Same body work exercises days in a row?

[Xenia]

I belong to another forum about weight loss and on it I joined a 12 week challenge. It is not run by professionals, and most of the members are really into old ideas about weight loss such as long steady cardio, etc.

One of the things I have seen a lot of there is challenges to do body weight exercises over so many days. For example, to do as many push ups, squats and crunches as you can (with modifications if needed) over the course of 4 days.

I am not an expert by any means but I think I have been reading that we are not supposed to work the same muscles two days in a row let alone 4 days except for our Abs.

Then I realized maybe that is not the case with these exercises since they are body weight.

I just started this 4 day challenge today. Yesterday I had done some squats as a part of a lower body workout and I did 40 squats today. (Not all at once, some in the early morning, the rest in the evening).

My legs are feeling the burn hours later. My upper back is feeling it from the 40 modified push ups (I am really not strong enough yet so my push ups are standing up and using my dresser at home to put me close to a 45 degree angle since wall push ups feel too easy.)

My abs are noticing the extra work but they are not feeling it so bad.

Is it possible to over train in just 4 or 5 days of doing the same body weight exercises?

 

[Xenia]

I wonder if someone could answer my question.

It isn't one of those "don't ask" questions is it?

 

[leckbass]

That is a difficut question to answer because it depends on your intensity. Since you just started, it is normal to be sore, either way. If you are doing, alot of sets and reps, they you will definitly over train, if you limit it to 2 sets or 15 reps, then you will not overtrian. Your soreness will diminish after a while, but you should go slow in the beginning, i would rest a day then go back.

My own example is if i workout legs with squats and do 5 heavy sets of 12-8 reps with failure, then do other leg exercises (extension and curls) i will be need some time off to recover and heal. But if i go in and do 3 sets of 10-15 with light weights, then go do some cardio, i will be fine the next day.

Everyone is different but i think, you should take it slow for a while, slowly increase so you wont be so sore and you will stay on the program.

 

[Xenia]

Well, I am new, and I was doing 40 each modified pushups, squats (no weights), and crunches.

But,I was doing different versions of the squats and crunches. My push ups I also did different modifications... some of them against a wall, some using a heavy dresser that is 3 feet tall and a few on my knees.

Even though the challenge is for 4 days, I decided to take time off from it because I was so sore.

I hadn't intended to do it every day for ever.

I think that I am confused as to why that forum has people putting out challenges for every day strength training.

 

[tic]

Hehehe, I think if you are getting back into working out. Then those challenges are meant to shock your system. If you are sore, try to endure through it in this case. The level of soreness should decrease after 2-3 weeks though. Oh, stretching a lot after your workout helps.

 

[Xenia]

Hehehe, I think if you are getting back into working out. Then those challenges are meant to shock your system. If you are sore, try to endure through it in this case. The level of soreness should decrease after 2-3 weeks though. Oh, stretching a lot after your workout helps.

Thank you. I didn't mention that I am doing static stretches of anything feeling tight... after I work out, never before.

My quads are always tight. They are tight even in times when I have gone a year without working out at all. So, I have to use a towel to help me stretch them. (I like to say it is because my arms are too short... but no one seems to buy that! )

I use a door frame to stretch my chest after push ups and hug myself to stretch the upper back.

And I do a stretch on the floor for my abs, putting one leg down, bending the other one and crossing it over with both arms to my sides.

Now that you said this, I might just keep up with these exercises. I can feel my whole body has been worked out and I have found it convenient to do short little bursts of them through out the day to try to get in a certain number.

I worried about over training, but since you mention working through it for a few weeks, clearly it is not a problem. I always take one day a week off totally from all exercise and I will keep that up.

Rest is part of training. (I just finished reading the Jason Bourne trilogy. Jason says "Rest is a weapon." When ever I think of exercise rest now, I think of how it is a weapon.)

When I get back to shooting this summer (I like to compete in handgun shoots), my upper back is going to be so much stronger and so is my arms. I think these are very functional exercises.

 

[tic]

Xenia,

You got your head in the right places now. Here is just my take on training, no expert or researching, but progress in body-shaping requires 50% dieting, 30% training, and 20 % REST. I am glad to see that you got the rest part down. As for overtraining, most school of bodybuilding likes to train 2-3 days and rest a day but I've read others that train 5 days nonstop and have the weekend off. In the end, it usually works out to 2 days off a week.

If you are worried about injuries and overworking, thereby wear and tear; reconize the different types of pain. From what I'v read, you are experiencing "good" pain which is really soreness or burning (pumped feeling) when you workout. Now the bad pain is when you need to take a step back and take a break. What is a bad pain? It is that Sharp burst pain like a knife stabbing into you or an electric shock at high voltage. It's like a strong sharp pinch inside the muslce. If that occur, check your form from the last few sets (you might have injuried it 20 minutes ago and not noticed until later); for example, the flat barbell bench press may cause some "bad" pain if done improperly.

