Working out every day is okay as long as you do not overexert yourself. It's important to take care of your body so you can produce efforts that support your goals.
Working out 7 days a week is not good for your body because it can lead to overtraining. Overtraining is a condition caused by working out more than your body can handle, which leads to fatigue and injury. To avoid overtraining, you should only work out five days a week with at least one day of rest between workouts.
No one should be expected to work 7 days a week. Period. The world we live in glorifies the constant go, go, go, but it's unhealthy. Days to rest and recharge are vitally important for our health and happiness.
Working out 7 days a week without proper rest and recovery can potentially be counterproductive and harmful to your muscles. Muscles need time to repair and grow after exercise, and overtraining can lead to fatigue, decreased performance, increased risk of injury, and hindered muscle recovery.
Overexercising means to exercise too often, push yourself too hard, or not allow adequate recovery time between workouts. Besides general fatigue, this can lead to repetitive use injuries from doing the same type of movement, especially if it's being done incorrectly or with poor form.
Simply put, the more you exercise, the greater your risk of getting hurt. That's just math. But it's more than that. Working out every day—especially engaging in the same types of workouts that target the same muscle groups—means you're stressing your muscles and joints and not giving them time to rest and recover.
Downtime between workouts (whether you're lifting, doing cardio or training for a sport) is when our bodies have a chance to actually build muscle. Strenuous workouts cause muscle breakdown, while rest allows our bodies to build it back up.
Living in this constant state of “busy” and never truly taking a break can lead to career burnout, feelings of being overwhelmed and even leaving the industry entirely. Avoiding a seven-day workweek may seem impossible at times, as clients' needs and demands don't fall into a regimented schedule.
Overwork harms your employees
A study conducted by the World Health Organization concluded that working 55 or more hours per week is associated with an estimated 35% higher risk of a stroke and a 17% higher risk of dying from ischemic heart disease compared to working 35-40 hours per week.
Researchers found that the amount of exercise you get has a direct dose relationship to your heart health — the more you get, the healthier your heart will be — and they suggest two full hours a day of moderate exercise should be the new goal.
Your rest days should not be completely sedentary. “Recovery doesn't mean doing absolutely nothing,” Dr. Warrington said. Active recovery, which includes low-impact cardio, like a light jog, long walk or a game like pickleball, has been shown to be very effective at promoting recovery.
While willpower and consistency are key in bodybuilding, the function of relaxation days is similarly vital. Most expert bodybuilders strategically plan their exercising schedules to consist of four-6 days of schooling according to week, focusing on distinctive muscle companies every session.
Signs that you're excessively exercising include feeling fatigued, a decrease in performance, proclivity for injury, changes in appetite, and mood changes.
But in some cases, extreme exercise can damage the heart. Research is showing that a small percentage of middle-aged and older athletes who compete in endurance events over many years may be at higher risk for developing atrial fibrillation – an irregular heartbeat – and other heart problems.
"Working out when sore is okay as long as it isn't affecting your movement to the point where it's causing you to compensate and do something in a way that's unsafe," says Dr. Hedt. "Muscle soreness can be a deterrent to exercising, but it's temporary and the more you exercise, the less you should feel it.
Consuming enough protein on your rest days is just as, or perhaps even more, important as consuming it on your training days. Generally speaking, your total protein goals for the day should not change whether its a training day or a recovery day.
But how much sleep do you actually need? The answer varies depending on your needs and lifestyle, but most adults generally need around seven to nine hours of sleep per night. However, you may need closer to nine hours of sleep if you're trying to gain muscle or work out regularly to allow for proper muscle recovery.
"Muscle is developed in its 'repair phase', when you're resting and refuelling," says Jordane. Every time you work out you create microscopic tears in your muscle tissues. When you rest, your muscles start to heal and grow back stronger, meaning you'll be able to do the same workout with less effort in the future.
Exercising in a fasted state may burn some quick body fat, but it's not the best option for your body in the long-run. Eat a small snack or meal before and after your workout to ensure that you're properly fueled to perform your best in the gym and recover quickly when you get home.
You don't need to spend hours a day lifting weights to benefit from strength training. You can see significant improvement in your strength with just two or three 20- or 30-minute strength training sessions a week.
“Often, going for an easy walk or gentle yoga can be considered a rest day,” Dr. Eby says. Rest day activities might also look like walking your dog, playing catch with your kids, gardening, or taking a bubble bath, she adds.