A reader named Megan wrote to me on Facebook and asked: "Is the rule of not working out the same muscle groups on consecutive days set in stone? Or does it all depend on intensity?" The answer is both yes and no. Confused? I bet. So, let's take a closer look.
First, let's look at where this advice came from.
Body Building and Muscle Rest
Bodybuilders who work out for one to two hours while focusing on only one or two body parts are the ones who invented this rule of thumb. And like much fitness and exercise lore, that advice trickled down through magazines, blogs, and word of mouth until it became the type of conventional wisdom you might hear by the water fountain at the gym.
For lifters who are putting in the time and effort to truly break down and then rebuild their muscles with extraordinary dedication, it is definitely a good idea to take 48 to 72 hours between working out the same muscle group.
The reason is that when you strength train, you are actually making tiny tears in the fibers of the muscles that you are exercising. Then, after you finish the workout, your body automatically deploys satellite cells to zip around the body and repair those tiny muscle tears. This makes the torn muscle fibers both thicker and stronger than they were before, which is how you gain strength and muscle size.
If you are constantly tearing the same muscle fibers without giving them adequate rest, then you are simply re-tearing those muscle fibers before they have had time to repair themselves. Without the crucial rest and recovery period, your muscles cannot and will not fully grow, and—even if you don't end up injured— you will have less than stellar results from all your hard work.
OK, so most of us aren't spending 90 minutes blasting our glutes. Sure, some of you might be dedicated to having the largest calf muscles in your book club but most of us are exercising more practically or functionally. And when it comes to that, this rule isn't exactly set in stone.
Body Weight
If you really want to train the same muscles every day, you can do it with exercises that use your bodyweight and light to moderate body movement only. Exercises like:
- Pushups and pull-ups.
- Core strength exercises.
- Bodyweight squats and lunges.
- Plyometrics (light to moderate).
- Cardio type exercise (light to moderate) like walking, running, cycling, and swimming.
- Stretching or Yoga.
If you think about it, even if you aren't doing the exact same exercises each day, it's pretty hard to not use some of the same muscle groups. Overlap, to some extent, is inevitable and that is totally acceptable. If you attempted to fully isolate each muscle group by day of the week you could easily lose your mind. Even doing a back squat involves some input from your pecs.
Although the movements I listed above can, in fact, induce those tiny tears in the muscles, they aren't doing it at a level that you need to worry about (as long as you keep the workouts light to moderate). Your body will be able to recover quickly enough and the accumulated fatigue of a few back-to-back sessions will actually result in an increase in fitness, once you do take some time to recover. Check out the article called Why a Break in Training is Necessary for more info on how supercompensation works.
If you are not willing or able to keep these workouts light to moderate (that's light to moderate for you at your current fitness level) I would still be leery of training the same specific muscle groups on consecutive days. You can, however, alternate days if you are not also doing heavy or high-impact workouts that could require longer periods of rest. For those higher-impact workouts (which tear down muscle) you should take at least 3 days before you perform the same routine.
The Bottom Line
In my Facebook conversation with Megan (who asked this question most recently), I added my own perspective and that is "why would you want to work out the same muscle group two days in a row anyway?" Not only would I find it boring to do the same workout every day but if you read the article called Why Cross-Training Is Essential (and Improves Your DNA) you will know that the genes responsible for keeping us healthy and fit are only expressed (or switched on) in our body parts when those body parts are actually moved. By ignoring parts of our bodies and focusing solely on others, we are on a genetic level not performing at our peak.
So, even if you aren't at risk of injury or overtraining, you are missing out on some of the real benefits of exercise and movement if you don't mix it up.
Now, I don't think I am some glowing God of exemplary exercise, but this is what my workout week usually looks like:
- Day One - Easy run to the pool, swim, hard run home.
- Day Two - Hard run to the gym, upper body strength training, walk home.
- Day Three - Long bike ride (including some serious hills).
- Day Four - Long run followed by some yoga and foam rolling.
- Day Five - Easy bike to the gym, lower body strength training, fast ride home.
- Day Six - Hard bike to pool, swim, easy bike home.
- Day Seven - Long walk, yoga, foam roll, recovery work.
If you look closely you will see that there are indeed days where I will work out my arms and back two days in a row but one day is a strength training day and the next is more of a mobility day (like swimming). Or one day will be a long run (working out my legs) followed by a lower body strength day, but then that day is immediately followed by a recovery day. So, in the end, it is about balance, intuition, intensity, and how you use those muscles during each workout.
Now sure, being someone who enjoys triathlons, my week is skewed in that direction and your week may look (and probably does look) completely different, including other sports, activities, and movement interests. My point is that there are so many fun things to do in this lovely world of movement that even if you aren't a bodybuilder who is at risk of overtraining or injury, I would urge you to expand your movement horizons. Not only to activate those epigenetic switches that help us stay healthy and fit but also, and probably more importantly, because it is way more fun.
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