Workout schedule question

MrsSYDL

For the month of January I worked out 3 times a week. I'm thinking of upping this to 4 or 5 a week for the month of February (mainly because I'm the lucky winner of a month pass to a exercise studio!!! :happy: ).

QUESTION: What is best? Mon - Thursday & weekend off or spread out over the entire week. Please share your opinion & why?

Thanks guys!

jessicamckay13

Whenever you have time!

molsenrice

It really depends on what you plan to do each day. If you are going to strength train, then most experts agree you should give each body part you strength train at least 1 day's rest before you work that body part again with weights. As for high intensity Interval training (also called 'HIIT'), 2 to 3 times a week at most is usually enough. And as for steady state cardio, up to 5 times a week is okay. Not that you should do all that, but if you decide to 'mix and match' a little bit of each or do 2 out of the 3, you get an idea of what how much to start with. This is definitely a case when 'less is more'. Test the water with a conservative weekly workout schedule, and see how your body responds. It's really easy to take on too much at first, then become overtrained or burned out on your workout schedule.

For someone new, I would recommend this to start:

M, W, F -or- Tu, Th, Sat: Full Body strength workout.
Off days: 1 or 2 differing HIIT sessions (meaning one run/walk and one on the bike, rower, elliptical, etc.)
Off days: 1 or 2 Steady State cardio (low intensity for about 30 mins duration)

After 2 weeks, gage your weight loss progress, then add or subtract Steady State cardio.