Everyone knows that they should be working out but the real question is how many days should you be going?

 Should I be going 3,4,5 times a week?

Everyday?

What about 2 a days?

Is 30min or 60 min better?

What about the people who work out longer for 60?

Is that good or bad?

HELP!!!!!!!!!!

As an online personal trainer, I’ve heard these questions asked numerous times and despite all the information that’s out there, I’m going to give you the REAL inside scoop you’re looking for.

So let’s dive in!

Working out is one of the most important activities that you can do for your physical and mental well-being.

It has numerous benefits, such as improving your overall fitness, reducing your risk of chronic diseases, boosting your mood, and helping you to maintain a healthy weight.

However, when it comes to how often you should work out, there are a lot of factors to consider.

Reasons to consider when figuring out how many days to workout

• Your fitness goals

• Your current fitness level

• Your age

• Your Schedule

• Your health

• What types of exercises you’ll be doing/ workout routine looks like

• Ability to recover

Your Fitness Goals

The frequency of your workouts should be based on your fitness goals.

For example, if your goal is to lose weight, you may need to work out more frequently than if your goal is to maintain your current weight.

Similarly, if your goal is to build muscle, you may need to work out more frequently than if your goal is to increase your cardiovascular fitness.

Your Current Fitness Level and Health

Your current fitness level is another important factor to consider when determining how often you should work out.

If you are just starting out, you may need to work out less frequently than someone who has been working out regularly for years.

It’s something to consider that if you used to be highly active and have gym experience but you haven’t been in years that you can’t expect to be in the same condition you were way back when.

You’re not going to be lifting the same, moving the same because you are a different person than you were when you last were going to the gym.

Things to just consider when you’re either first starting or maybe returning after a long hiatus.

But whether you’re new or not the other thing to consider is your overall health.

Are you dealing with injuries or other chronic issues? Are you very overweight? Do you have heart or cardiovascular issues?

Just remember this is not a race, it’s a marathon.

Don’t come out of the gates so hot you do more harm than good.

Understand where you currently are and take it slow.

Your Age

As you age, your body's ability to recover from exercise decreases.

This means that older adults may need to work out less frequently than younger adults to avoid injury and burnout.

But that being said you are never to old to be working out.

But whether you are a young teen or 70 years old working out, just know what your body is capable of, push within your means and always make sure form/ technique comes first.

Your Schedule

Your schedule is another important factor to consider when determining how often you should work out.

If you have a busy schedule, you may need to work out less frequently than someone who has more free time.

The most important thing when picking how many days and how long is that you’re going to be consistent with whatever you pick.

If you’re someone who’s just starting out but let’s say has a very demanding work schedule, a family and kids, it might be hard to dedicate 5 times a week for 60min.

You don’t want to set yourself up for failure by not being able to string together days and weeks of consistency if you’re aiming for something that’s not realistic.

It’s better to say for instance that based off those factors that you can do 3x a week. You absoltuly know you can do that and who knows maybe some weeks you sneak in 4 or 5 but no matter what you get in 3x.

As we know life can get pretty hectic and crazy, messing up our schedules. So if that were to happen and you’re just starting to begin your workout journey, you may get discouraged and feel like a failure if you had planned out 5 days a week and maybe the last few weeks you were only getting in 2-3x you might just call it quits.

But by keeping it at 3x a week and having that play out, but you’re still getting in 3 and maybe sometimes 2, you’re more likely to stick with it during those hard times because you kept things realistic and still pretty consistent.

The big thing with all of this is that you’re picking things that you enjoy doing and looking forward to besides just being consistent.

If you absolutely hate doing something and you’re not looking forward to going to the gym, you’re most likely going to start skipping or just quitting overall.

What types of exercise you’ll be doing/routine and recovery

Are you doing heavy compound exercises, machines, cardio, things with dumbbells or maybe kettlebells?

Are you doing more of a powerlifting style program, crossfit, bodybuilding, maybe a bro split, or just doing really random things because you don’t really know how to follow a program?

