Strength training: do I really need rest days?

[FlyingForest]

Hi

I’ve just started strength training and my preferred YouTube videos are 20 mins long full body workouts. I’ve been doing these 6 times a week for the past week and I’d like to continue this way but I’ve read stuff about doing 45 mins 3 times a day. I don’t think I can do 2 videos a day to be honest as I’m pretty exhausted after 20 mins. So is it ok to do a little bit every day or are rest days really important?

There are people who say they go to the gym every day and do so and so. In my opinion these people are not making so much of an effort if they are able to work out every single day. If you push yourself hard enough, then the next day you won’t feel like going again.

I don’t agree with that. I go to the gym or run 6 times a week and work very hard. Our bodies are incredibly adaptable.

Yeh I don’t agree with that either. I often train consecutive days and am motivated to do so. I have a coach, he wouldn’t be letting me slack off. I compete in powerlifting at a national level which I wouldn’t be doing if I wasn’t trying. My programme is designed to let me do that. And building up fatigue is part of the process.

I don’t think 2.5kg 20 mins a day is going to fatigue your body that much so I’d crack on and continue what you’re doing. Do you do anything else? Fast walk/slow jog?

I do yoga/ Pilates or run on my rest days from weights as my head doesn’t like complete rest days and cardio is important for general health. I’ll sometimes train twice a day. It’s about what works for you.
my rough schedule:
Mon - upper body
t - threshold run
w - full body
th - yoga and long walk
fri - lower body
sat - hyrox (weights and short runs)
sun - long run

every couple of weeks I’ll have a Sunday of rest or just a gentle walk.

Dont forget the creatine!

So you do have a rest day, if you work out 6 days a week. But even during those 6 days you might not push yourself hard enough to warrant another rest day. No disrespect, but it sounds like that. You probably think you work out very hard, but if you go the next day again it means that you don’t.

Your muscles grown during the repair process so I’d say an element of rest or even lighter rest / active recovery wouldn’t do you any harm.

Did you also read the poster beneath me? Is she also not pushing herself hard? I do have one rest day a week as I said. The point that I disagreed with was that if someone has been to the gym the day before they will not push themselves as hard the next day. That may be the case for you but is certainly not for everyone. If you train on consecutive days your body will adapt.

I did read the poster beneath you but RayKray sounds like a professional athlete who competes in powerlifting at national level.
I also don’t understand how people have all that free time to work out sometimes twice a day. Especially if they have children, a family life, jobs and other obligations? Are they pensioners / unemployed / kept women or just millionaires? I’m sure they have all kind of household staff like cleaners, housekeepers and nannies. There’s no way you clean your own house, juggle two children, work, all this without any paid help and you can work out twice a day, or sometimes even just once. It’s baffling, honestly!

@ElCorazonI’m not sure if that’s a question or a criticism. Assuming the former, I get up early, prioritise it over lots of things, don’t do much else and have a supportive husband. The vast majority of elite powerlifters (I am not one) fit it in around work. There’s one comes to mind who recently won the world championships who is a GP and did reduce her days for comp prep but just short term. Some coach others so that is the kind of job that isn’t standard hours so fits easily around training. But this is why sports funding matters so much so then the athlete can focus on their sport - we’re not an Olympic sport so don’t get any. I was listening to Emily Campbell who is an elite weightlifter(which is an Olympic sport) the other day and she trains twice a day.

I work part time have kids and train 2-3 hours a day. Works for me!

This is a relief I always over think advice and think I'm
Doing it wrong!

I agree with the advice to do what is working for you. I exercise 6 or 7 days a week unless I am feeling fatigued or life gets in the way. I lift heavy.

That said, if you do get to a stage where you want to go significantly heavier you might be better off splitting your 20 min sessions, so you alternate lower and upper body. That gives one area a bit of a rest on the day you mainly work the other.

Yes it was a question because I read a lot of blogs about training and gym-life, there’s posts on Mumsnet too and also examples of people from real life. Some of them seem to work out every single day. If they are fitness industry insiders I can understand it as they are in some kind of gym or health club all day, so when they don’t have clients or other obligations, they can just work out. I also know some people who train hard and have kids and family, but they are quite well-off and have tons of domestic help from cleaners, nannies, gardeners and such. Their spouse is very hands-on. But if someone doesn’t have these circumstances then I guess it’s very difficult to allocate the time for a workout on top of everything else. After an exhausting day at work, I doubt many parents can go to the gym when there’s kids to look after.

I know lots of competitive powerlifters who have kids and train a lot. They’re run of the mill people, not wealthy with lots of hired help. Like I said it’s something we prioritise. Lots of getting up early - I’m frequently up at 5 or 6 to train. It’s what we love and enjoy so don’t do much else. I don’t drink, or sit and watch tv, or go out for meals, or nights out, or weekends away or any of that stuff. My social life is lifting. Some have home gyms in their garages which helps I guess - I don’t. Training helps me with exhausting work days - it’ll make me feel better. But yes of course it’s not for everyone.

@WarriorNwhere did you sign up, interested in listening!

It’s a 12 week course on the Hailey happens app. They do a few different ones, power happens is the beginner, Includes a lot of q and a zooms. I already had weights and some stretchy things and a bike for cardio at home. I think it’s mostly aimed at women aged 40 +

I thought it was too easy at first but it’s really helped my menopausal joints and made me do exercises I would never know how to do and I’ve really progressed. It’s basically 3 days lifting and two cardio per week which progressively gets harder. You can pause and copy workouts to the calendar if you find you miss any. Half hour or hour options for weights. Clear videos, No music so can listen to anything else at the same time. they’ve introduced a subscription now too for more things but you can still buy the basic courses and keep for ever.

I spent a lot of time looking around and into it before I bought it. I’d been doing other things myself at home for over a year but needed a clearer structure and can’t afford a PT - also time, I like the flexibility and find it easier to fit into and around work and family.

I’ve been doing harder sit sessions in the early weeks as I was able to and had already learnt how to do those but it’s a good way to be introduced to that too. I went back and repeated some lifting weeks when I didn’t feel ready to move on too.

FWIW, one of the things both Sims and Babcock talk about is fitting all this around being a parent and also dealing with early menopausal issues. Some of it is in gyms but I’ve just used what I can at home or swapped for alternative exercises. Used a sofa for a bench, stairs for steps for example.