How frequently you should train is dependent on a lot of different factors, for example your training goals, the intensity of your exercise as well as any history of injury that you may have. Also, the kind of training you do can determine how frequently you need to exercise.
Exercise stresses a number of systems in our body. This stress results in fatigue however also leads to ‘adaptations’ (in other words, improvements) particular to the stress that we’ve experienced. For instance, while resistance training (such as weight lifting) assists us with building muscular strength, it’s far less likely to improve our cardiovascular fitness as it places more stress on our skeletal muscles as opposed to our heart.
But improvements only take place with a mixture of recovery and repetition. If we don’t perform the training stress again, improvements that you make will be lost. In addition, we need to give our body sufficient time – but not too much time – between training sessions to recover as well as ‘adapt’. In short, the key to boosting fitness is to consistently train, which means striking a balance between exercising and recovering enough.
Aerobic Activity
It is recommended that you get at least 150 minutes of moderate aerobic activity or – alternatively – 75 minutes of vigorous aerobic activity a week, or a combination of moderate as well as vigorous activity. The guidelines make the suggestion that you distribute this exercise during the course of a week.
In order to provide even better health benefits, and to help with weight loss or sustaining weight loss, at least 300 minutes per week is advised. However, even small amounts of physical activity are useful. Being physically active for short periods of time during the day can add up to provide a health benefit.
Strength Training
Perform strength training exercises – for all main muscle groups – at least two times a week. Make sure that you aim to do a single set of each exercise utilising a weight or resistance level which is heavy enough to tire your muscles after about 12 to 15 repetitions.
How Can You Make Exercise A Habit?
Setting a doable goal for the number of times you’ll begin working out each week can be useful by ensuring that you don’t get burned out.
However shooting for a bit of movement every single day, even if you’re not doing an actual workout, can also assist you make working out a habit which will stick. This could mean a 10-minute walk or a series of gentle stretches.
Another important consideration is carving out a time slot when you’ll work out. Again, there’s no correct answer to this, but it helps to take a good look at your schedule when you’re figuring out when you should pencil in your workout. For example, if your mornings are super-frantic with lots of last-minute changes, it may be self-defeating to decide on doing morning workouts. In that case, an afternoon or evening exercise session may be more likely to take place as scheduled.
Also, pay attention to your body. Some people feel more energised in the morning, while other people are dragging. Matching up your workout time to when you feel the best can make you more likely to want to stick with it.
Whether you should be exercising more or less often is dependent on many things – including how often you’re able to get to the gym, your training goals as well as the intensity of the exercise that you’re doing. We recommended trying to vary the type of training you do within a week and allow sufficient recovery between intense or resistance training days. This is including at least one recovery day a week. However, overall, the most effective training programme is the one which you maintain consistently over a long period of time.
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