Well all these things matter because your body needs to be able to recover.

If you’re doing things like powerlifting and crossfit, that’s a lot for your body to handle since this usually requires a lot of stress on the body,joints and ligaments. You need to make sure you’re able to adequately recover for the next session, so you can make progress and keep your strength up.

But maybe doing something like bodybuilding where it doesn’t place so much demand on the body and you’re chasing the pump, you could get a way with coming in more often and spreading the volume over multiple days.

But maybe you have no interest in any of that and you just goto the gym and do some machines, maybe some free weights, a few body weight exercises and a little cardio, you’d have nothing to really worry about and maybe you’re content with that.

You recover just fine and are still seeing progress over time.

There is no wrong way to go about picking what type of program to do, what exercises you select, how long you’re in the gym as long as you find yourself making progress (progressive overload), not getting injured, and recovering just fine after each session.

Now depending what your goals are and the other things I had mentioned, yes there would be an ideal way on how to program for specific things but ultimately if you’re just looking to be healthier, something is better than nothing. So I’d rather you commit to X amount of days and times to just come in and move.

So how often should you work out?

(again this will depend on everything above)

Beginner (1-3 years) - Lift 2-3 times a week. This will most likely be a full body routine as that will provide more than enough stimulus to grow.

Intermediate (3-6 years) - Lift 3-5 times a week. You will find you need to start spreading out your volume to get enough weekly sets in. Usually this takes in the form of a Push/Pull or Upper/Lower split to sufficiently hit each muscle frequently without overlapping.

Advanced (7+ years serious lifting) - Lift 4-6 times a week. This is where it gets individual. You might do Push/Pull, Upper/Lower, Body Part Split, Two a days, etc. It just depends on your recovery for each muscle and what frequency looks like for each to get the best results.

Frequency

If you are someone who’s just starting out keep in mind frequency can be pretty low because you don’t need as much stimulus as an advanced lifter because it’s a new adaptation that your body is super sensitive to. Meaning you’ll get more gains with less time.

You don’t have to train as hard to make progress, get stronger each week and get results.

The beauty of newbie gains

 A beginner doing full body, three times a week, will send a nice strong signal to all their muscles 3 times a week, keeping that signal elevated throughout the week.

If a beginner on the other hand, did a body part split, and hit each muscle only once a week, then they’ve only stimulated that muscle once that week. This isn’t ideal.

If muscle building is your goal, why separate your muscles into only one day, if you find yourself recovering within 2-3 days?

An advanced lifter on the other hand, has built up so much muscle, and gotten their body used to pushing it hard in the gym for so many years, that much like someone who drinks a lot of alcohol, their tolerance for more goes up compared to a novice.

So they have to do more sets, more volume, and more days to lift just to get the same stimulus a novice would with less days.

But those are just general guidelines and you personally have to figure out what works best for you.

Maybe you’re someone who does want to exercise and be active everyday but that doesn’t necessarily mean you’re in the gym hitting the weights.

Maybe you lift 3-4x a week and on another day you swim,cycle,run,walk or do some other activity. On another day maybe you’re doing some light cardio on the elliptical and some active mobility/soft tissue work.

Who knows maybe you’re even attending classes like Yoga, Pilates, or Zumba.

Working out comes in all shapes and forms, so again you can plan things out the best way for you to make progress based on your goals.

But keep in mind that more isn’t always better. Too much can cause you to regress, get injured and not recovery properly.

Final Thought

It is also important to remember that exercise is just one aspect of overall health and wellness. A balanced and healthy diet, adequate sleep, and stress management are also important factors in maintaining good health and achieving fitness goals.

In summary, the frequency of your workouts should be tailored to your individual needs and goals, as well as your schedule and overall health.

A combination of cardiovascular exercise, strength training, flexibility and stretching exercises, and active recovery is recommended for most healthy adults.

It is important to start with a manageable frequency and intensity of exercise and gradually increase over time, while listening to your body and taking rest days as needed to prevent burnout and injury.