Blog

Ever felt so committed to an exercise plan or joined somewhere for physical purposes but ended up backing out or slacking off. Your lazy habits ask the question ‘How often do you even need to exercise?’ More specifically, ‘How often is really necessary to stay fit and healthy?’

If this sounds like you, then you’re not the only one. We’ve seen lots of people confused about how often they should work out, how many days per week, or which workouts they should do, and these confusions tend to push them away from achieving their goals.

Looking for actionable guidelines to help with all this confusion? This article might just be the guideline you have been looking for! Today we will answer some of the questions that almost every beginner faces in their fitness journey,and more.

You’ll never hit the target if you don’t know how to aim!

How often should you work out?

“Three days of training in a row is okay. Then take one day rest unless you’re advanced.”

According to the National Health and Welfare Survey, only around 40% of the Thai adults are physically active as per WHO (World Health Organization) recommendations and the rate is even lower among youth and children!

As professionals, we suggest that all the adults do a minimum of 150 minutes of moderate exercise per week. You can break them down based on your need, maybe 20 to 30 minutes per day. Walking, jogging, running, biking in the hills, etc. can all do the job.

For strength training, invest at least two days a week to focus on all six major muscle groups: the back, arms, chest, shoulders, calves, and legs. Remember, though it’s essential to follow a specific timeline, the most important thing is to make it a part of your daily routine. Never over train yourself; start with gentle exercises to bring flexibility, and then proceed to advance.

Benefits of 30 minutes of Exercise per Day

The health benefits of 30 minutes of moderate workout each day are beyond what you might expect:

1. It keeps the heart rate and blood flow in a healthy state
2. Prevent excess weight gain and helps maintain weight loss
3. Improves memory and brain response to stressful situations
4. Boosts mood by realizing happiness hormone, like endorphin
5. Increases energy
6. Increases productivity of the day

Is it Okay to Work Out Every Day or Not?

Ideally, you should exercise every day. But that doesn’t mean you have to go to the gym or go for a run every day. There are so many on-the-job exercises you can do throughout the day, including playing games with friends or kids, doing housework, gardening, etc. All these can force you to quickly move your body and turn into some fun exercise.

So, how many times should you seriously exercise per week? It’s okay to do heavy lifting exercises every day if you’re training different parts of the body every time. Otherwise, try avoiding training consecutively because your muscles need time to recover; if not, you might injury yourself.

Exercising daily is suitable for people who do exercise extensively and get used to it. As a starter, consider having two or three days’ rest a week. Slowly increasing the intensity and building a base help make exercise a habit.

Well-balanced exercise is a combination of balance, endurance, flexibility, and strength training sessions. If you have time, following a routine is excellent. Otherwise, we recommend exercising three to four days of weight-focused training at the gym, in addition to other exercises on other days.

There will be times when you don’t get enough time and have to fit in a short work out day. Just do it! A short, intense workout is better than nothing and maintaining your good habits will motivate your future efforts too.

How Often Do you Need to Work Out for Body-weight Loss?

If you want a visible result and make lasting progress, you should follow a routine of at least four to five days of endurance training or aerobic exercise and strength training per week.

We suggest not losing more than 1 or 2 pounds (0.5-1 kg) per week though it depends on various internal and external factors, like BMI, weather, diet plan, body type, etc. You can’t control many of these factors, but you can control how much you’ll exercise and your diet plan.

‘Burn more calories than you take in’- is a popular quote in the fitness world. While exercising is very important to lose weight, a proper diet is also a must. Our health largely depend on the food we eat, and you need to take this seriously if you want to lose weight.

Here is popular math for weight loss exercise. Burn 3,500 calories to lose a pound (0.5 kg). You will need 12 workouts to lose one pound if you burn 300 calories a day. Set your target on how much body weight you want to lose and act according to that.

How Often Should you Work Out for Muscle Gains or Any Other Fitness Goal?

Maintaining the proper balance of cardio exercise and strength training is the key move for putting on a muscle gain or any other fitness goals. On the other hand, doing too much can damage your muscle, although this is not usually a problem for beginners who lack motivation.

