do you really need to wait a day in between work outs?

[curiosity]

ok well i was told when working out you should only work out every second day to give your muscles time to build/recover my question is will you keep building more muscle if you work out everday or is it bad to work out everyday or is there a specific way i could work out everyday to build more muscle then just working out every second day because ive heard of people building alot of muscle working out 5-7 days a week

 

[Wizzle]

It depends on the type of workout, the intensity, your age, genetics, on everything really. When you do a full body workout for beginners you can probably do this three times a week. So the question really is; what is your experience level, diet, age, gender, etc.

I myself work out six times a week. So I do not wait a day in between each work out. If you're just starting out it's probably advisable though..

You can try to make yourself a program with the help of sites like www.exrx.com or www.scoobysworkshop.com

 

[curiosity]

It depends on the type of workout, the intensity, your age, genetics, on everything really. When you do a full body workout for beginners you can probably do this three times a week. So the question really is; what is your experience level, diet, age, gender, etc.

I myself work out six times a week. So I do not wait a day in between each work out. If you're just starting out it's probably advisable though..

You can try to make yourself a program with the help of sites like www.exrx.com or www.scoobysworkshop.com

thanks ill be sure to look into the sites btw im 17,i dont know how you measure the intensity but i usually finish and im pretty tired and kind of dizzy then take a 15-20 min break and try and repeat one more time and im working out abs,biceps,and whatever bench pressing works out,o yeah and if t push ups work out anything else then what ive already mentioned my experience level is pretty much begginer ive been to the gym 3-4 times but i do this work out at home and ive done it 2 times so far so yeah pretty much no experience and my diet isnt very healthy oh yeah and im a guy

 

[n3ophy7e]

If you're only 17 and male, that means you're still growing. You may find that working out every single day will lead to injuries. And then you won't be able to work out at all!! Injuries really really suck man. Just make sure you listen to your body and if you're in pain at any stage, take a few days' rest from training, and see a physiotherapist if the pain doesn't subside.

 

[attempt4]

Are you aiming for increasing muscle mass? Losing body fat? Resistance training? High-Intensity Interval Cardio Training? Bodybuilding?

There are too many variables here indeed.

If you want to build muscle mass, then yes, you really really do need to wait between workouts. Monday, Wed and Fri is ideal. The time spent resting is where you will actually be building mass/engaging in prote synth and getting those secksy muscles.

Nutrition and sleep/rest are the most important aspects of building mass.

For cardio, you can do this daily yes....5 times a week is perfect, though. Its good to let yourself rest with any exercise as you are so young.

There's loads more to be said, but we need info from you first. What are you aiming for?

 

[curiosity]

Are you aiming for increasing muscle mass? Losing body fat? Resistance training? High-Intensity Interval Cardio Training? Bodybuilding?

There are too many variables here indeed.

If you want to build muscle mass, then yes, you really really do need to wait between workouts. Monday, Wed and Fri is ideal. The time spent resting is where you will actually be building mass/engaging in prote synth and getting those secksy muscles.

Nutrition and sleep/rest are the most important aspects of building mass.

For cardio, you can do this daily yes....5 times a week is perfect, though. Its good to let yourself rest with any exercise as you are so young.

There's loads more to be said, but we need info from you first. What are you aiming for?

im mainly looking to lose all my stomach fat wich isnt much but i still want it gone and get abs with a little bit more muscle mass on my arms on the side but its not so much the main goal and theres no cardio right now because im on christmas vacation from school and its to cold out to go for a run but when i go back to school i can use the cardio equipment at the gym and recently my body hasnt been letting me get a proper amount of sleep and im not really a healthy eater but im trying to be a little healthier

 

[attempt4]

im mainly looking to lose all my stomach fat wich isnt much but i still want it gone and get abs with a little bit more muscle mass on my arms on the side but its not so much the main goal and theres no cardio right now because im on christmas vacation from school and its to cold out to go for a run but when i go back to school i can use the cardio equipment at the gym and recently my body hasnt been letting me get a proper amount of sleep and im not really a healthy eater but im trying to be a little healthier

You wouldn't believe how many people I hear who say they wish to aspire to the same hypertrophic goals as you do! Yeah, you basically want to be pretty "toned" with a bit of nice muscle mass on the triceps/biceps/laterals etc....I understand what you want.

Basically mate, im gonna say first thing is go out for a run. Its never too cold for a run. I actually prefer running in winter. As long as you warm up your muscles first, it's perfectly fine to run in winter. We have been seeing -18 degrees here and ive still been running and i will tell you one thing, it really builds your confidence moreso than a nice easy run on a treadmill.
Using equipment in gyms offers little resistance compared to freeweight and bodyweight training. Going for a run in the woods (or somewhere equally rural) offers much more variety and challenge than just a setting on a treadmill in an air-conditioned overpriced gym.

