The frequency of a person’s workouts will depend on their fitness objectives. Different training methods are needed for different fitness goals, such as weight loss, muscle gain, and improvement in endurance and stamina.
Numerous significant advantages of exercise exist. It improves general health, aids in maintaining a healthy weight, reduces stress, and may encourage sound sleep.
Because of this, everyone has a different set of goals for exercising. Exercise can help some people lose weight, while it can also help others gain strength.
This article discusses how frequently a person should exercise depending on their specific goals.
Before beginning any exercise or strength training program, it is advisable to speak with a doctor. They can provide guidance on how to exercise properly and reduce the chance of injury.
How often should I exercise to lose weight?
Weight loss is fundamentally about figuring out a math problem.
A person has to expend more calories each day than they consume. A person can do this in a number of ways, including:
increasing their physical activity to burn more calories boosting their muscle mass so they burn more calories while at rest
There is debate regarding whether weight loss can be accomplished with just exercise.
For instance, some studiesAccording to Trusted Source, exercise may prompt the body to start compensating by changing its metabolism in an effort to hold on to body fat.
Exercise still contributes to weight loss, but for best results, a person should combine it with a calorie-reduced, calorie-controlled, nutritious diet.
Additionally, researchers assert that carrying on with exercise following weight loss can prevent individuals from gaining the lost weight again.
To improve health and burn calories, the American Heart Association (AHA)Trusted Source advises mixing aerobic exercise with strength training.
a cardiovascular workout
75 minutes of strenuous activity, or 150 minutes of moderate activity, should be completed each week, according to the AHATrusted Source.
Should they choose, a person can also mix strenuous and somewhat intense activities.
Activities with a moderate level of intensity include the following:Reliable Source:
- brisk walking with an average speed of 2.5 miles per hour (mph) or more
- gardening and dancing
- cycling at a speed lower than 10 mph
- tennis water polo
- Vigorous activities include, for instance.dependable source
jumping rope, running, swimming, taking an aerobics class, hiking—especially uphill or while carrying a heavy pack—doing active yardwork, including digging
The best way to improve one’s health is to exercise for at least 5 hours a week, according to a trusted source.
exercise for muscle
Utilizing resistance during strength training helps to develop muscle.
The body can become more metabolically active by adding muscle, which will speed up the rate of calorie burning.
The AHA advises performing weight training of moderate to high intensity on at least two days of the week. Examples of resistance training methods are as follows:
- Using free weights or weight machines, you can execute exercises like biceps curls, bench presses, and leg presses while you lift weights.
- Lunges, squats, and tricep dips are a few exercises that make use of your own body weight as resistance. To perform them, one doesn’t need any special tools.
- Utilizing resistance bands: Stretchy elastic bands called resistance bands can assist make a person’s muscles work harder. Resistance bands come in a variety of tensions, with tighter ones intensifying the workout. Resistance bands can be used to carry out workouts including squats, lunges, biceps curls, and triceps extensions.
- Anyone who has never exercised before and is unsure of where to start might want to speak with a licensed personal trainer. A trainer can provide the person advice on the types of exercises that are appropriate for their level of fitness and health as well as how to do them appropriately and safely.
How often should you train to grow muscle?
A person can choose several strategies for increasing muscle mass through weight training, just as there are various conceivable techniques to exercise and weight loss.
training programs each week
The benefits of various weekly muscle-building training routines are listed below.
Interval training at a high intensity
A weight training method known as HIIT alternates short bursts of high intensity activity with quick rest intervals.
These workouts frequently last 15 to 30 minutes less than regular weight-training workouts.
A person can grow muscle mass and improve their cardiovascular fitness without investing a lot of time in the gym by using an HIIT approach to resistance training.
An example HIIT workout is provided below from the American Council on Exercise. There are 20 minutes in total.
Initial set:
- Burpees, 20 seconds of diagonal jump-ups, 20 seconds of high-knee running, 60 seconds of rest between rounds, 5 rounds totaling 10 minutes.
- Second group:
- 20 ankle touches in 20 seconds
- 20 squat jumps for 20 seconds
- Pushups for 20 seconds, then a 60-second break
- repeat for a total of 5 times, lasting 10 minutes.
- This workout can be done 1-3 times per week with at least one day of rest in between each session. They may finish the exercise, for instance, on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.
extended periods of strength training
According to an analysis of more than 15 research comparing weight-training methods using various set counts, the more sets performed each week, the more muscle mass is gained.
The researchers came to the conclusion that in order to see the maximum increases in muscle mass, a person would need to practice each muscle group for roughly 10 sets of 10 to 12 repetitions once a week.
There are two ways to go about doing this. The first technique entails establishing a full-body training regimen that targets every muscle group.
The second choice is to train in a “split.” This means that a person works specific muscle areas using resistance exercises in one training session, and then works various muscle groups in the following session.
To give their muscles a break in between sessions, some people divide their training.
full-body workout
A full-body workout entails working all of the major muscle groups at once. These muscles include those in the upper and lower back, hips, thighs, shoulders, arms, and chest.
This can be done using free weights, one’s own body weight, machine-based weights, or a combination of all of them.
The following exercises can be used to work the main muscle groups, according to the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM):