Workout Gurus: How long should I break?

[Nemesis]

So for almost an entire month Ive been working out, twice a day, 7 days a week. An hour of cardio and weights in the morning, and cardio in the evening. No weights on Sunday.

In this process , I have lost almost 20 lbs, and gained muscle.


Just recently I have started to feel weaker. I know you should take rest and let your body repair after breaking down muscle tissue time and time again , and considering I sit on my ass all day at work, I feel I had been doing so, but maybe I need more? So what Im asking is, how long should I just not work out? Work out every other day? I still eat the right foods and watch my calorie intake.

I just feel weird if Im sitting around and not working out anymore.

[Nguyen128]

I'm guessing you didn't work out prior to this? If that's the case then your gains are just catching up to you. Your body's just getting used to all this and it doesn't feel as if you're gaining as much as you did a week or so before. You may want to change your workout. This will cause muscle shock and force your muscles to grow. I don't know exactly what it is your doing or what your goal is so that's all the advice I got right now. It's not always good to work out 7 days a week. Only you can tell when you really need a break and if your body feels that way lay off the workout for a day or two.

[AtrumArx]

Make sure you're eating enough. Proper nutrition is key for your workouts to be effective.

[95alty]

Im going to say this. I did the same thing and couldnt wait to go workout just to see some improvements. You will see the same gains if you cut it down to 4-5 days a week of lifting with supplemented cardio. Your body is not having time to repair and your tearing down all this new muscle but not giving it time to heal. I lift 4 days a week with 5 days cardio and am 190 lbs. I can honestly say those who lift 7 days a week will not see half the gains i see in 4. And while lifting after each set I take a 3-5 minute break so some of that muscle can repair and once I hit the weight that shit tears right back down. So moderation is key when doing this dude your overworking your body

[b.a.d. s2000]

you need to figure out what works the best for you. Some ppl will take a break every other day on a muscle group, some will take 2-3 days off, some will only work that muscle group once a week. The result will vary depending on the person. Just try it and eventually you'll know what works the best for you.

[ueyedgr8tness]

I am def going to say ur working out way to much,also you are doing 1 hr of cardio which is well over what you should be doing.I will give u my workout and u should try it and see how it works for you.


3 day burn i lost 25lbs in 2 months eating junk food something you should not take from me at all. Yes i ate like a pig and still lost,But the results to a flat stomach and abs will come with eating right.

sunday night
* 5 min bike ride before back and biceps followed up with a 12 min back ride and 75 crunches
tue night
* 5 min bike ride before shoulders and legs followed up with 12min bike ride
thur night
*5min bike ride before chest and triceps then follwed up with 12 min bike ride 75 crunches

If you wanted to work 2 more day's of gym in,Use those day's for abs and no more than 25min cardio.I must say for best results stay off these 4 things:sugar,fried food,high carb foods,high sodium foods. And try to drink no less than a gallon of water a day



P.S remember anything over 25min of cardio u just burning muscle and you dont want to do that because muscle helps burn fat

[WickedIXMR]

I am def going to say ur working out way to much,also you are doing 1 hr of cardio which is well over what you should be doing.I will give u my workout and u should try it and see how it works for you.


3 day burn i lost 25lbs in 2 months eating junk food something you should not take from me at all. Yes i ate like a pig and still lost,But the results to a flat stomach and abs will come with eating right.

sunday night
* 5 min bike ride before back and biceps followed up with a 12 min back ride and 75 crunches
tue night
* 5 min bike ride before shoulders and legs followed up with 12min bike ride
thur night
*5min bike ride before chest and triceps then follwed up with 12 min bike ride 75 crunches

If you wanted to work 2 more day's of gym in,Use those day's for abs and no more than 25min cardio.I must say for best results stay off these 4 things:sugar,fried food,high carb foods,high sodium foods. And try to drink no less than a gallon of water a day



P.S remember anything over 25min of cardio u just burning muscle and you dont want to do that because muscle helps burn fat

Dude, where do you work out at? I need a trainer lol.

