Q: Is it okay to exercise every day or do I have to take a day off??

If you’re like most dedicated exercisers who have set a goal and plan to attack it hard, you figure that the more time you can spend in the gym, the better. As such, you dedicate yourself to going at least six days a week, even seven since you really want to reach those end goals.

But, is it really a wise idea to exercise seven days a week? Many people often wonder this since they’ve heard that you must take a full day off each week.

What’s the answer?

The important thing to remember with this one is that the body will essentially only get stronger when rest is given. When you’re in the gym each day, you’re actually just breaking your muscle tissues down, growing weaker in the process.

It’s when you’re outside of the gym resting that the real progress takes place. If you don’t give yourself sufficient rest, you’re never going to see the strength gains that should be occurring.

You may have a very well designed program where you are alternating between weight lifting and cardio sessions, but even still, remember that all exercise will still place a stress load on the nervous system and eventually, it can just become too much for it to recover from.

Overtraining

Overtraining is a very real and serious issue that will start to impact those who don’t give sufficient rest and recovery, which is why one day off is a very smart move.  Now, you don’t have to be completely lazy on this day off – a light walk around the block or a very easy bike ride outside for enjoyment’s sake will definitely be fine, but just avoid doing any intense physical activity.

If you do take this day off, you’ll find you come back to your workouts feeling better and be able to work even harder than you were before.