As the weight on the scale begins to rise and the jeans become a little too tight, the first response is to head to the gym to lose the excess weight. Working out to lose weight requires a strategy; working out too often can leave you injured and burned out. Working out every day to lose weight may seem like a good idea, but the consequences can put your dreams of a thinner waistline and tighter abs on hold.
Considerations
Your body requires at least one day of rest to recover, when you fail to incorporate rest you place yourself at risk for "overtraining syndrome." A 2004 issue of the "Journal of Sports Medicine" suggests that an accumulation of training stress can result in a long-term decrease in performance and can be associated with physiological and psychological consequences leading to overtraining syndrome. Depression, fatigue, a general loss of motivation, lack of concentration, sickness and even injury are common indicators of overtraining syndrome.
Significance
In 2001, the American College of Sports Medicine stated that a four to six week commitment to an exercise plan is required to experience significant changes in fitness. Working out everyday can increase your chance of injury, which would disrupt your ability to commit to a four to six week program. Your failure to comply with the exercise program will thwart your weight goals.
The Facts
In the American College of Sports Medicine's 2009 position stand, exercise researchers suggested that exercise frequency should be based on the level of conditioning, volume, intensity, exercise selection and the number of muscle groups trained per workout session. Novice exercisers should perform total body strength training two to three days per week, intermediate exercisers three to four days per week and advanced exercisers four to six days per week. Use an upper/lower body split or muscle group split for three to six day frequencies.
Implications
Use the aforementioned guidelines to determine the appropriate workout frequency. Schedule rest days between workouts and alternate between high-intensity weeks and low-intensity weeks. For high-intensity weeks, incorporate three sets of 10 to 15 reps, and use a circuit style in which you complete a group of exercises back-to-to back before resting. For the low-intensity weeks, lower your weights and use a higher rep strategy of 15 to 20 reps. Start a training log to keep track of the muscle groups and weights used during each workout session.
Warning
Your current level of conditioning plays a major role in the number of days that you can workout without overtraining. As your fitness level increases, you can start increasing the number of days you dedicate to a fitness routine. Safely build your exercise tolerance and maximize your caloric expenditure by slowly adding two to six days of cardio sessions into your routine. The cardio sessions could take place on strength training days and/or on "off days," but make sure that you have at least one day of complete rest.
References
- "Journal of Sports Medicine"; Does Overtraining Exist? An Analysis of Overreaching and Overtraining Research; S. Halson and A. Jeukendrup; 2004
- "British Journal of Sports Medicine"; Fatigue and Underperformance in Athletes: The Overtraining Syndrome; R. Budgett; June 1998
- "Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise"; Progression Models in Resistance Training for Healthy Adults; ACSM; 2009
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