[ueyedgr8tness]

I just don't want george to turn out like som of the fags in my gym.They been working out 2-3 hr's a day and no results because there body is sick of working out.The # 1 thing about seeing results is diet and the rest will come.

[SLOWR/T]

If your not a member of this site http://forum.bodybuilding.com/ Join now. There is so much good info on that site. One thing that will help alot if your not using it, is protein. I use 100% Optimum whey.

[KevinT707]

I will contribute to this thread tomorrow.

P.S remember anything over 25min of cardio u just burning muscle and you dont want to do that because muscle helps burn fat

Actually muscle does not "burn" fat nor does it ever. On top of that it's almost physically impossible to turn fat into muscle.

[KevinT707]

Nemesis: Although you are watching your calorie intake you are expending too many calories while not having enough intake. A net loss in calories will = weight loss. With your consistent mixture of the amount of cardio and resistance training you are burning a lot of calories which is how/why you lost so much weight (some of that is water weight also). If you are looking to weight loss then obviously cardio will do that faster than just lifting weights but of course a balanced diet is really the most important aspect. Resistance training is just there to stimulate your muscles so that they don't get too weak while you are on your weight losing phase; so make sure you eat enough protein (100g/day is a good number) to minimize muscle loss because when losing weight you will always lose muscle mass too. It's really hard to just lose fat only.

In conclusion, I think you should alternate your days of cardio & resistance training and throw a couple days of rest in between to help your body recover because rest is very important. So if you are planning on still doing the same amount of exercise then eat more so that your body can sustain all that physical activity without having to feed on muscle.

[drpepper14]

I am def going to say ur working out way to much,also you are doing 1 hr of cardio which is well over what you should be doing.I will give u my workout and u should try it and see how it works for you.


3 day burn i lost 25lbs in 2 months eating junk food something you should not take from me at all. Yes i ate like a pig and still lost,But the results to a flat stomach and abs will come with eating right.

sunday night
* 5 min bike ride before back and biceps followed up with a 12 min back ride and 75 crunches
tue night
* 5 min bike ride before shoulders and legs followed up with 12min bike ride
thur night
*5min bike ride before chest and triceps then follwed up with 12 min bike ride 75 crunches

If you wanted to work 2 more day's of gym in,Use those day's for abs and no more than 25min cardio.I must say for best results stay off these 4 things:sugar,fried food,high carb foods,high sodium foods. And try to drink no less than a gallon of water a day



P.S remember anything over 25min of cardio u just burning muscle and you dont want to do that because muscle helps burn fat

EL OH EL

Coming from an ACSM certified exercise physiologist (ME), and someone with a M.S. in Exercise Physiology (ME):
You are so off the mark, I don't even want to take the time to fully respond.

You aren't burning muscle, nor are you breaking it down by doing cardio. You are using a combination of glycogen (carbohydrate) and lipids (fat) when doing cardio. Muscle mass does not directly "burn fat", but in an indirect manner of speaking: you are correct. Lean muscle tissue needs more calories for maintenance, therefore it increases the number of calories your body needs for maintenance at rest.

and on your focus on the abs, they are the product of a few things, and a few things only: GENETICS (which it appears you have a good set if you are doing that amount of cardio and have seen the results you have...or you are on something), DIET, and CARDIO.

Many professional bodybuilders, natural and enhanced, don't spend a minute working out their abs. They get their core workout during lifts such as the squat, deadlift, bent over rows, etc (most heavy lifting exercises). The abdominal muscles are just that: muscles. If you work them out (with weight especially) they will get bigger, but if you don't have a proper diet and don't do cardio, you won't ever see them.


The main argument that trumps your idea of lower cardio, is this:
1lb of fat is 3500 calories. Fat loss comes from a total negative caloric expenditure (Caloric Intake - Caloric Expenditure). Every liter of oxygen your body uses = 5 calories burned. Best way to increase oxygen consumption = cardiovascular exercise.

