Good morning everyone! I joined the gym on Sunday and have been every day since. On sunday I went on the treadmill for 25 mins, alternating between jogging and walking for 2 mins at a time, Monday I went to a boxfit class so lots of kicking and punching and running about! Then yesterday I went on the treadmill again for half an hour, alternating between running and walking again. Today I feel quite sore but I guess that means it's working. But I want to go again today because it makes me feel so good afterwards.
I was just wondering if you guys know if it is a good idea to go so often or if I should give my body a break for a day? I dont over-do it when I'm there and I only go for half an hour at a time. What do you guys think?
Cat xx

In order for your muscles to fully repair and for your body to be at is best, you need rest. Maybe 1 day a week is all you need, but that all depends on you and how well you take care of your body. As for how often you go to the gym? That is totally up to you! If you can take it, definitely do it. If it makes you feel good? Do it! Reap the results.

My DBF and I go 3/4 days a week. We need a rest day because we do weight lifting in addition to cardio... Sore muscles need a rest day- If your not too sore from weight lifting the prior day you could prob. get away with doing cardio the next day- I have done that before... You don't need a break in between cardio, that rest day is for weight lifting as far as I am aware- I would like to work up to cardio 6/7 days a week- Weight lifting would stay at 3 so I have a rest day.... Sometime muslces hurt it is hard to walk... love and hate those days.... That was yesterday to me... I have extra weigth to the leg press so I am up to 120 lbs... My tighs wanted to kick my ***- Don't wear yourself out too much at first you may not want to keep at it.... ease in and get comfy @ your gym for the long haul!

Enjoy your next work out!

I think it really depends on what you are doing there. It is suggested to get atleast 30 minutes of exercise a day. But, your muscles do need rest. For what you say you are doing, I think a day or maybe two may be a good amount of rest. On your days off, you can go for a relaxing walk just so you don't over work your muscles but get some exercise in. If you were lifting weights, which I think you should look into since building muscle is an important part of losing weight, I would suggest more rest time. What I do is I work my upper muscles on day 1, then work my lower body on day 2, and then have a rest day. Rinse and repeat. Depends on the what day of the week my rotation starts on, I can have 2 or 3 days of rest during the week.

This is just my suggestion on what I would personally do in your situation. Muscles do need rest so they can repair. If not, you can cause some serious injury to your body.

Personally, I don't think you're doing that much at all. You should be fine going everyday. You'll know when your body has hit it's limit. So long as you aren't dehydrated, exhausted, or finding yourself getting small injuries frequently (ie: pulled muscles, pinched nerves) then you're fine. As it starts getting easier you can increase the time you spend at the gym and the intensity gradually. I work out twice a day doing 30DS followed by an hour, or 1000 cals burned (whichever comes first) on the elliptical in the morning, and once the sun sets I go for a 6 mile run in the evening. Between that I play Lacrosse and volleyball on the community teams, teach two ballet classes a week, and go backpacking or hiking every weekend.

Like Cutie said, you can get away with cardio every day, it's the weight lifting that you need to rest. You're not doing any though, so I don't see any reason for you not to go every day if that's what you want to do.

You can never do too much cardio. My trainer, and Jillian Michaels (who I adore!) both say do as much cardio as you want, even twice a day if you want. You will know when you are overtraining when your HR goes DOWN during workouts, and when it's elevated at rest.

But when it comes to strength training, you need to give your muscles a rest. So every other day for each muscle group, and one full day of rest from strength training.

I do cardio every day. I hate weights, and I'm trying to introduce them into my workout (mostly using hand weights while I run/walk) but for weights you definately need to rest days in between. I've heard different things, that you need to do them 2-3 times a week, but never 2 days in a row. Cardio you can do as much as you want (and boy do I). Enjoy working out. I know I feel my best right after a workout.

You can go everyday just do your cardio, and if lets say you work on your shoulders and arms one day, the next day work on your legs or another part so you rest your muscles but are still working.

i agree with most people here, you can probably go as often as you want! Just listen to your body- if you are too sore to move you might want to take a day off Or if it feels like you're going to cause an injury, then you should at least give that body part a rest. Other than that go for it!

NishKitten - Do you reach 1000 calories on just the elliptical, or is it 1000 calories for the 30DS AND elliptical? 1000 calories for an hour on the elliptical sounds intense.

I don't mean to speak for her, but from her post it seemed that she either did 60 minutes on the elliptical, no matter the calories, then got off, or did 1000 calories, no matter the time, and then got off - doing whichever came first. I, too, am amazed that someone could burn close to 1000 calories on the elliptical in an hour, but I've heard other people on this site giving similar numbers. I usually burn between 400-600 calories an hour depending on my intensity, but I almost always use high settings. Am I just really slow? What is normal??

To weigh in on the OP, I exercise as much as I can physically make myself do. I make sure to exercise at least some every day, even if it's a simple ab workout in my room or a walk. I generally do cardio 6-7 days a week, plus three days of strength training, plus yoga and pilates 2-3 times a week. Like other people said, you definitely need days off between strength training, but I think especially if you like the activity you're doing, and you're not exhausted or injured, there's no reason to limit your exercise. I absolutely love yoga, and if I could afford classes, I would do it every day, maybe twice a day! I wish I felt that way about running... maybe someday...

LoL. Yeah, it is intense but i'm in very good shape and i've been doing it for awhile. I also go pretty fast and keep the resistance at mid-level since i'm not trying to build muscle. Between 70-75 rotations per minute at level 5 usually puts me at around 1200-1300 per the calorie counter if I stay on the whole 60 minutes, which I usually do. That's the intesity it takes for *me* to get a good cardio workout and keep my heart rate at the optimal level. Anything slower won't even elevate my breathing. It's different for everyone, so just go by what your body tells you.

Thanks for your replies guys! I had a couple of days off, but only because I had so much other stuff on that i couldnt fit the gym in! Going back today though, probably for a half hour on the treadmill then a 45 min boxfit class! Cant wait! I have also signed up for a half marathon in September so cant wait to start training properly for that!
Hope you all have a fantastic weekend
Cat x