Rest Days?

Question

Over the last few weeks I have been tweaking my workout schedule, and have read some very mixed thoughts on rest days. By rest days I mean not lifting weights or doing situps AT ALL. Merely doing cardio only. As far as building muscle goes for me, I have a sweet routine and a good amount of cardio. I never work muscles 2 days in a row, and I have a good cardio plan. While my upper body is resting, I do ab/leg stuff, and vice versa. But do I need to take breaks from muscle building completely?

Answer 1

Hit each bodypart hard once a week and your muscles will grow faster than if you overtrain them. I tried this 2 years ago and haven't regretted it since. My muscles are fuller and bigger, my bench press has gone up 30 pounds and I spend less time in the gym. I hit two bodyparts a session and am in the gym just 3 days a week. Just make sure your taking in enough protein.

Answer 2

"rest" is rather subjective for those of us that exercise on a daily basis. to me a rest day is doing some form of interval training for cardio like HIIT or Max-OT cardio.

light cardio the day after resistance training can act as active-recovery and actually speed the rate of recovery by increasing blood flow (more oxygen, nutrients, etc.) to the areas recovering from exercise.

Answer 3

No, a day or two is good enough to recover.