No matter how much you exercise now, you may wonder how many days a week you should work out. Unfortunately, the answer is … it depends. Although, you can figure out how many days a week you should work out to reach your fitness goals.
For most healthy adults, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services recommends at least 150 to 300 minutes of moderate or 75 to 150 minutes of vigorous aerobic activity every week. Furthermore, you should include strength training involving all major muscle groups two or more days a week. However, you have to consider what you can realistically do. You may want to work out most days, but does that align with your fitness level and goals?
Consistency Matters
You can reach your fitness goals without working out every day. It all starts with a realistic plan. If you recently started to exercise, fewer days per week can help you exercise consistently and maintain a positive mindset.
Regardless, the question remains. How many days per week should you work out? There is no one answer because it depends on your goals, schedule, and current abilities. That said, let’s look at some common fitness goals and how many days you should plan to work out.
Your Goal Is To Improve Your Overall Health and Fitness
If this is your goal, then you can keep it simple. Generally, you want to be active for as many days as possible. However, aim to work out at least three days a week, with at least one rest day between workouts to recover.
Ideally, you would incorporate some strength training, such as lifting weights or body-weight exercises, to work your major muscle groups and dedicate at least one day to your cardiovascular health. In fact, you don’t need to take up sprinting to hit your maximum heart rate for your cardio workouts. Instead, you could raise it to a moderate level from activities such as a light jog, cycling, or brisk walk. If you improve to the point where those activities aren’t raising your heart rate enough, try something new. There are plenty of fun exercises that can get your heart pumping.
Your Goal Is To Lose Weight
Losing weight is one of the most common fitness goals. In fact, it’s one of the top New Year’s resolutions. However, you can’t rely on willpower alone to go from not working out to working out every day. Your resolve will wane, and you’ll stop exercising because of frustration or burnout. This is especially true if you try to force yourself to exercise.
Exercise is just one part of your effort. Losing weight also means monitoring or changing your diet to manage the calories you intake. This doesn’t necessarily mean you must give up your favorite foods or drastically alter your diet. Instead, you may be able to adjust your portions and be more mindful of what you eat and drink. Generally, losing weight involves burning more calories than you consume. Therefore, the more you can exercise, the more calories you burn.
Your goal is to work out as many days as you can. Although, it’s more important to stay consistent. If you’re new to exercise, start small, such as walking for 20 minutes at least three times a week. As your workouts become easier, you can exercise longer or try other activities to burn more calories.
Your Goal Is To Build Muscle
If you’re new to strength training, you should start by doing two to three weekly workouts until your body adapts. Start slow and focus on working the major muscle groups. Although, don’t do strength training on back-to-back days. Instead, spread them throughout the week to give your body enough time to recover.
You might want to bulk up even more as you become accustomed to strength training. This involves more exercises that target specific muscle groups. As a result, you may need to add more workouts to work your muscles properly. Ideally, you’ll need three to five days a week to maximize your efforts around each major muscle group. However, rest is essential. Therefore, you should include at least one rest day every two sessions to give your muscles time to recover.
Your Goal Is To Improve Your Performance
Your goal may be to become better at your favorite activity or sport. Unfortunately, the number of days you need to work out per week could vary depending on your sport of choice. Your workouts should focus on your specialty most days, but the other days should incorporate other elements to balance out your week. A well-balanced routine has elements of aerobic, strength, and flexibility training. Otherwise, you may become more prone to injury by doing the same workouts each time.
Improving your performance involves more planning as you strive for a specific goal, such as lifting a certain amount of weight, running a marathon, or improving your race time. Therefore, you should aim to work out at least five days a week. Furthermore, your plan over weeks and months should include milestones to check in on your progress and rest days to avoid overtraining and to reduce your risks of burnout and injury.
Staying Fit When Life Gets Busy
There is no doubt about it. Life happens. Sometimes, it happens so much that it derails your day or week. Exercise can help energize you, so you have the energy to complete your to-do list. On the other hand, when you aren’t active, it can impact your physical and mental energy, making it harder to fulfill your obligations.
Although you won’t lose much fitness if you miss one or two workouts, staying active during those busy times is essential. One strategy is to split up your workouts into smaller chunks of time and fit them within your day. Another approach is to schedule your workouts like every other appointment or meeting. Regardless of what works best for you, you should try to exercise whenever possible, even for only 10 minutes. Your body and mind will thank you.
Know When To Rest
Rest days allow your body to recover from the stresses of exercise. However, the number of rest days can vary depending on your fitness level and the intensity of your workouts. Rest days give your body time to repair, making it stronger and more resilient.
Overtraining is a real thing, and it can lead to illness, injury, and burnout. If you push yourself too hard all the time, then you risk an injury such as strains, sprains, and stress fractures. It can also lead to hormonal imbalances, negatively affecting your overall health and hindering your progress. Exercise can be mentally taxing, and taking a day off can help reduce stress and refresh your motivation. You won’t lose all your hard work if you skip a workout or two. In fact, it can be just what you need to keep you on track.
Track Your Progress
Using a fitness journal or app to track your progress over weeks, months, and years has many advantages. You can compare your past self to today and determine whether your workouts are moving you towards your goals. On the other hand, you may see early indicators of trouble, which will let you make adjustments sooner than later to nudge yourself in the right direction. Additionally, it can be very motivating when you can see all your progress.
Another advantage of tracking your progress is that you can experiment. There is more than one way to accomplish your goals. You can stay on top of what’s working and what’s not by tracking different workouts, activities, or diets. In fact, your historical efforts may hold clues and possible shortcuts to help avoid past mistakes. As a result, you may achieve new goals faster.
The Takeaway
The number of days you work out each week will vary depending on your fitness goals. Generally speaking, you will spend three or more days doing strength and aerobic activities to improve your overall health. Regardless of your fitness goals, you’ll want to focus on consistency. Consistency will keep you working out and improving your fitness. Don’t forget to track your progress to monitor your efforts. Above all, always listen to your body. If you’re feeling run down or soreness isn’t going away, take a day off to recover.
FitTrend’s mission is to help you along your self-improvement journey, promote an active lifestyle, and help you achieve your goals. Our journal can help you track your workouts, weight, mood, calories, and more. Also, FitTrend allows you to connect supported gadgets to your account to make it easier for you to update your journal automatically. Create your account today and start using FitTrend for free!
Disclaimer: No content on this site should ever be used as a substitute for direct medical advice from your doctor or other qualified clinician.
