Is it good to take a day or two off a week from exercise routine?

I heard once somewhere that your muscles need occasional breaks to fully build. Is this true?

yep.

and, never work same muscles two days in a row.

Definitely, ask any bodybuilder.

x3..  exercise breaks the muscles down.  Rest rebuilds them strong.

It also depends on the effort, length. For example if you are riding a bike 2-3 hours a day at endurance pace with some high intensity thrown in, then yes. On the other hand if you are doing like a 15 minute spin at an easy pace then no real break is necessary. I guess what I am trying to say it depends on how much you stress your muscles.

UD

Original Post by umneydurak:

it depends on how much you stress your muscles.

This. 

Well I run a mile and a half twice a day, and do strength training(arm exercises, etc) everyday.

Original Post by ecwk6:

Well I run a mile and a half twice a day, and do strength training(arm exercises, etc) everyday.

What are your goals here? This is bizarre.

i usually go by what my body tells me. if my muscles are particularly sore or tired ill take a rest day, if not i wont.

If you are looking to gain muscle, you should be doing a full body routine with heavy weights (as heavy as you can handle with good form), and taking at least 48 hrs between workouts.

Lifting weights with just your arms every day a) doesn't focus on the larger muscle groups and b) doesn't give your arms time to recover - muscle growth happens during rest, not during lifting.

Not to mention running is a an excellent way to burn off muscle

Original Post by ecwk6:

Spirochete- I am gaining weight, and as per my physical therapists instruction(I have a very weak back and bad knees and joints) I need to be gaining muscle too.

Then your physical therapist is not an ED expert, otherwise he would know that when underweight people gain weight, they automatically gain muscle as well as fat. This is because your muscles have atrophied and gaining weight restores them to a more normal size. So you will gain muscle without doing any exercise.

I can't see how your running could be doing anything to help you recover from your ED - it can be very dangerous at a low BMI as you are at risk of cardiac arrest, and you'll slow your rate of weight gain. Running isn't a good muscle-builder, and lifting weights every day means your muscles can't recover. Get a new therapist; one who knows what they're on about. The one you have right now seems clueless.

You need to focus on weights and not so much on the running if you're trying to gain. Work upped body one day and then lower body the next, each for about 20-30 minutes and alternate those days to give your muscles rest. Take one day off every week completely.

I'm not sure why we think running doesn't build muscle?!? I can see how one would not see the "build" of muscle one would get from lifting weights, but I am reminded of a story told to me by an ultramarathoner who went into the hospital for an xray of a torn muscle. The nurse told her that her legs were just one big mass of muscle.

Original Post by merylwhite1:

Running isn't a good muscle-builder...

This I understand.  Muscles will adapt to the job that is being required of them.  Running will not bulk up the muscles the way lifting will.  Also, if running causes a calorie deficit that is severe enough, I could see it drawing down muscle tissue for fuel.  Serzly, running and cycling is just a different form of pushing weight.

Otherwise, this whole running does not create muscle stuff is just FUD....

Sorry to hijack your post there, ecwk6...

EDIT:  Not to mention that running/cycling does LITTLE  to NOTHING for the upper body...

Original Post by wesmckean:

I'm not sure why we think running doesn't build muscle?!? Original Post by merylwhite1:

 

]Otherwise, this whole running does not create muscle stuff is just FUD....

Sorry to hijack your post there, ecwk6...

EDIT:  Not to mention that running/cycling does LITTLE  to NOTHING for the upper body...

 Hijack away! My legs are 'SICK' with muscle...and I'm a runner! [Although I also do weight training @ 3 x's a week/2 hrs each of those days....

Any to the who....to the OP...I also don't have a clue what kind of workout you are doing to attain your goals..which are ...?? to gain weight? Stop running...lift 2 -3 times a week....or don't lift anything right now and just concentrate on nutrition...get to your goal weight and then start a strength training program. I would FIRE your Physical Therapist if he/she suggest you run 2x a day. That is bizzare for a recovering ED.

Original Post by fitnessgirll:

 Hijack away! My legs are 'SICK' with muscle...and I'm a runner! [Although I also do weight training @ 3 x's a week/2 hrs each of those days....

So which of those activities do you think is building those "sick" muscles??

well, i know

but  I also don't know one single pro [runner] that doesn't have sick legs.

runners need to also do weighted work

Show me a runner in the Olympics that you didn't look at their legs and go Day-Um.

Personally, I get ''Day-Um'' said to me a lot when people look at my legs. Oh, and I'm also egotistical.  ;)

Original Post by amethystgirl:

If you are looking to gain muscle, you should be doing a full body routine with heavy weights (as heavy as you can handle with good form), and taking at least 48 hrs between workouts.

Lifting weights with just your arms every day a) doesn't focus on the larger muscle groups and b) doesn't give your arms time to recover - muscle growth happens during rest, not during lifting.

I want to personally think amethystgirl for being one of the people that convinced me to switch from the split to full body routines. I lifted on a split for years, but after amethystgirl, melkor, and others praised fbr's so much, I decided to switch over. I am doing the Starting Strength that has you work out on Mon/Wed/Fri switching between Workout A (squats, bench, barbel row, and dips) Workout B (squats, overhead press, deadlifts, and pull-ups). I really like it now because you always feel like you get one hell of a workout, and you get it done much faster, because you only have to do three sets of five for the main exercises (except for deadlifts doing one set of five reps and the bodyweight exercises three sets to failure). I feel dumb wasting my time on doing isolation exercises all these years..LOL

Thanks again amethystgirl!

I also agree that it is a bad idea to lift everyday. As others have said, your muscles get stronger when you are resting. The point of lifting is to break the muscles down. If you lift everyday, they never get a chance to repair themselves.

Original Post by vyperman7:

Original Post by amethystgirl:

If you are looking to gain muscle, you should be doing a full body routine with heavy weights (as heavy as you can handle with good form), and taking at least 48 hrs between workouts.

Lifting weights with just your arms every day a) doesn't focus on the larger muscle groups and b) doesn't give your arms time to recover - muscle growth happens during rest, not during lifting.

I want to personally think amethystgirl for being one of the people that convinced me to switch from the split to full body routines. I lifted on a split for years, but after amethystgirl, melkor, and others praised fbr's so much, I decided to switch over. I am doing the Starting Strength that has you work out on Mon/Wed/Fri switching between Workout A (squats, bench, barbel row, and dips) Workout B (squats, overhead press, deadlifts, and pull-ups). I really like it now because you always feel like you get one hell of a workout, and you get it done much faster, because you only have to do three sets of five for the main exercises (except for deadlifts doing one set of five reps and the bodyweight exercises three sets to failure). I feel dumb wasting my time on doing isolation exercises all these years..LOL

Thanks again amethystgirl!

I also agree that it is a bad idea to lift everyday. As others have said, your muscles get stronger when you are resting. The point of lifting is to break the muscles down. If you lift everyday, they never get a chance to repair themselves.

 Vyper - im on a similar plan right now, trying to put on a little mass, and throw in a coulple more accesory exercises. What kind of gains have you seen? This is my second week and im excited to see whats going to happen.

That being said, right now my workout is only 30 mins on a stationary bike then i go at the weights or about an hour. You also have to remember to eat more. Your body is a wall and the gym is a wrecking ball. Your body is the crew and food is the brick and mortar. If you were leading a crew and a wrecking ball kept knocking your wall down wouldnt you put an order in for more material and order the crew to reinforce the wall? Also, the rebuild would happen when the wrecker is not around (when your at home resting). Keep on keep truckin!

Original Post by vyperman7:

Thanks again amethystgirl!

 She is cute isn't she?