Should you exercise every day? The unexpected answer revealed that people who are careless or lazy will benefit more health

Everyone knows that regular exercise is good for health, but should you exercise every day? Here are the pros and cons of daily exercise.

Those who want to stay motivated to exercise, lose weight or achieve their fitness goals try to exercise every day. Many people worry that daily exercise can be overwhelming or boring when busy, experts say that exercising every day is completely okay if you plan it carefully.

When it comes to daily exercise, how do you make sure it’s safe or avoid the negative effects of overtraining? The experts have given the following tips.

Is daily exercise safe?

It is safe to exercise every day as long as you ensure a balance between types of exercise during the week. Doing high-intensity cardio for too many days a week or jam-packed with resistance training will inevitably lead to injury and burnout.

On the other hand, high-intensity training combined with resistance training, flexibility exercises, and gentle cardio will ensure your body has time to recover. As long as you work different muscles on different days, there will be time for the muscles to repair and strengthen for the next workout.

Daily exercise is healthy when you have a plan and balance between exercise and recovery activities. (Illustration)

“Everybody should try to be active for at least 30 minutes a day,” says Jessica Baldwin, a lecturer at the School of Health and Movement Studies, University of Nebraska Omaha (USA). More specifically, you can do cardio exercises every day. However, you shouldn’t work the same muscle groups every day along with resistance training (aka endurance exercise). Muscles need 24-48 hours to recover before working a muscle group again.

According to research, daily exercise brings many mental benefits. A 2005 study in the Journal of Sports Science and Medicine found that daily physical exercise, especially swimming, helps maintain and improve cognitive function, memory, and reduces the risk of loss of memory. mind. Similarly, 2007 studies published in the same journal confirmed that treadmill running significantly increased learning and memory.

The physical benefits, if you train them properly and with balance, are also numerous. A 2006 study in the Canadian Medical Association Journal found that regular physical activity helps prevent a number of chronic diseases and is also associated with a reduced risk of premature death. Research shows that people who exercise above the Health Authority’s recommended levels achieve even more benefits.

Are there any negative effects of daily exercise?

If you do regular high-intensity exercise a few days a week and train too much of the same muscle/muscle group on consecutive days, you will experience negative effects from working out every day. According to Medline Plus, overworking your body can lead to feelings of fatigue, boredom, sleep problems, injury, loss of motivation and anxiety.

The American Council on Exercise states that the more you exercise, the more benefits you will gain, but also warns there is a problem when exercising too much leads to a side effect, known as Overtraining Syndrome – that is, loss of energy. balance between exercise and recovery. The agency recommends that people watch out for signs of decreased activity, excessive fatigue, loss of appetite, chronic pain, and psychological stress.

It is advisable to combine forms of exercise and focus on different muscle groups. (Illustration)

However, it’s important to remember that Overtraining Syndrome is the result of an imbalance between the types of workouts each day of the week, not the actual decision to exercise every day. Pay attention to these side effects so you know when you need to change your exercise plan to avoid overdoing it.

Good tips for people who want to exercise every day

To help you visualize some of the types of exercise you can do on your weekly schedule, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services recommends four types of exercise to improve health and physical performance: Endurance, strength, balance and flexibility. Every week you can balance high-intensity cardio exercises with lower-body exercises on one day and upper-body workouts on another day; balance exercises, yoga or pilates or gentle stretching, and light cardio, such as walking, moderate swimming, leisurely cycling or dancing.

The length of the exercises will depend on your fitness level and personal goals. However, the Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans released in 2018 recommend that adults do at least 150 to 300 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise a week or 75 to 150 minutes of vigorous-intensity aerobic activity. . So you can divide this time by the days of the week and set a certain time for each exercise you choose. The guidelines also recommend that adults do muscle-strengthening activities 2 or more days per week.

Working out with friends or taking a class can help you stay motivated longer. (Illustration)

Once you have a plan, how can you make sure you don’t over-exercise? Medline Plus recommends that you eat enough calories for your level of exercise, drink enough water while exercising, try to get at least 8 hours of sleep each night, don’t exercise in too cold or hot conditions, reduce or take breaks when you exercise. feeling unwell or overly stressed and rest at least 6 hours between sessions. You should also pay attention to recognize when you are “addicted” to exercise so that you can seek the help of medical professionals when needed.

How to stay motivated to exercise every day?

Even if you have a long-term motivation to exercise every day, such as losing weight or staying in shape, improving your health, there are still days when you don’t want to exercise at all. So what can help you stay motivated and how should you prepare for the workout?

“Goal setting is one of the best ways to stay motivated to work out on a set schedule. Goal should follow SMART principles: Specific (Specific), Measurable (Measurable), Action-oriented (Action-oriented), Realistic (Realistic) and Time-oriented (Time-oriented). , expert Baldwin advises. Share your goals with a friend or loved one for extra determination. Then don’t forget to reward yourself when you hit your goal.

Baldwin also recommends breaking up your workouts into small chunks and recording them. You don’t have to do the entire exercise in one sitting: fit it into your schedule (morning, noon, between meetings) and try to accumulate 30 to 60 minutes a day. In addition, it is advisable to mark training sessions in the calendar or use a workout tracking application. It can provide instant information such as step count, heart rate and calorie consumption measurement.

Another great way to stay motivated to exercise every day is to do it with a friend or join a group or class. Having a partner will help you commit to your workouts, see time go by faster, and feel happier. In addition, training classes or groups often have someone to guide you to perform the movements properly as well as create an atmosphere of exchange, positive, and fun for the session.