This is a trickier question than you think.
Most people don’t think about this. Either they have a schedule they follow or they wing it. You can get great results doing it both ways…or you can get crappy ones.
Here’s why.
If I am starting a workout program, my job is to do two things.
- Break down muscle fiber during workouts.
- Eat and sleep to recover.
That’s it. Everything else we are going to talk about is a refinement. So don’t worry about the details until you get the big picture right.
Under-training
You are not working out hard enough, therefore recovery isn’t going to be a big issue. If you never get sore or at least feel a little stiff the day after a workout, you probably didn’t do enough. This is broad statement that tends to hold true. You won’t make a lot of progress under-training.
Overtraining
If you are always sore and always feeling fatigued, you my friend have overtrained. In some circles this is seen as a badge of honor. I see it as a waste of time. Chronic overtraining will not lead to gains, only sickness, injury and disappointment.
How do you know?
Let’s go old school.
In ye olde days we used to take our pulse before we got up. If you do this for a few weeks you will notice that your resting pulse has a pretty consistent baseline reading. For this example, let’s say your average resting heart rate is 60.
If you wake one day after a hard workout (or even a stressful day), and the reading is 65. That is a sign to take it easier that day. If it is around 10 points higher, around 70, then take the day off.
There are a bunch of apps that will measure this for you using your camera window on your phone. They are all pretty reliable. If you want to take it to another level, look up HRV or your heart rate variability. That is a more in depth analysis of your recovery but that may be more than you want to deal with.
Do you need to take days off?
Believe it or not there is debate around this. I am a big believer in getting closer to your goals everyday. So I am going to say no you never need to completely take a day off. I am in favor of varying the intensity of the workouts to keep you from over-training.
When I train my people, we have three main areas of training.
- Mobility and flexibility.
- Strength Training
- Cardio
These can be separate things or they can intermingle. In addition, I can have a heavy strength day or a lighter strength day.
I train regular people with jobs, families and mortgages. In a perfect world we all get in our workouts, eat right and get enough sleep. I know this always isn’t going to be the case. Sometimes it is never the case. So I will work with you on this. I understand.
As your coach, I see a lot of wasted money on home gym equipment. Here are a couple ideas from Amazon that will get you superior results.
Always be moving forward.
Workouts are written on paper and not etched into stone for a reason. Crap happens. If your body tells you that you need a day off, do 15 minutes of mobility and stretching. Go for an easy run or walk. Let the body recover.
I train a number of clients that travel. Let’s face it, if you are on a business trip you probably don’t have a lot of time to workout and you aren’t going to eat right. So let’s work to keep you in the game with smaller workouts and keep the damage to a minimum. This is called training in the real world.
My personality doesn’t like days off. Even if I just stretch, I have done something of value. If I totally blow a day off, I find it easier to miss the second day and the third. Yes, that stuff happens to me too.
One more thing.
Sometimes you are dead tired and a workout or run is actually the one thing you need. When I am tired and stressed out it is very easy to grab a beer and watch tv. That feels okay but it is never as good as when I go for a run or do a quick circuit. You will surprise yourself.
How do you know?
You just know. If you have never tried it, try it.
You need to hold yourself accountable for your fitness.
