The recent generations are more health and fitness-aware than any other generation so far. They are absolutely in love with the fact of working out and creating really aesthetically pleasing physiques.
Due to this trend, there has been a huge rise in the number of fitness influencers as well, who further influence even more people to work out and create nice abs, broad shoulders, and everything of that sort.
As a result, you see more and more people in your local gym, several others out on a run on the streets and parks in the morning. You even might some of your friends taking a rest after a few days of workout and sometimes you might find them taking pretty long resting breaks. Now all this enthusiasm and curiosity leads us to the question:
How Often Should You Workout?
Contents
Now, I have been an active gym-goer for the last 3 years and I have had several conversations with several fitness trainers and fitness enthusiasts.
Before we jump into the topic of how long you should work out, we need to make sure of the basics that you need to know before determining how long you should work out.
Now, when working out, there are 2 things that you want to happen in your body.
👉The first is that you want to lose fat (if you are trying to lose weight).
👉The second is that you want to gain muscle.
How often you should workout, will depend on the fact of what you want from your body. If you are obese or just simply want to lose weight, you need to dedicate some more time to quality Cardio.
Cardio includes walking, running, swimming, cycling, and so on. They massively help in losing any kind of fat from the body.
After losing fat, or if you are already skinny, then you need to do a healthy combination of some Calisthenics and Weight Training.
That’s it, all the basics you need to know. Now let’s cut to the chase, How often should you exactly work out for?
When starting out, your trainers or any other experienced person will suggest you to not overexert yourself. Know your limits, stay within them and do what you can.
When starting out, a healthy 3-4 hours at the gym should be sufficient. Although people who intend to lose weight might have to spend some more time jogging on the treadmill and some other similar stuff.
How Many Times A Week Should You Workout?
There is no exact answer for this one, to be honest. For some people, working out is like an escape from their daily monotony. So, they enjoy hitting the weights every day.
You can determine when it is time to take a break when you feel some pain in your body and you feel like you are not able to give your best while working out.
👉Normally, a healthy 5-6 times per week is a nice workout routine. But it widely varies from person to person.
Keep in mind no one knows your body better than you, so do what you feel like is better for your body. Talk to your trainer about it or someone else who is experienced, if you want to.
When you start getting more accustomed to the environment and the experience of working out, that’s when you will want to challenge yourself.
Making PRs (Personal Records) on the weight and all other fun stuff. Working out is fun and it is supposed to be that way!
If you feel like it is too much of a burden, you probably are doing some things against your wish. Do what you want, talk to other people who can guide you better in that direction.
Conclusion
Personally, working out for me has been a spectacular journey. You have fun while doing it, make new friends, get a boost of confidence. Most importantly, when you stand in front of the mirror, you smile, you smile at how far you have come.
A feeling of deep satisfaction courses through your body. So, get on your journey and have fun lads and lasses!
Amanda Wingfield is a certified Diabetes Management Specialist who also holds an MD in Endocrinology, with certifications from ABIM and AACE. She has a decade of experience serving thousands of patients through her independent practice and has been working in the capacity of an expert diabetes consultant for the past 4 years. Ms. Wingfield is revered by her regular readers for her in-depth research and evidence-based analysis of diabetes medications, supplements, and treatments, and her highly critical style of writing.