Worked out Hard, should I rest or keep going?

[Tempered81]

I started working out really hard with these "INSANITY" workout DVD's. I did a 1 hour workout 2 days ago, and another 1 hour last night. Now I am going to attempt my 3rd, but my body is really sore, and I can feel all my muscles aching hard-core.

I've done a lot of stretching, and I'm wondering: Should I keep going with my plan of a 1 hour cardio workout every night, or should I rest tonight, and resume in a day or two after I've healed my muscles.

I've heard that you just keep pushing through it and the pain goes away in 3 or 4 days. Any opinions?

 

[Bulldog13]

Rest.

 

[SociallyChallenged]

If you're new to physical activity, an extra rest day won't kill you. It's true that, with regularity, your body adapts and you feel less sore. I'd say go ahead and rest today and get back into things tomorrow. To be perfectly honest, you shouldn't start super hard. It's best to ease into a program so your body can adapt at a bearable rate. Just because you CAN do something doesn't always mean you should. That applies to doing a hard workout after not exercising for a very long time. I'd probably decrease the length of that workout to 30 min max and then increase it as you find yourself feeling better.

 

[Tempered81]

Thanks for the replies, seems like I should rest. The workouts range from 20 to 50 minutes... but i pause it and drink water & rest occasionally.

Even with this, and doing the exercises at my own pace, I am still sore as a SOB. I have not exercised in a while before beginning this workout. I plan to do it 7 days a week, in the evenings for 20 to 50 minutes per day. Is that a good schedule?

 

[rcpratt]

I prefer 60-75 minutes 4 times a week, but it's really whatever works for you and your body. What exactly is this routine - just cardio, or are there weights involved?

 

[brikis98]

You should always start slowly and work your way up gradually when dealing with a new exercise routine. Soreness is NOT an indicator of progress or that you did well; if anything, it just interferes with future workouts (as you've noticed) and is best avoided. Ramping up your routine lets you minimize soreness and get the most out of each workout, so even though you start "behind", you'll end up better off in the end.

Having said that, even if you are well adapted to your exercise, hard workouts will still run you down. You actually get stronger and build adaptations to exercise while you rest, not while you exercise, so taking days off is essential. Generally, rest days should be built into your schedule. To decide if you should take an extra rest day, you need to see how you feel: if you are tired, have no energy and feel really beat up, it's a good sign you are over doing it. Also, if you are so sore that even a good warm-up doesn't loosen you up, it's also a sign that you need rest.

I plan to do it 7 days a week, in the evenings for 20 to 50 minutes per day. Is that a good schedule?

What are your goals? Building strength? Improving endurance? Losing weight? Adding muscle? Training for a sport? Also, what is the routine that you are doing?

As I said before, rest is essential to improving your fitness. 7 days a week means no rest, which means you'd likely slow your own progress and eventually burn out. At the very least, take 1 day off a week; more depending on what the workouts actually entail.

 

[Tempered81]

As i stated in the OP, the workout is titled "INSANITY". It is mostly weight free cardio. I have a set of dumbells for other weight exercises. My goal is healthy body-weight, muscle tone, and increased endurance.

Thank you for your replies.

 

[Tempered81]

I'm currently 5'11" 205 lbs. and want to be 5'11" 165-170 lbs. The lowest I should weigh is 155.

 

[MJinZ]

You can concentrate on some other parts... like legs? Cardio? Back?

 

[brikis98]

As i stated in the OP, the workout is titled "INSANITY". It is mostly weight free cardio. I have a set of dumbells for other weight exercises.

Ok, well I haven't seen these DVD's, so this doesn't tell me much. You asked if doing it 7 days per week is too much, so to answer that, we'd have to know exactly what exercises you do, how many sets, how many reps, how much rest, if the workouts are the same every day and so on.

My goal is healthy body-weight, muscle tone, and increased endurance.

So it sounds like you want to lose weight and increase your fitness. To lose weight, your priority should be diet, not exercise. See the fat loss sticky for a good guide.

As for increased fitness, is endurance the only thing you care about? What about strength, power, speed, agility, etc? I highly recommend reading the article What is Fitness? in the Crossfit Journal to get a good understanding of what being "in shape" really means.

 

[Tempered81]

I skipped one day, and am now on day 5 (4th workout day) and the pain is going away.

thanks for your helpful replies, guys.

peace

 

[StageLeft]

Those are hard workouts. Skip is fine at beginning but once you get going do not skip them. Your soreness will come back much softer each time.