Exercising regularly provides numerous health benefits because your body adapts to the stresses placed on it during your workouts. As a result, you experience an increase in the strength and size of your muscles and an improvement in the ability of your heart to perform. During some types of workouts, such as weight training, your muscles do require a period of time to adequately recover in order for these developments to come about.
Cardiovascular Exercise
When you're completing cardiovascular activities, such as running, swimming or biking, it's your cardiorespiratory system that is undergoing stress as it is forced to provide your tissues with an adequate amount of oxygen and nutrients. As you consistently perform aerobic workouts, your heart becomes stronger and better able to pump blood throughout your body. Your body delivers nutrients to your tissues and gets rid of waste more efficiently. Your muscles are typically not receiving enough stress to become overloaded.
Weight Training
When you complete effective weight training sessions, you end up causing minor tears throughout the muscle fibers. Your body responds by healing your muscles back bigger and stronger so that they are better equipped to handle that type of load on subsequent workouts. An effective training program consists of consistent episodes of breaking down the muscles and then giving them an adequate amount of time to rest in between session so that they can develop.
Rest Needed
You can complete cardiovascular workouts nearly every day. The American Council on Exercise recommends that those looking to lose weight perform cardiovascular workouts four to six days per week. Your muscles require about 48 hours of rest in between weight training sessions in order to fully recover and heal, according to the American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine. If you wait 48 hours between your weight training workouts and still are feeling fatigued and sore, consider waiting another day before completing your next training session. Beginners who are likely to be more sore or advanced lifters that perform high volume weight training sessions may need more rest for their muscles to recover.
Considerations
Other workout activities, such as yoga, Pilates or circuit training should follow the principles stated previously. If during your yoga, Pilates or circuit workouts, you complete strength training activities, like pushups, squats or lunges, it's likely your muscles will require a day of rest between training sessions. However, if those activities consist of mostly flexibility and cardiovascular work, exercising on consecutive days is okay.
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