Letting Muscles Rest/recover Between Workouts...

[BKMama 179]

So how does this work if you do cardio and weight training separately? Does doing cardio count as letting the muscles recover or does it have to be a true day of rest (no exercise)?

I'm starting a new regimen that will look like this:

Monday - BodyPump (full body weight training)

Wednesday - Either BodyCombat (cardio kickboxing) or Water aerobics

Thursday - Zumba

Saturday - Body Pump (full body weight training)

Sunday - 1/2 hour core class and Zumba

This would be an ideal week, so I may not make it to all of these every single week. But I'm just wondering if I'm not giving my muscles enough time to recover from the weight training. It's Monday and I'm still sore from the weight training on Saturday but I did Zumba yesterday.

Sure, I may cry when we get to the squats tonight in BodyPump but it mixes with the sweat so it's fine. LOL I just said it another thread, but I really want to get into a good rhythm with exercise so I can take advantage of this honeymoon period while it lasts.

Thoughts? (Overall thoughts on the regimen on a whole are welcomed as well!)

THANKS!!

[massindex 346]

So this isn't an easy answer. There are several types of muscles, most notably fast twitch and slow twitch muscles. Fast twitch muscles are for explosive utilization like jumping, sprints and powerlifting heavy weights. Generally, these muscles require more time to recover between workouts. The slow twitch muscles are designed for endurance activities like jogging and they take less time to recover. Also, the more intense your workouts are, the more time you need for recovery. Your list of activites look like they geared to fast twitch muscles which means longer recovery periods are required. If anything, I'd take your Thursday activity (Zumba) and move it to a slow twitch activity like jogging or walking. That's my take...

[geno5150 168]

I'd agree with massindex on this. Since you're not trying to build huge muscular legs, the rest period isn't as critical when thinking cardio vs. muscle building. The cardio is all about working the heart and burning calories. You could probably even double up and do both on some days if you don't want to spend 7 days a week in the gym.

[BKMama 179]

So this isn't an easy answer. There are several types of muscles, most notably fast twitch and slow twitch muscles. Fast twitch muscles are for explosive utilization like jumping, sprints and powerlifting heavy weights. Generally, these muscles require more time to recover between workouts. The slow twitch muscles are designed for endurance activities like jogging and they take less time to recover. Also, the more intense your workouts are, the more time you need for recovery. Your list of activites look like they geared to fast twitch muscles which means longer recovery periods are required. If anything, I'd take your Thursday activity (Zumba) and move it to a slow twitch activity like jogging or walking. That's my take...

Thanks for the detailed answer! That definitely helps. I'd give up the Wednesday class before Zumba on Thursday. I am a self-admitted Zumba addict.

I'd agree with massindex on this. Since you're not trying to build huge muscular legs, the rest period isn't as critical when thinking cardio vs. muscle building. The cardio is all about working the heart and burning calories. You could probably even double up and do both on some days if you don't want to spend 7 days a week in the gym.

LOL I feel like crawling to my car after one of these classes...two in one day?! No, seriously, one day I hope to get to that point definitely. My legs are already big so I'm really hoping to tone/thin them up quite a bit so I do have to be careful with that.