Give it a rest already!

You are probably familiar with the American College of Sports Medicine's recommendations for improving cardiovascular and muscular fitness: aerobic activity performed three to five days per week for 15 to 60 minutes at 55 to 90 percent intensity, along with a minimum of two strength training sessions per week.
But what happens if a person exercises more than the recommended amount? In terms of increased fitness capacity, not much. In terms of increased risk of injury, possibly quite a bit.

Read Between the Lines
There's a vitally important component of the "fitness formula" that often goes unnoticed. That component is rest. Without rest, all the training in the world will be for naught. It is during periods of rest that your body adapts to the exercise stress and subsequently becomes stronger and more efficient. Some may believe that the exercise adaptation takes place during the actual exercise activity. This is not true. When a muscle is worked, a certain amount of muscle tissue breakdown occurs. During periods of rest, the tissue repairs itself. Thus, the tissue becomes a bit stronger than before the workout.

Without regular periods of rest in a workout schedule, the body never gets a chance to recover and adapt. The body remains in a constant state of fatigue; performance will begin to suffer, fitness improvements will plateau and the risk of overuse injuries will rise.

How Much is Enough?
How much rest does a body need? That, of course, depends on the body. For the general population a good rule of thumb is to schedule a minimum of 24 hours of rest between aerobic workouts, a minimum of 24 to 48 hours between strength training sessions depending on the nature of the workout (A more intense workout, like Circuit Training, requires a longer rest between sessions), and at least two days off each week from your moderate-to-high intensity aerobic workouts. (Lighter intensity activities don't figure into the fitness formula). Individuals who exercise more than three to five times per week are doing it for reasons other than health and general fitness. Professional athletes justifiably exercise beyond the limits. However, what about the average person who mistakenly believes if a little exercise is good, more has got to be better?

-Do yourself a favor by making rest a part of your workout routine.

-Too much stress and not enough rest breeds fatigue and overuse. Remember, the muscle can't get stronger if it's constantly being overloaded with no time to repair.

-Take heed. These words of wisdom apply to you. Weights are great, but only if used correctly with the proper amount of rest between sessions.