Basic training 3 days a week. What about the 4 other days in the week?

[Shark]

I just started the Basic Training program for my sadly small upper body muscles. I have to start out slow because I am nowhere near to being able to take one good-form pushup.

I train the 3 times a week the plan says, but I am wondering if it is OK to go running, swimming or something else on the other days of the week? Or does my body need that rest to build muscle?

[scotticus]

Muscle gets built during rest. Also, having that feeling of constantly wanting to do more is great motivation moving forward. That said, if one of your goals is fat loss, throwing in a bit of cardio won't hurt!

[Shark]

Thanks for the reply. I will start throwing in some cardio once I am done with the basic training. My legs hurt! I am not really looking to loose weight so much as making muscle. But I enjoy cardio a lot, so once I stop feeling like I got run over by a truck I will start some jogging.

[aj_rock]

Just play it by ear. If the cardio makes you feel like recovery isn't optimal, you'll need to cut back.

Generally though, hard cardio like HIIT or tabata or even IT is counter to building muscle, especially in your legs. They simply don't get enough rest using high intensity cardio.

[ZenGwen]

Definitely have at least one full rest day. I do weights MWF, cardio TTSat and rest on Sunday. If your main focus is building muscle mass, you probably want to have more rest time than that, especially if you're pushing yourself really hard during your training.