Are recovery days really (doing nothing) days?

Hi all,
I am currently doing push, pull, full body workouts on M/W/F and jogging or training martial arts on T, Th, Sat & Sun. Effectively taking no off days. My rationale is that on the days in between resistance training I am doing more of an aerobic exercise thus should be OK as recovery. Nonetheless, I have started to notice I am feeling exhausted at night and much more tired than normal. So here is the question, are recovery days truly meant to be off-days (as in doing nothing) or can something (like a light run) works as well? what has your experience taught you? Thanks!

Basically light stuff is fine ...quick answer as got to run my self!

Quick and effective answer. Enjoy your run mate.

I like doing stretching and toning exercises during my off days myself. I absolutely *hate* being sedentary and unless I am feeling dead tired, I try not to be inactive during them if I can help it.

I think there's nothing wrong with exercising everyday but still the best answer is unfortunately it just depends on a bunch of things which are unknowns. If for example you're trying to gain weight and having trouble it might be said you should do less. And just how much intensity you're doing each of these different activities also can make a big difference.

If you're so tired you're really having to use willpower to keep at it, it might be more realistic to ease up the intensity or take a few days off and ensure you stick with an exercise plan that you know you can stay with the rest of your life.

Jay wrote:

I think there's nothing wrong with exercising everyday but still the best answer is unfortunately it just depends on a bunch of things which are unknowns. If for example you're trying to gain weight and having trouble it might be said you should do less. And just how much intensity you're doing each of these different activities also can make a big difference.

Overtraining is just as bad if you're trying to lose it also. I still remember doing 1.5-2 hours worth of cardio every day and wondering why it never made a difference. Your body adapts over time, and overtraining just pushes it into "hoard what energy you can" mode.

Yes. I also have noticed additionally that when I overtrain I really crave junk food and too much food in general. Like I'm trying to make myself feel better with chips, chocolate, etc.