You are going to want to build your muscle mass first, you dont want to be completely huge? Dont worry, it takes a while to get that way and it aint that easy. You're going to want to focus on doing:

Tricep dips
Bench Press (or dumbell press, or before you get a barbell/dumbells, pressups of both narrow grip and wide grip will do for now)
Bicep curls (or hammer curls or preacher curls)
Pull-ups and Chin ups
Shoulder Shrugs (strong shoulders look great and are imperative to a good-looking physique and strength)
The back gets overlooked. You will need to do compound exercise calld Deadlift here, to gain overall strength and to stimulate muscle growth, which leads me to my next point....

Compound exercises are exercises which do not require isolated effort, in that they arent a bicep curl where you essentially use just one muscle group. They are things such as "Bench press" or better yet, Squats. Squats use nearly every muscle group, but primarily your thigh muscles/leg muscles. Because they use large muscle groups, they stimulate more growth of muscle mass and are absolutely IMPERATIVE to gaining muscle better, quicker and more efficientally. They also balance out the look of your frame...you dont want just huge biceps and a 6pack....that looks fucking stupid.

Triceps are key to arm strength and having arms that look pretty big, but so many guys go for the disco muscles that you show off to all the girls (biceps) and work them out constantly. This looks stupid and offers very little strength in comparison to working hard with shoulder shrugs, tricep extensions, tricep dips, curls, narrow grip bench press etc etc.....

Do leg raises, ab crunches (and all variants) to work your abs. Stretch before and after all exercises of course. Never during a workout.

You want to eat shitloads of calories man. Eat roughly 1g protein per LB of bodyweight of protein, 2g per lb of bodyweight of carbs and about 0.3g per lb of bodyweight of fat ('good' fats which are necessary, from olive oil, oily fish etc) And rest lots.

Do this for a few months until results are starting to be noticed and do not worry about getting too huge. It isnt that easy to just suddenly get Arnie size arms!

Once you feel comfortable with your size, you can begin cardio which just consists of eating less calories than you burn, eating high levels of protein constantly, little carbs, no fat and employing tactics such as HIIT (look it up) where you may sprint for 20 secs and jog for 40-60 then repeat for x amount of repetitions.

There is some ive missed out, these are the basics and i could go on all day with this, but i wont for now.
Hope this helps pal. ( I went on a tangent man, i love working out and talking about working out, its a fascinating subject how you can engineer your body, but yeah....if you want to lose stomach fat its about eating high levels of protein and little carbs to no fat and doing HIIT cardio. You can not target an area [as much as it is disputed] to lose body fat easier, despite what the hydrolosis enthusiasts say....the fx are minimal. )

 

[SirTophamHat]

ok well i was told when working out you should only work out every second day to give your muscles time to build/recover my question is will you keep building more muscle if you work out everday or is it bad to work out everyday or is there a specific way i could work out everyday to build more muscle then just working out every second day because ive heard of people building alot of muscle working out 5-7 days a week

If you are doing whole body workouts, yeah you might want to rest a day in between. If you're taking a split approach feel free to work out 5, 6, 7 days a week. Just be sure to schedule it so each bodypart gets the appropriate rest. If you are reaching a plateau later on it is possible to use systematic overtraining followed by a back off period to break through. I wouldn't worry about that yet though. Muscle grows when you are resting, not when you are working out, so keep that in mind. It's about consistency more than anything. Consistent effort over time will produce results.

 

[sandman_i_am]

ok well i was told when working out you should only work out every second day to give your muscles time to build/recover my question is will you keep building more muscle if you work out everday or is it bad to work out everyday or is there a specific way i could work out everyday to build more muscle then just working out every second day because ive heard of people building alot of muscle working out 5-7 days a week

Never work the same muscle group two consecutive days in a row. You need to give your muscles and body time to recover and rebuild. Overtraining is not good and can lead to serious injury. I do a full body workout three days a week, resting one day in between each workout.

Some people will work different muscle groups four, five, or six days a week. You can work out every day so long as you do not work the same muscle group every single day. Example: If you do chest and arms one day, don't do them the next day. Instead, do back and legs, then on the next day you can go back to arms and chest.

Or, you can just do a full body workout three times a week and do cardio on the days you rest like I do. You could even do cardio every day, but you need to fit exercise into your schedule so you may not be able to do as much as you want all of the time.

The goal is to stay healthy, not to injure yourself.

 

[thujone]

If you are reaching a plateau later on it is possible to use systematic overtraining followed by a back off period to break through.

funny you mention that, that's exactly what i'm getting best results with now. i worked my arms and shoulders yesterday and i did em again today. when i hit that make-me-cry rep i feel like THIS time i'll wake up the next day and my muscles will be screaming for recovery, but sometimes i just have to go back and pound them again the next day to achieve that.

i asked this very question a little while back and the best piece of advice i think i've absorbed lately is to listen to your muscles. if my muscles aren't so sore the next day that it makes me wince just to move them i'll keep working them until they are. i haven't been training for very long but i have been doing it consistently as often as possible and i'm really starting to see the best results now by busting the same muscles daily with different exercises until they break down enough that they signal for a real break.