I'm sorry guys as this has probably already been asked on here before ....is it necessary to take a day off in between lifting weights? I am only lifting 3 pounders, and I was wondering if it was more beneficial to wait a day in between, or just do it every day? PS I do Denise Austin's 10 minute "hit the spot: arms and bust" workout.

The general rule is that if you are lifting weights on a specific body part, you need at least a day between workouts. So I wouldn't necessarily do that workout tape every day, but maybe something else in between?

There are a couple off issues here. First, is using a 3-pound weight giving you enough of a workout? In other words, when you get to the end of a set of a particular exercise (like bicep curls), does it take everything you have to do those last few reps, maybe even to the point you can't do the last few? That's what you should be aiming for. If not, you need a heavier weight. Also, keep in mind that you may need different weights for different exercises. For example, when I started strength training I used 5lb weights for bicep curls (a larger, stronger set of muscles) and 3lb weights for tricep extensions (a smaller, weaker set of muscles).

If you are working to failure, then absolutely you need one day of rest between. The whole point of strength training is to tear down the muscle fiber and force it to rebuild. When it rebuilds, it comes back a teeny tiny bit stronger, and new muscle fiber can even be added. If you aren't working hard enough to cause that failure and that fiber breakdown, you're not doing yourself any good. If you are working that hard, then your body needs a day of rest to rebuild the fiber. Skip the rest and you just get breakdown on top of breakdown, and no progress.

Studies have shown that if you are strength training the right way, working each muscle twice per week is enough for most people. The gains made by adding a third workout per week are minimal, and may not be worth the effort/time. I train upper body and lower body alternately, Monday through Thursday. So, I train 4 days in a row, but different muscle groups on subsequent days.

I don't know exactly if I am lifting to failure, but it burns alot...I feel as though I couldn't do any more reps on a few of the exercises, but other ones I could probably keep going. I guess I will try switching to 5 lb weights. Thanks for all the info!

Ooooh, thanks funniegrrl! Just what I wanted to know.