One of our readers recently asked this question: "I just finished the Couch to 5K program. I want to know if/when it is a good idea to run daily. I'm trying really hard to avoid injuries and burnout." I've been a runner for a long time and love the feeling it gives me--the sense of accomplishment, the energy boost when I'm finished, and more. So if you're like me, I can see why you might want to run daily, both for the feelings it provides and the fact that it keeps you in a regular routine. But I wouldn't recommend it. There are a number of reasons why running every day might not be the best idea. The first is that rest days are very important. You might feel like you're being lazy by taking a day off, but your body needs that time to recover. The best way to make progress with your running--whether you're trying to get faster, increase your distance or have another goal in mind--is to do workouts that are challenging. When you're constantly pushing your body to do more, it needs time off. That doesn't mean you're a slacker. It means you're playing it smart, doing your best to avoid injury and treating your body well. There are some runners who are content to do the same 3-mile loop around the neighborhood on a daily basis, with no variation in their routine. For those people, it might be OK to run daily because they have gotten used to this routine and it's probably not much of a strain on their bodies. But for those people who are trying to improve their fitness level, perhaps to train for a longer race or beat their best time at a mile, it is taxing on the body. Although it's important to do a mix of challenging and easier runs throughout the week, it's still good to take a day or two off. I'd also recommend doing a variety of activities. Even if you want running to be your primary form of exercise, it's still good to cross-train with other activities a few times a week. That gives your "running muscles" a break, but also helps improve your fitness level at the same time. Do you agree? Do you find that rest days and cross-training help improve your performance? In what ways?  You will earn 5 SparkPoints
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At the moment, I've got a niggle in my right foot so for the next couple of days I shall cross train, and then run again.
I have had too many lay-offs in the past through over-training to make the same mistake again.
I've also found that as I have got older, my body has taken longer to recover from a long run or if I've done something like sprint / hill intervals. Report
Moral of the story: you don't have to necessarily take the day off, but crosstrain doing something very different. I recommend Spinning, the elliptical, even a long fairly mellow walk. Report
For some people, their body can take more pounding than others so running every day for them is all right. But this is not something we all should do. For people who are overweight, beginners, older, have had joint/muscular injuries, should take it easy and work their way up. Doing too much too soon will only result in injuries and put you back to square one. Not worth it. Report
For someone on a walking program that doesn't exercise to exhaustion rest days may not be necessary.
I'm also a big believer in "active rest." My sport used to be bike racing and I discovered that I recovered much faster from a hard training day if I did a short easy ride the next day instead of not riding at all. Report