Quick question from a NOOB

[SureImShore]

Hello fellow rebels/nerds! I am brand new to the forums. I have been reading this site for the past six weeks or so and it has really encouraged me to make fitness and nutrition a priority in my life. I have a long way to go, but finally feel a real passion to get fit and healthy and see it through. I will be getting more involved in the coming weeks, but I was hoping someone with more experience could help me out with a quick question regarding workout frequency and rest:

Do I need to take a full day (rest day) off before working the same muscle groups again? I have been trying to develop a full-week workout routine that will allow me five days of some type of workout and two rest days. I kind of stumbled into a great routine the other day that KILLED me but in a good way. The only problem is the routine includes workouts for every muscle group. This works out great when I do it before a rest day, but I did the routine yesterday and really want to workout again today. I have been sticking to the 1g protein/1lb body weight for the last week, and it has helped my recovery tremendously.

What do you think? I certainly don't want to set back the gains I've made, and I have read that doing the same muscle groups/excercises two or more days in a row can be self-defeating. I guess I can go for a run and do some cardio, but I really want to do some weight training. Thanks for any advice!

[d00slip]

I've seen beginner workouts that swear by a day of rest in between and ones that say weights one day followed by light cardio the next is acceptable. I would suggest starting with less strain though, assuming you are coming from a rather sedentary lifestyle (like most of us probably do ).

After a couple of weeks increase the frequency a bit and see how it goes, there's no need to rush into it. You might hurt yourself and be out of action longer than it would have taken to move up gradually.

Well that's my 2 cents at least.

Also, welcome to the community!

[Horsedog]

Welcome!! Do you NEED to take a day off in between same-muscle workouts? No. Should you? Yes. Muscles grow when they're recovering, not when you're working them. Doing the same resistance training routine 5 days in a row is going to lead to a very very quick plateau and potentially overtraining, which would be counterproductive.

Check this out - http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/training/the-importance-of-rest.html

...and this - http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/training/active-versus-passive-recovery.html

What does your routine look like?

[SureImShore]

Thanks for the responses - much appreciated!

I think I should dial it back a bit. I have been overzealous with training because I don't want to get lazy and fall off like so many times in the past. But from reading the links you posted Horsedog, I am going to end up shooting myself in the foot long term with an injury or overtraining.

Routine: Warm-up run (~ one mile), pushups, dumbell bicep curls, deadlifts, seated chest press, seated chest row, burpees, bicep curl (machine - cable), squats. Repeat everything but the run two more times (3 total sets).

I thought keeping it to only 3 sets ("supersets"? I don't know any terminology) would allow me to be ready the next day. I'm going to stick to the above three-four days a week, light cardio on two days, and at least one full rest day.