End of Discussion.


(To the OP, you need rest. You seem to be suffering from overtraining. Take an extra day off in the middle of the week, and maybe take 3 or 4 days off every month or so.)

[drpepper14]

On top of that it's almost physically impossible to turn fat into muscle.

Correct sir. Most people think this is what is happening, when in fact you are either losing fat while adding on lean muscle, or you are sedentary, gaining fat and subsequently your muscles suffer from atrophy.

[drpepper14]

I just don't want george to turn out like som of the fags in my gym.They been working out 2-3 hr's a day and no results because there body is sick of working out.The # 1 thing about seeing results is diet and the rest will come.

i lost 25lbs in 2 months eating junk food

Kind of a contradiction there?

but I do agree, I see a lot of people that see no results from their workouts because their diet sucks. However, I workout 5-6 days a week (days 1-5 lifting/cardio, 6th day being cardio only) AND I have a good diet, and I see very very good results. I increased my caloric intake over the winter to focus on muscle building (gained 25lbs) and then turned that around and lost 35lbs in 3 months to shed the fat gained over the winter and kept my muscle gains.

[KevinT707]

Good info from Dr. Pepper. I'm currently working on my Exercise, Health, & Science degree at KSU so I can see where you're coming from.

[drpepper14]

Awesome man! That is where I got my ex sci undergrad as well.

[ueyedgr8tness]

LOL@ drpepper just incase u havent figured out yet that ppl don't care about some certification u got for studying blah blah blah! people want to hear result stories from other people there weight size,and also people that has had good results.Just the fact that your head blew off and u took the time to blast my post on how I done it just tells me your 1 of thoes guy's that walks around with so much pride that they wasted college money just to get a fu**ing ACSM certification.


The only facts you need to know is pretty much the list.
#1 mentally ready to go at it for the long haul.And not like me that likes to cheat when i get ready because me being married to a wife that likes to eat out alot lol!
#2 very good diet is 2nd because even if you diet but don't hit them gym u will never achieve max or even mid term goals which is why fact#1 is so important
#3 great workout plan
#4 swapping workouts every once in awhile so that u can keep your body in shock
#5 get plenty of sleep to refuel the body

[xxbckiexx]

Rest one week, then continue your hardcore regimen. These other fools are clueless.

[xxbckiexx]

Kind of a contradiction there?

but I do agree, I see a lot of people that see no results from their workouts because their diet sucks. However, I workout 5-6 days a week (days 1-5 lifting/cardio, 6th day being cardio only) AND I have a good diet, and I see very very good results. I increased my caloric intake over the winter to focus on muscle building (gained 25lbs) and then turned that around and lost 35lbs in 3 months to shed the fat gained over the winter and kept my muscle gains.

This specifically is the biggest load of horse shit. If you work out properly, with enough cardio, and the right lifting routine, you will cut fat, and gain muscle. PERIOD. However, the only thing essential is protein. At least 20-30 grams a day. Other than that, you're good to eat whatever the fuck you want. I'm living proof.

[xxbckiexx]

I just don't want george to turn out like som of the fags in my gym.They been working out 2-3 hr's a day and no results because there body is sick of working out.The # 1 thing about seeing results is diet and the rest will come.

seriously though, you don't have a clue. I bet you don't even have a defined six pack. Nemesis, all these turds just read magazines and post shit. They have no idea what actual fitness is about. Don't listen to them.

[xxbckiexx]

I just don't want george to turn out like som of the fags in my gym.They been working out 2-3 hr's a day and no results because there body is sick of working out.The # 1 thing about seeing results is diet and the rest will come.

seriously though, you don't have a clue. I bet you don't even have a defined six pack. Nemesis, all these turds just read magazines and post shit. They have no idea what actual fitness is about. Don't listen to them.