Maybe you’re self-conscious about your thick thighs or anxiously want to get your back in better shape as quickly as possible – does that mean you should train them in the gym every day? No, you can’t do that and you shouldn’t do that.

Training the same set of muscles very often can go wrong and lead to serious injuries. Along with fitness experts, doctors also warn against this.

Risk of muscle fatigue and injury

“Training the same muscles repeatedly can lead to injury or increased pain. Muscles need time to recover and rest. After a good workout, you should give your muscles at least 24 to 48 hours to recover so that they can repair well, and your performance will increase,” says Raipur-based fitness coach Abhishek Singh.

Recovery plays an important role in hypertrophy, which is the process of muscle growth.

“Recovery allows neuromuscular adaptations, which increase communication between one’s nervous system and muscles, improving coordination and overall performance. Allowing time for muscle recovery also increases the density of actin and myosin filaments within the muscle fibers, which increases contractility or strength,” says Dr Prasad Bhagunde, orthopedic and arthroscopy surgeon, Saifee Hospital and Breach Candy Hospital, Mumbai. They say.

Delhi-based gym trainer Robin Nagar explains how training the same muscles every day can work against your goals.

“For example, you train your legs every day; by doing so, you are only breaking down your muscles. During exercise, muscle fibers break down, and during rest they repair and grow. Proper rest. Without exercise, muscles can become overly fatigued, ultimately hindering recovery, leading to injuries and hindering muscle growth (hypertrophy) and strength gains,” explains Nagar. India Today,

Now, continuing this pattern without proper recovery can prevent micro-tears in the muscle fibers from healing, leading to chronic fatigue, muscle strains, or even tears.

“Attempting to move forward without recovery often reduces performance; A person may not be able to lift the same weight or complete the same number of repetitions, says Dr. Bhagunde.

Have you ever heard of muscle imbalance?

There is also an increased risk of muscle imbalance – a condition where some muscles are strong, but others are not. This happens when you only focus on a particular group of muscles or don’t change your workout often.

If daily running is the only form of exercise you do, you are not training your other muscles. It is important to train all major muscle groups of the body to avoid the risk of pain and injury.

People who concentrate on a particular activity or sport often notice this problem. One study stated that professional football players with strength imbalances were four to five times more likely to suffer hamstring injuries than players without imbalances.

So, if you do the same workout every day, it is important to include other types of activities as well. And if you’re a gym goer, it’s recommended to alternate muscle groups throughout the week to ensure each set gets attention and time to recover.

Safe ways to train the same muscles in the gym every day

The risk of muscle fatigue and injury is especially high with high-intensity training involving large muscles such as the quadriceps (thighs), hamstrings, glutes (buttocks), back muscles and chest muscles. Larger muscles take longer to recover after a workout, especially when performing intense training with heavy weights or high volume. If adequate rest is not provided, muscles can become fatigued, resulting in poor performance, impaired coordination and increased risk of injury from overuse.

“Generally, lower-intensity smaller muscles like biceps, triceps and abs can be trained every day – but only with low-moderate intensity,” says Delhi-based fitness YouTuber Yash Sharma.

“If you keep the intensity light or moderate, you can do a few exercises every day – like push-ups and bicep curls. However, the important thing to keep in mind is not to reach training saturation and not reach a point where the muscles become damaged more than they can recover from,” says Sharma.

Orthopedic surgeon Dr Bhagunde agrees and says that training the same muscle groups daily can be managed safely by varying the intensity and volume of the workout.

“By alternating between high-intensity, low-volume training and low-intensity, high-volume sessions, one can keep their muscles active while not putting pressure on themselves,” he explains. India Today,

If you want to train your legs every day – for reasons such as your mental satisfaction – you can also adopt the technique of dividing the exercises throughout the week.

“If you do five exercises for your legs every day, spread those exercises out throughout the week. Do one of these exercises every day to avoid overtraining and subsequent problems,” suggests Nagar.

Dr. Bhagunde says that changing training methods can be an effective way to train the same muscle groups without putting too much stress.

For example, after a high-intensity session of barbell back squats, one can switch to a lower-intensity activity like cycling the next day. This method will engage the quadriceps while reducing stress on the muscles. It is important to avoid lifting the same weight at high intensity on consecutive days, as this can hinder recovery and increase the risk of injury,” he says.

Oh, and your muscle recovery depends not only on the rest days you’re providing to particular muscles, but also on other factors like eating well, staying hydrated, and getting good sleep.