If you have ever asked yourself how often should I work out, you’re not alone. It is a common question. The answer is not easy though. There are many variables that need to be explored before you can really know the answer. And even then the answer can change if you change your goals. Do you see how that can get complicated? So let’s break it down to the least common denominator (someone who willingly wants to work out and lose weight) and try to give you some guidance.
You have to want to work out in the first place not just talk about it. Too many people say they want to work out but what they really mean is that they want to lose weight, continue to eat crap and look like some fitness instructor who lives at the gym. Not gonna happen that way. Sorry. Work is involved. Sweat must be produced. Commitments must be made. So take five minutes (literally – it shouldn’t take you more than five minutes to figure this out) and make your plan.
First, determine why you want to work out. It is probably to lose weight. Fine. Now ask yourself: Are you overweight because you don’t work out or you don’t work out because you are overweight? Whatever the reason, it doesn’t matter. Bottom line is that you need to start doing something to improve your physical condition. Commit to working out for at least 30 days to get started.
Second, are you willing to change your eating habits? If you eat like crap all the exercise in the world won’t matter. You can’t out exercise a bad diet. You have to change your inputs (what you are eating) to see changes in the output (your workouts). Adopting an eating plan like Eat Stop Eat makes so much sense and will help speed up your progress. Make sure you change this first.
Third, what kind of shape are you in now? Decent, bad, awful, f’ing awful, round, waif, or awesome are some of the possibilities. The amount of exercise that you can safely do will depend on where you are starting from. Don’t try and over do it right out of the gate. You’ll probably get hurt or easily discouraged and give up. Be smart and start small. Your age will have something to do with it too. If you haven’t really exercised since college your mind may be willing but the body may protest.
Fourth, where are you going to work out at? A gym, home, a park, work, your couch are some possibilities. If you are starting from scratch, just do it at home. Don’t go and spend a lot of money on a gym membership that you’ll never use after the first month. Make the membership a reward for your hard work.
Fifth, what do you want to look like when you are done? What’s the ultimate goal? Is it to look like a bodybuilder? Then plan on laboring many hours for years to get that big. Is it to look good at the beach? That is more achievable and doable. If you have a good base built up use the course Visual Impact to fine tune your physique. What ever it is find a picture of it and refer to it often to remind yourself why you working out.
The bottom line is that you shouldn’t have to work out every day of the week. A safe, easy to follow schedule would be to work out at least 4 days a week for 30 to 60 minutes. Get the most out of your workouts by being intense when you are doing them, not just showing up. Don’t overdo it in the beginning. Make small improvements over time and they will add up.
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I like to workout it’s more of a hobby than any thing else… I enjoy lifting weights and running but I do have goals
so I try and always beat my last workout.. so I actually train every day, probably over train but I don’t care cause its fun.
Raymond
Raymond – ZenMyFitness´s last [type] ..Easiest Way To Stop Regaining Weight That You Lost
Good to see you back posting!
There are definitely a lot of variables/factors when it comes to figuring out how often you should start working out.
Over my years of training, I’ve figured that 4 days/week is optimal for me. Any less and I don’t feel it enough; too much and I feel overly sore.
Srdjan – Bloom to Fit´s last [type] ..Guest Post- The Power of Chanting Om
I say work out when you can especially if you have your diet on point and not looking to gain too much muscles. It takes a while for you to lose muscle and that would be simply because you are doing anything at all. I fit my workouts in when I can as far as resistance training goes. I at least try to get HIIT in twice per week and fasting is great for staying lean.
Thomas – Waist, Hips, and Thighs´s last [type] ..Why Am I Not Losing Weight- Exercising and Not Losing Weight
I think you’re spot on with the fact that you need a good diet so that you only have to work out a few hours a week. Unfortunately, so many people have bad eating habits that a few hours per week isn’t enough to help them get in shape. Clean up the eating and let the intense exercise do the rest.
When you get older, recovery becomes an issue as well. I would like to run daily but find I get better quality if I run every other day. I also periodize my week so I get in speedwork, a threshold run and a long run every week.
Darren@MorePrimeTime.com
Darren´s last [type] ..Running Periodization – Running Conditioning for Endurance Training
I’m a big fan of brief, intense, full-body workouts. Following this protocol, 2-3 times per week should be best for most people. Which is good, cuz you do NOT want to be the person who lives at the gym!
Darrin – Lean, Mean, Virile Machine´s last [type] ..Dude- Where’s My Willpower
Nice article Grim. Got any suggestions for building upper body muscles? I need to look good for Mexico!
Check out the email that I sent you. Good Luck!
We like this post because it helps people discover the purpose behind why they want to workout before they actually dive in. Understanding your goals and what you want to achieve is extremely important if someone is going to be successful with their workouts.
When done right, we’ve found that working out can actually be a lot of fun, but you need to make sure you are aiming for something and that you have established concrete goals.
Good luck reaching your goals!
Jeremy & Kim´s last [type] ..Sub-par Workouts
Nice one!
I usually give the beginner about four days a week (of course depending on many factors)
And the intermittent to advanced trainee does incredibly well on once every 5 days per bodypart. So somewhere in between twice and once a week.
Right on !;-)
Mark
Mark’s Fat Burning Food and Fitness Blog´s last [type] ..Some Effective Exercises for Home Body Weight Workouts