Irritable Bowel Syndrome Message Boards

Your body can only heal at rest. Exercise is adaptation when you exercise you actually somewhat injure you muscles (Small muscle tears). When your body realizes that this new activity is causes the tears it repairs them, but only when he body is at rest. When repairing the tears you body makes the muscle fibers larger and stronger, so that if this activity keeps up next time you will be able to handle it. So if you do not rest you body it cannot repair the damage you have cause during you workout, therefore you progress will be slow. Also, if you do not give the body a chance to heal you can slowly cause a chronic injury. Chronic injury will lead to a lot more than one day off, then you will loose all the progress you made. Cardio should be done at most 6 days a week, and if you are going to do that much cardio you need to cross train. Weight lifting for the same body part should never be done on consecutive days. If you spilt the body parts you should still take at least one day off a week. For a full body moderate routine takes at least 24hrs rest, for a full body hard routine (soreness occurs) you should take 48hrs rest. But you can stretch tight muscle everyday. As far as abdominal work contrary to popular belief you should not work abs everyday. Abdominal muscle are the same fiber as almost every other muscle the need rest to. So on the days you do not lift I suggest cardio stretching and Abs nothing more. And take one day when you don't workout at all. That does mean you have to sit on you rear all day you can be active, but nothing to strenuous. Hope this clears some things up. GOOD LUCK! Cheree

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