This is the most common question that is asked on a daily basis. How often to workout? Some workout daily without missing a beat, while some workout when they get some time in the day and some keep planning it for tomorrow and that tomorrow is always postponed 😀
What is the best frequency to workout in a week, let’s see!
If you really ask me, I say you should workout every single day, so that your body literally gets used to it. It becomes a scheduled part of your day and there are no ifs and buts to do that. Like there’s a fixed time for your breakfast, lunch, dinner and your office work too, you should know when it’s the time for your workout in a day. This way, your body eventually gets adjusted to the time of the day when you workout daily! You need to prioritize your workout in a day, fix it and change everything around it accordingly.
What if you workout everyday and one day you feel too sore to workout? It depends on the level of soreness you are having that day. For example, if your body pains are not very high, then you can do some total body stretches and less of strengthening workouts. This way, you can keep up the momentum of workout and at the same time you are not straining your body too much. But, if the soreness is really high, then of course, you can take rest for a day or two! There is no harm is doing so, as you are just giving your body the time to recover & get back stronger.
Of course, to get back stronger, you need to feed your body with the right food so that it builds stronger and also you need to get good sleep so that the recovery happens soon! So, in short, though you target for a daily workout, listen to your body when it needs rest for a day or two. Else, if you keep on working out regardless of how sore your body is, then one day you will eventually hit the wall and your body might give up! So, please don’t let this happen, because you will start disliking workout psychologically and you will try to avoid doing it!
Why not prepare your workout pattern in a way, that you don’t feel fatigue at any time at all? For example, if you are targeting for a daily workout, you should include lighter workouts for at least 2 days in a week. Who said daily workout means you need to train hard every single day? You can definitely keep one or two days low key, instead of doing high intensity training every day. If you are into heavy strength training, please make sure you don’t target the same group pf muscles every single day! Make sure to give at least 2 days of recovery time for the group of muscles targeted the previous day.
Also, if you do heavy weight lifting and power lifting, then your body definitely needs around 2 days of recovery time for sure and hence, maybe you can opt to workout 3 days a week! But, as many of us do not come into this category, again, daily workout is the best option with the modifications mentioned earlier.
Now, what if there is absolutely no way (time crunch) that you can make out time to workout every single day? This is one of the most common reasons one gives for not working out! I truly believe you can achieve a daily workout regime, if you really prioritize self care in your life. But, if at all this is not a possibility for you ever, then workout for at least 5 days a week, preferably continuous days, and then give your body rest for remaining two days. If that is still tough for you, then please try to workout at least 3 or 4 times week, which is the minimum that every person should do.
If you are in intermediate (or) advanced level of workout, then working out 3-4 days a week can also show results, given that you do high intensity training during those days. If you are beginner, as only low intensity training is suggested for you, you need to workout at least 5-7 days a week to keep improving your momentum.
Of course, if you have any health issues, you need to consider your doctor before planning for any kind of physical activity. Please remember that, it’s not your personal trainer (or) the trainer at your gym who should be deciding whether you should workout or not. It is your doctor (or) medical health professional who should be deciding whether you can go ahead and exercise or not. Again here, the frequency of workout can be suggested by your personal trainer (or) your doctor based on how you are doing at that time.
I hope you have got an idea of how often to workout based on this article. Again, I suggest you to workout every single day, because your body needs to move in all the functional ways possible daily. This keeps your body active with the great momentum that it achieves due to daily workout. Again, please take care to not train “hard” every single day and listen to your body when it needs rest! So, plan your workout accordingly and target for a daily workout! 😀
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Chetana Samprati 