How many days a week?

As soon as I stopped trying to schedule 3-4 work outs a week and said "I am just going to aim to work out every day", staying consistent about the gym has really become so much easier.  But now I am having trouble taking days off.  I am on day 7 of working out in a row today, but plan to not workout over the weekend...even though the thought of it bums me out. 

So I was wondering if anyone else finds it hard to take a day off?  How many days off do you take?  And also wondering if people slip in some form of exercise (light yoga or something) on their off days?  What about just cross training and going daily?

I don't want to over work my body, but...well exercise is my one release.  I actually don't feel well when I have to skip totally.

I do at least 6 days a week. However, I don't train as hard as a lot of people here so I don't think it's a problem for me to work out every day. I go to the gym about every other day and that's a really good workout as I use the weight machines in addition to 20 minutes of cardio,  but on the off days from there I lap swim for 35 minutes or walk/bike for 35-40 minutes. I don't think it's a problem at all to do something like that every day. Granted, it wouldn't be good to do the weight machines day in and day out without giving my muscles a rest, but I don't think walking, biking, or swimming every day will hurt anything. Besides, a lot of the rest of my day is spent at my computer, so I get a lot of "rest" too!

Jenny

If I feel wiped out I will take a day off every now and then , but I usually try to use Sunday as a complete rest day.

5 days a week, i always take saturdays off to spend with the family (unless i have a race/event), and then one day during the week.  Sunday mornings is my long workout slot.

For me I usually workout intensively 4 days a week and do some non-gym activities the other day.  However, when I do intensive boxing and weight training the next day I might only do boxing or cardio.  I let my muscles rest appropriately per my trainer so I can heel the tears in the muscle and go back at it sooner.  But I do cardio whenever I feel like it or have those in between days.

I have a running streak that goes back 5 months. That is at least a mile a day - every day. It took a long time to work up to it and on the days where I need a break, I will do an easy 1.1 mile. That is my rest day. I totally agree that every day makes it so much easier to get out the door. When I was doing every other day or 5 days a week, there were times that I would dread the run so much that I would not get out the door. Now the only question is when and I don't dread it at all. Usually I just get up and go.

If you are going to workout every day, you have to break things up and work different muscles. On the days where you really don't feel it, maybe you still hit the gym or workout room but only stretch. If you start feeling run down, adjust your plan accordingly.

For me, the consistancy has been awesome.

Scott said it the way I am going to summarize it...

Listen to your body.  That's the key.

I run 5 days a week, usually a total of 33-35 miles. I tend to run 3 days in a row, take a rest day, then do 2 days before taking another rest day. It's not set in stone, though--sometimes you just have to listen to your body and rest it, such as the day after my 13.5 mile long run!!

Still, If you really want to do something every day, cross-training should be fine. It will prevent boredom and allow some muscles to rest while others are exerting themselves. I love running as a form of stress release, but other forms of exercise work, too!