If you’ve wondered how often to workout a week, you might be asking the wrong question or have missing information, like what types of workouts should you do and should they be varied. While it’s true that working out at least three days a week is a great start, you can actually do more and get good results, but not if you’re doing the same type of exercise every day.
You need all types of training.
If you’re only doing cardio, you’re not doing yourself a favor. You need a variety of training to achieve fitness in all areas, strength, balance, flexibility and endurance, also known as cardio. You need balance when you workout. If you do strength training every day, you’ll actually be doing your body a disservice. Your body needs at least 48 hours to recover, since strength training causes micro tears in the muscles. If you don’t have that time for your body to heal, it can cause muscle loss and set you back, rather than aid you in achieving your goals.
Start slower and add to your workout.
If you haven’t worked out for a while, you shouldn’t start by planning to work out at high intensity for an hour a day. It’s better to start slowly and work up toward a tougher workout. The reason is simple. Those initial workouts prepare your body and get it ready for tougher ones. If you do too much initially, you’ll either end up sore, which can lead to skipping the next workout, or injured, which leads to skipping the next month of workouts. Starting with a half-hour three days a week and building up to an hour, can help boost your chances for success.
Supplementing your workout can be quite beneficial.
If you’re working hard in the gym or online three days a week doing flexibility training and strength training, with a touch of cardio, there’s nothing wrong with going for a walk on those days off or doing yoga. Those types of workouts help you stretch your muscle groups and participate in active recovery. They’re easy on the body, but increase circulation to boost the healing of muscle tissue.
- At The Worx, we can provide a program of healthy eating and exercise designed specifically for you. You won’t overwork your body, but will get in the right amount of exercise to see the transformation faster.
- The longer you participate in a fitness program, the more days a week you can exercise, as long as it’s not all strength training. For the average person who isn’t a bodybuilder, strength training should never be done two days in a row.
- No matter what your workout program, the key to success is consistency. Even the best program created by a personal trainer won’t work if you don’t do it on a consistent basis.
- If you’re unsure where to begin, at The Worx, we offer two weeks of free at home training. You’ll get zoom workouts, meal plans and so much more, which takes the confusion out of how many days a week to train.
For more information, contact us today at Team Worx Fitness!