Have you ever thought that the more you work out, the faster you’ll get results? So should you work out 7 days a week? This article will help you understand the pros and cons of working out every day, who should and shouldn’t work out, and how to work out effectively without getting exhausted.
1. Don’t work out 7 days a week
According to Healthline, muscles need about 24 hours to recover after light exercises or 2-3 days for heavy-weight exercises. Therefore, you should not work out every day but need rest periods to avoid fatigue, exhaustion, and even injury.
1.1. Increased risk of muscle and joint injuries
During exercise, joints, tendons, and ligaments are often impacted. If you do not give your body enough time to recover, these organs will be under constant pressure, making it easy to suffer from injuries such as muscle strain, joint pain, tendonitis or even bone fractures, especially when you use heavy weights or high-impact exercises.
1.2. Reduced training performance
Continuous training without rest can make the body tired, reduce endurance and speed, making the following training sessions less effective. Therefore, resting at least 1 day per week is necessary, helping the body relax, regenerate energy and start the next training sessions more excitedly and effectively.
1.3. Overtraining Syndrome
This is a condition that occurs when you train too much without enough recovery time, causing the body and nerves to become stressed. This not only negatively affects sleep but also leads to chronic fatigue, weakened immune system, stress and gradual loss of motivation to train.
1.4. Hormonal disorders
Overtraining causes hormonal changes, increasing the levels of stress hormones cortisol and epinephrine, leading to difficulty concentrating, emotional instability, difficulty sleeping, and even depression.
In particular, the habit of exercising continuously 7 days a week also reduces testosterone in men, causing the body to lose desire. Meanwhile, women may have menstrual disorders due to a decrease in estrogen causing menstrual disorders.
| Session | Muscle Groups Worked | Suggested Exercises |
| Session 1 (20 – 30 min) | Forearms – Arms – Back – Lats | – Pulldown – 3 sets x 8-12 reps – Dumbbell Row – 3 sets x 8-12 reps – Barbell Row – 3 sets x 8-12 reps – Back Extension – 3 sets x 8-12 reps – Seated Standard Curls – 3 sets x 8-12 reps – Seated Hammer Curls – 3 sets x 8-12 reps |
| Session 2 | Rest | |
| Session 3 (20 – 30 min) | Incline – Triceps – Shoulders – Chest | Dumbbell Press – 3 sets x 8-12 reps – Chest Press (Chest press machine) – 3 sets x 8-12 reps – Dips – 3 sets x 8-12 reps – Tricep overhead extension – 3 sets x 8-12 reps – Tricep rope pushdown – 3 sets x 8-12 reps |
| Session 4 | Rest | |
| Session 5 (20 – 30 min) | Legs – Calves – Buttocks – Abs | – Dumbbell front squat – 3 sets x 8-12 reps – Romanian deadlift – 3 sets x 8-12 reps – Seated legs curls – 3 sets x 8-12 reps – Seated leg extension – 3 sets x 8-12 reps – Standing calf raise) – 3 sets x 8-12 reps – Crunch – 3 sets x 15-20 reps |
| Session 6 (15 min) | Rest/stretch | Neck stretch – 15 sec each side – Chest stretch – 20 sec – Hip – glute stretch – 3 min – Arm stretch – 3 min – Lower back stretch – 3 min – Thigh – calf stretch – 3 min |
| Session 7 | Rest | |
