 cents.
 
Last edited:
Overtraining is a fashionword no doubt, not saying it cant happen but its used way to often to describe whats really a case of reaching a plateau, motivation changing etc.

I train every day alternating weightlifting and cardio and thats no problemat all. Your body is made to MOVE daily and you wont drop dead if you exercise one out of 24h a day. The body can take much more work than most people think.
 
newf said:
Overtraining is BS in my opinion. People that don't progress are usually not eating right, loads are too low or they use wussy isolation excercises and machines.

Believe me once you truly overtrain yourself you'll know what it feels like and be less likely to do it later in the game. I've hit the wall a few times. Its not pretty. I would feel like utter crap and sleep for hours at a time. Headaches, body aches. Geez i reemeber the first time i was in bed for 2 freakin days, smashed. It also can keep you up which is even worse.

Overtrained? Simple rest for a week.

My 2 cents.

true. not eating right and having bad form or just plain dont know what the freck your doin in the gym lol

being focused and an adequate knowledge of how the human body works and how muscle works is the main factor in one's fitness progress.
 
Do you guys know when your muscles grow? They grow when you are resting. Do you know how many people work muscles that haven't repaired fully? Millions..
Some people NEED more rest than others or they will overtrain. Some people can just go forever.
Maybe guys who say overtraining is bs don't actually understand the physiology of muscle stimulation/growth. Its not about being lazy, its about training right. Some people can train more than others.. period.

Another thing that a lot of people do not understand is that overtraining doesnt necessarily mean that they work out too many times in a week, but they literally spend too much time in the gym during their sessions.
 
niceone said:
Do you guys know when your muscles grow? They grow when you are resting. Do you know how many people work muscles that haven't repaired fully? Millions..
Some people NEED more rest than others or they will overtrain. Some people can just go forever.
Maybe guys who say overtraining is bs don't actually understand the physiology of muscle stimulation/growth. Its not about being lazy, its about training right. Some people can train more than others.. period.

Another thing that a lot of people do not understand is that overtraining doesnt necessarily mean that they work out too many times in a week, but they literally spend too much time in the gym during their sessions.

righteously said. couldn't say any better ;)
 
niceone said:
Do you guys know when your muscles grow? They grow when you are resting. Do you know how many people work muscles that haven't repaired fully? Millions..
Some people NEED more rest than others or they will overtrain. Some people can just go forever.
Maybe guys who say overtraining is bs don't actually understand the physiology of muscle stimulation/growth. Its not about being lazy, its about training right. Some people can train more than others.. period.

Another thing that a lot of people do not understand is that overtraining doesnt necessarily mean that they work out too many times in a week, but they literally spend too much time in the gym during their sessions.
And Im still saying that way way to many people worry about being overtrained when there are other problems causing their lack of result.

scubadhp, 3days gym 3days HIIT a week is no problem at all for a healthy individual.
 
Back
Top