I have the Denise Austins pilates for every body. Its a 45 min pilates and toning with a power band. I dont like the pwer band and use 5 lb weigt for all the upper body exercise. Is there any reason (such as muscle recovery why I cant do it mon-fri instead of every other day?

Thanks!

You should never work the same muscle group heavily two days in a row. The reason is that when you work a muscle, you create microscopic tears in the muscle fiber. The muscle says, "Boy, if he/she is going to do that again, I'd better get stronger!" So it repairs itself on the microscopic level. (That pain you feel the day AFTER you work out, by the way, is actually the rebuilding process going on - cool, huh?) Having said that, I think it depends on whether you work the muscle to the point of exhaustion, called "muscle failure." If you do, then DON'T work the same muscle group for 48 hours. If you don't work the muscle to the point of failure (i.e., you're not using heavy weights, you can complete the reps easily while still maintaining perfect form and have lots of muscle strength left), then it probably won't hurt too much to do the same workout every day. But you also won't get the same improvement that you're looking for because your muscles easily learn to adapt to what you ask of them. By cross training with different exercises or tapes, you create what is called "muscle confusion," which results in MUCH faster gains in strength/toning/fitness than doing the same workout over and over.

Hope this helps!

Michelle

mm hmm, agree w/Michelle. A suggestion......how about getting another exercise tape, something other than Pilates, and then alternating them? That way it's something different every other day, reducing the adaptation response, and keeping you from boredom, Don't forget at least 1 full rest day, too.

tHANKS TO BOTH OF YOU! I do cardio/yoga for 30 min every morning mon-fri. I have been doing the pilates everyother day. At first my muscles hurt like heck with the pilates and 5-10 lb weights.
Do you think aerobics(whick is different daily) and pilates is enough of a mix????
If I'm understanding the above info correctly it looks like every other day of pilates/weights mixed with my aerobic( I've dont 6am earobic/yoga for over 5 yrs) may be fine with some other goodies llike walking biking thrown in.
Am I on track?

Yep! That's the best for women...a mix of lifting and cardio. The only other thing I'd suggest is upping your weights when the 10's get easy, I'm looking to get a Pilates dvd when I go to FL this spring....seems like a nice addition to the routine.

Thanks Dane!