Rest Day Placement

[dougdrums]

Ok, I've read a few threads on this topic, and i know for sure that i obviously need to take some time off between work outs and even extended time off (1-2 weeks) every several months or so. But i guess i have a specific question that i couldn't find the direct answer too. It seems that a 2 day on and 1 day off work out program is best, but i am always out of town from friday afternoon to Monday morning. My work outs are usually in the evenings on Monday through Thursday. Ok, all that to ask this... Am i hurting my gains by having a workout Mon, Tues, Wed, and Thurs. without a rest day in between or is that ok since i have Friday - Sunday to rest. I could could the gym way early on Friday morning but it would be right after a late THursday night workout. That way i could take Wednesday off but still get my four workouts in. Basically, which is the better option? Sorry for the long explanation, but i wanted to get all the info out there. I'm currently on a three workout cycle by the way, so on the fourth day i would be starting the first workout over again. This might change soon though. Thanks for any advice anyone could give.

[fenderacoustic]

No short answer. For me when I was really getting results I was going five days a week and hitting it hard. I think four days straight would be fine. Might be the shock your body needs to overcome that plateu. The bigger question is how long can you sustain this without a break?

But you'll find guys on here that swear by every different routine. Of course you always want to switch it up every so often. But I don't think that schedule will hurt your gains. If anything I would think it would break your body down more to be built up over the weekend. I guess it depends on how fast you heal.

I guess the real answer is experiment and find your own body's limits and what works best for you. Also diet will play a big factor. If you're eating right your body can make the most of any workout you dish out. Especially on those off days when your body is rebuilding itself and you might not be as motivated (or you are on the road to Dallas, etc.).

Keep up the hard work.

[Passion4Pump]

Originally Posted by dougdrums

Ok, I've read a few threads on this topic, and i know for sure that i obviously need to take some time off between work outs and even extended time off (1-2 weeks) every several months or so. But i guess i have a specific question that i couldn't find the direct answer too. It seems that a 2 day on and 1 day off work out program is best, but i am always out of town from friday afternoon to Monday morning. My work outs are usually in the evenings on Monday through Thursday. Ok, all that to ask this... Am i hurting my gains by having a workout Mon, Tues, Wed, and Thurs. without a rest day in between or is that ok since i have Friday - Sunday to rest. I could could the gym way early on Friday morning but it would be right after a late THursday night workout. That way i could take Wednesday off but still get my four workouts in. Basically, which is the better option? Sorry for the long explanation, but i wanted to get all the info out there. I'm currently on a three workout cycle by the way, so on the fourth day i would be starting the first workout over again. This might change soon though. Thanks for any advice anyone could give.

I don't think that mon, tues, wed, thurs is any worse than something like mon, tues, thursday, fri or mon, tues, fri, sat. You still get the same amount of rest either way. Do you work out any of the same muscles in one week?

[87lifter]

I workout M-F and rest on the weekend and am steadily making gains (on a bulk though, might be a different story in a caloric deficit). So if you can only go M-Th you will be just fine...