Whether or not it's safe or advisable to exercise every day depends on various factors, including your overall health, fitness level, the intensity and type of exercise and your personal goals. I do get asked this question a lot and it requires thought and careful answering. My first question would be - why? Why are you wanting to exercise so much and what is the motivation behind it? If you find an exercise which you really enjoy and it isn't too intense then that is fine to do daily, such as walking or yoga. You also want to take into consideration the length of time of each session - ultimately you want to find a routine that optimises your efforts and doesn't undo them. Remember the importance of rest and recovery for fitness gains and to avoid injury. Here are some of my key considerations:
1. Type of Exercise: Different types of exercise have varying impacts on the body. If you engage in high-intensity workouts, especially those that target specific muscle groups specifically, you will need rest days between them to allow for recovery. On the other hand, light to moderate activities like walking or gentle yoga are suitable for daily practice.
2. Intensity and Duration: The intensity and duration of your workouts matter. Intense and prolonged exercise puts stress on your muscles, joints, and overall body, necessitating rest days to prevent overtraining and reduce the risk of injury.
3. Listen to Your Body: Pay attention to how your body responds to exercise. If you experience persistent fatigue, soreness, or signs of overtraining, such as disrupted sleep or changes in mood, it may be a signal to give your body some rest.
4. Recovery: You will have heard me say this before - rest days are VITAL for the body to repair and strengthen muscles. This recovery phase helps prevent burnout, reduces the risk of injuries, increases motivation and improves overall performance.
5. Variety in Workouts: Incorporating a variety of exercises, including different types of cardiovascular, strength training, and flexibility exercises, can help distribute the stress on your body more evenly. This may allow for more frequent workouts without overloading specific muscle groups.
6. Individual Differences: What works for one person will not necessarily work well for the next. People have different fitness levels, recovery rates, and overall health conditions. It's essential to tailor your exercise routine to your specific needs and goals.
7. Restorative Activities: On days when you're not doing those intense workouts, consider incorporating restorative activities such as stretching, yoga, or a nice long dog walk to promote recovery.
In summary, whether you can exercise every day depends on the nature of your workouts, your body's response, and your overall health. It's generally recommended to include rest days and listen to your body's signals to avoid overtraining and support long-term fitness and well-being.
A great exercise schedule that I would recommend to my clients would be along these lines – 30-40 minute workouts 4x a week - a mixture of medium to high impact workouts for example on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday interspersed with lower intensity workouts once or twice a week (such as jogging, swimming, cycling, yoga, Pilates) with either a mobility stretch session or long walk on the weekend. The high intensity sessions could be either strength or cardio focussed but I would definitely recommend at least two strength-based sessions a week, you can alternate between upper body and lower body sessions.
I do not recommend more than 3 sessions of HIIT workouts per week and would advise one day of complete rest of any high impact exercise. Alongside this routine I advise clients to focus on getting 7/8 hours of sleep per night and eating a balanced diet, drinking lots of water and watching their alcohol levels. Keeping your workouts varied is also key!! And finally enjoy your exercise, see it as enjoyment rather than a chore and if you find something you love you are more likely to stick with it and be consistent.
As always, any questions get in touch!
Caroline x