Oh if you want to increase flexibility, try Yoga. I am a big fan of yoga; it helps restore the body, mind, and spirit. If you do try it, give it 3-5 attempts. The first time is confusing to keep up with all the poses. Hagtha yoga is slower pace but tough in a sense that you hold the poses longer. Vinaysa yoga connects breathe to movement so it's faster but might be slightly frustrating for beginner; but once you have it figured out, Vinaysa is fun. Another note, you are much more flexible in the evening, than in the morning.

 

[Xenia]

Xenia,

You got your head in the right places now. Here is just my take on training, no expert or researching, but progress in body-shaping requires 50% dieting, 30% training, and 20 % REST. I am glad to see that you got the rest part down. As for overtraining, most school of bodybuilding likes to train 2-3 days and rest a day but I've read others that train 5 days nonstop and have the weekend off. In the end, it usually works out to 2 days off a week.

If you are worried about injuries and overworking, thereby wear and tear; reconize the different types of pain. From what I'v read, you are experiencing "good" pain which is really soreness or burning (pumped feeling) when you workout. Now the bad pain is when you need to take a step back and take a break. What is a bad pain? It is that Sharp burst pain like a knife stabbing into you or an electric shock at high voltage. It's like a strong sharp pinch inside the muslce. If that occur, check your form from the last few sets (you might have injuried it 20 minutes ago and not noticed until later); for example, the flat barbell bench press may cause some "bad" pain if done improperly.

Oh if you want to increase flexibility, try Yoga. I am a big fan of yoga; it helps restore the body, mind, and spirit. If you do try it, give it 3-5 attempts. The first time is confusing to keep up with all the poses. Hagtha yoga is slower pace but tough in a sense that you hold the poses longer. Vinaysa yoga connects breathe to movement so it's faster but might be slightly frustrating for beginner; but once you have it figured out, Vinaysa is fun. Another note, you are much more flexible in the evening, than in the morning.

Funny you should say that, my "Yoga for the Rest of Us" book arrived from innerlibrary loan. Basically it is a beginners book for those who are not very flexible.

I can't afford to spend money on anything just yet, but I can renew this book until they won't let me.

I found a few DVD's at Amazon.com that advertises that it is not focused on the spirituality aspect. I am a Christian and just can't get into some of the eastern spirituality I have seen related to Yoga. I can't buy any of them just yet, but eventually I will.

Perhaps I will learn enough from this book to last me until then. It has the "Sun Salutation" in it which I understand is one of the favorites of people. I offers modifications to use until I become more flexible.

 

[tic]

Sun Salutation is used for warming up and fundamental of most yoga pratice. Always a plus to learn.

As for yoga's spirituality, it's more of an aid to whatever you are worshipping. It's more of a lifestyle aid to de-stress and I have yet seen a yoga instructor preach about religion in there. The concept is more meditation based, where you are focused on breathing and stretching and leaving the wordly stress at the door.

 

[Xenia]

Sun Salutation is used for warming up and fundamental of most yoga practice. Always a plus to learn.

As for yoga's spirituality, it's more of an aid to whatever you are worshiping. It's more of a lifestyle aid to de-stress and I have yet seen a yoga instructor preach about religion in there. The concept is more meditation based, where you are focused on breathing and stretching and leaving the wordly stress at the door.

That is interesting because I have seen stuff that talks about chakra's etc. I was once into "New Age" and with that some Eastern Religions for a little while when I was a young adult. So I know what chakra's are.. and it is Eastern Religious principles that they are discussing.

I believe that meditation has its place but not in my particular faith. I do relax however and take deep breaths which is what I have seen in some of the yoga on the on demand area of my cable. That works for me if it is brief and does not focus on altering consciousness.

Anyway, I tried to do the yoga from that book but found it hard to read, then try to do what I read. I would rather have a video. So, tomorrow I plan to try to follow along with one of the on demand yoga classes and if necessary, pause and try to find an adaptation in the yoga book.

In the meantime, I am using Turbulent Training so I am only doing strength training as that program schedules it. I still feel a bit sore daily because I am still recovering between workouts. But the exercises are not the same even every other day and I feel better about that.

 

[tic]

Kewl, I am just a personal fan of yoga and do not really have issue with eastern teaching. With that said, you can listen to the part that is about stretching and breathing and ignore the whole aligning of the chakra's. Take what will benefit you and disgard what you find offensive.