Cardiovascular Exercise

• Exercise 3 to 5 days per week
• Keep sessions intense but short (20/30 minutes or 1 class/day)

Strength Training

• Hit the weights two days a week (or more if you feel ready)
• Change your timeline according to your current fitness level

Here is what you can do-

• Do 10-20 sets a week for each muscle group.
• Set timelines for completing those sets. Don’t be concerned about rushing through it in one session.
• Train harder than the last time.
• Strength or resistance training is the key to muscle growth. Follow the schedule depending on your level-
• Level of Training: Starter; Minimum Two to three days/week. (Full body)
• Level of Training: Midway; Three or Four days/week. (Group body parts (Upper-lower))
• Level of Training: Advanced; Four or Five days/week (Take 1 rest day after three or four consecutive days of training)

At a phase, you may feel your muscles are not growing much even after regular weight training. Try adding more weight and increasing the timeline to maintain the growth. Adjusting diet can also help.

What is the proper way to build working out into a habit?

Regular physical activity can lower the risk of type 2 diabetes by up to 50%.

One of our blogger friends recently posted an article about making exercise a daily habit. It was great to see people integrating exercise into their daily lives like that.

For most of us, starting exercise is not the most difficult, but making it a habit is. Here are some actionable tips on how to make exercise a habit.

This ‘30-day Challenge’ can help you meet your goals. This challenge also contains some of the best science-backed ways to take better care of yourself.

The 30-day Challenge for Work Out

• Set a perfect time for your exercise and stick with that.
• Set a reminder and avoid delays. (Perhaps through email or memo or alarm)
• Start with small targets. (beginner level exercises that take less time)
• Increase time or intensity as you progress.
• Make exercise fun, mix up with sports to avoid boredom. (Find a mate to workout with or listen to music)
• Just do it. Just get the shoes on and get out to exercise. No excuses!
• Keep some rest days in between so you can take a well deserved break.

Along with these, don’t forget to follow a balanced diet, rich in protein and healthy fat and low in carbs. Consider including more vegetables and nuts and less junk and processed foods. Proper diet acts as a substantial motivating factor in making exercise a habit.

How long should your workout exercise every day be?

According to the experts, 30 minutes of exercise a day is good if the time is spent wisely. For optimal progress, 45 minutes to an hour is the ideal time for any day. These include warming up, 30-minutes of intense training, cooling down, stretching, etc.

Perfect time and intensity vary from person to person. What a gym junkie can do in 30 minutes others may need 1 hour or even a few. Based on your fitness level, you should fix time and intensity. It’d be best if you seek help from a local fitness experts who can recommend time and intensity after assessing your current level.

How important is sleep after daily exercise?

Simply, ‘Very Important.’

Experts say, “67% of vigorous exercisers report having a good night’s sleep every night or almost every night.” Get at least 7 or 8 hours of sleep every day if you train regularly. If not, the workout or your health may suffer. While we sleep, our body produces growth hormones that boost muscle recovery, repair, and conserve energy.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Is working out three times a week enough?

Well, that depends on your fitness level and fitness goals. We recommend working out 4 or 5 times a week. But if you’re a beginner, three days a week is better than nothing and a good starting point.

How long does it take to get in shape?

It depends on how long or how much you’re out of shape and some other external factors like body type, environment, diet, current muscle mass etc. From our experience, if you are obese for an extended period, like ten years, following a proper diet and workout routine strictly can bring you into much better shape within one year.

Is a 45-minute workout good?

Yes, it is better than a 30-minute workout. 45 minutes can be a good time to warm up the body and let the blood flow through the veins. However, intermediates and pros may need more time to tone their body perfectly.

Here are some guidelines on proper workout time for you. These timings may vary depending on your current level and expectations. Following these guidelines can help you to determine the exercise routine for you.

So, ‘How Often Do You Exercise?’ and ‘What’s your workout schedule?’ Feel free to get in touch and let us know, we’re always happy to hear from our readers!