what constitutes a day off?

StormWarrior

You know you are supposed to have at least one day off in between weightlifting sessions? Is it OK to do other body-toning exercises on those days off, like pilates or callanetics?

If your routine was like this:
Mon: Weights
Tues: Pilates or callanetics
wed: weights
thurs: pilates or callanetics
fri: weights
sat: pilates or callantics
sun: day off

do you think that's OK? For those who don't know what callanetics is, its the workout devised by callan pinckney, it's kind of like pilates, it's designed to tone up your deep inner muscles.

Or do you think you have to have a day off from all body-toning exercises in between?

Khannie

StormWarrior wrote: »

If your routine was like this:
Mon: Weights
Tues: Pilates or callanetics
wed: weights
thurs: pilates or callanetics
fri: weights
sat: pilates or callantics
sun: day off

do you think that's OK?

It depends on how fit you are and how good your diet is. If you're fit and your diet's good, I'd say yes, that should be fine...... if you're unfit and / or eat a lot of crap, well, you'll find out the hard way (you'll get ill, feel like crap, etc.).

edit: For what it's worth, my week looks something like that. I train twice a day some days, but always take one full day of rest a week. I'm fit, my diet is good and I get 8 hours kip most nights.

ScissorPaperRock

Khannie wrote: »

It depends on how fit you are and how good your diet is. If you're fit and your diet's good, I'd say yes, that should be fine...... if you're unfit and / or eat a lot of crap, well, you'll find out the hard way (you'll get ill, feel like crap, etc.).

edit: For what it's worth, my week looks something like that. I train twice a day some days, but always take one full day of rest a week. I'm fit, my diet is good and I get 8 hours kip most nights.

Can overtraining in combination with a poor diet actually lead to sickness? Like aside from muscle fatigue, could it reduce the strength of your immune system and make you more susceptible to colds etc?

Khannie

Oh yes indeedy.

billyhead

OP,

Thats what has happened to me before. I was triaining too much and along with a poor diet in terms off not enough calories and not enough rest I overtrained. Not a nice place to be.

ScissorPaperRoc wrote: »

Can overtraining in combination with a poor diet actually lead to sickness? Like aside from muscle fatigue, could it reduce the strength of your immune system and make you more susceptible to colds etc?

injured365

And at the same time having a very high level of fitness also makes you more susceptible to disease. But this is more noticable in high level endurance athletes.

Theresalwaysone

injured365 wrote: »

And at the same time having a very high level of fitness also makes you more susceptible to disease. But this is more noticable in high level endurance athletes.

Really? Proof? Id like to read that and the logic behind it.

Seems sorta counter intuitive.

injured365

I took a quick look there but i can't find the relevant info. However "exercised induced immunosuppression" is the condition in question. If you google it, as i did, you will find loads of info in how to reduce this. While obviously this isnt concrete proof of it, the fact that people are trying to reduce this shows it is real.
I will try to find some better studies on it.

From a book i own....
Chronic exercise both enhances and reduces the immune system. However there is an overall decrease in immune system functions, particulary when training loads are high. Circulating numbers of leukocytes (white blood cells) are generally 20-40% lower in well trained athletes than in the general population. A low leukocyte count may arise from hemodilution (increase in plasma levels) associated with training, or it may represent altered leukocyte movement or distribution. The large release of neutrophils which occur after a prolonged bout of exercise could, over a period of several months or years of heavy training, deplete the bone marrow reserve of these cells. (neutrophils are cells the immune system releases to fight infections)

Got a bit heavier there than i was looking for but it was the best i could do

Theresalwaysone

Yeah but surely it doesnt actually have anyting to do with their "fitness" more so being attributable to the fact they are training at such a high level and intensity that their CNS and Immune system are under constant stress?

I would also say its not just found in high level athletes, its relative to the person.

injured365

Theresalwaysone wrote: »

Yeah but surely it doesnt actually have anyting to do with their "fitness" more so being attributable to the fact they are training at such a high level and intensity that their CNS and Immune system are under constant stress?

I would also say its not just found in high level athletes, its relative to the person.

I can't argue with what you have said there, but at the same time, you would need a high fitness base to be able to maintain the level of training and intensity for it to affect your immune system.
It is relative to the person yes. But there is proof that in endurance type sports, the athletes as a group, have a somewhat impaired immune system. While one can say that its possible that a large number of people with a poor immune system already just happen to be involved in high level training, I think, as do others, the training itself causes the poor immune system.

This is one of the reason for glutamine supplements, however there is no solid proof that glutamine is effective.