How many workouts per week?

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kayleigharthurs89
kayleigharthurs89 Posts: 8 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Whilst having the opportunity to work out everyday, should we? Or should we still do training breaks? Ie 2 days on 1 day off? I am split as to what to do as for once we have the time to do workouts daily?!...

Replies

  • lollie1285
    lollie1285 Posts: 239 Member
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    I just do what feels best. I generally aim for 2-3 strength workouts. 2 cardio, and 1 flexibility throughout the week. Sometimes I will throw a barre workout in there or a long walk in the sun instead depending on my energy levels.
  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
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    I think this will depend greatly on what you have been doing. For people with a good base of fitness, working out 7 days a week will be fine, especially if you're listening to your body. For people who are newer to fitness, I think it's worthwhile to have planned rest days so that you don't push yourself too hard, too fast.

    I run daily, but I've been running for years and I have months where I intentionally decrease my miles so I'm not running at the same intensity all year.
  • Chieflrg
    Chieflrg Posts: 9,097 Member
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    Very individualized question.

    We should do whatever we can adhere to short and long term.

    I would recommend at the very minimum 150-300 minutes of aerobic conditioning and 2 days of strength training including proper load management.

    Whatever way you can adhere to this would be a good place to start.
  • MostlyWater
    MostlyWater Posts: 4,294 Member
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    I go 6 days a week, one off.

    I used to spin three days a week and do strength 3 days a week. After injury , in my 50's, my dr suggested cutting down to 2 of each, taking another day off per week, and doing one workout more mat based like pilates. It'snot a bad idea; if I'd actually listen.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,874 Member
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    kayleigharthurs89 wrote: »
    Whilst having the opportunity to work out everyday, should we? Or should we still do training breaks? Ie 2 days on 1 day off? I am split as to what to do as for once we have the time to do workouts daily?!...

    Depends on what you're doing, level of fitness, etc. I mostly road cycle or hit the trails on my mountain bike for 45-60 minutes...it's good exercise, but not particularly strenuous so I have no issue riding pretty much daily, so I often take a day off just because I want to or I want to do something else.
  • DancingMoosie
    DancingMoosie Posts: 8,613 Member
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    I workout every day. I wouldn't do a long run or a full body lifting session everyday, change it up. Go harder some days, alternate your upper/lower/full body lifting, go slower/less impact other days.
  • allother94
    allother94 Posts: 588 Member
    edited April 2020
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    For weight lifting, 4 days are better than 3, 5 is better than 4. Need to use splits depending on number of days.
  • BrianSharpe
    BrianSharpe Posts: 9,248 Member
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    There's no cut and dried answer.

    It depends on your current level of fitness and the nature of the workouts that you're doing. For example both weight lifting and running require more recovery than walking, swimming, biking etc. Personally I tend to do something every day but I vary both intensity and levels of impact, even after running for more than a decade pretty much the only time I run on consecutive days is the weekend and typically Saturday will be a shorter run and Sunday my long slow distance.

    How often and how hard you train depend on your goals.
  • Chieflrg
    Chieflrg Posts: 9,097 Member
    edited May 2020
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    allother94 wrote: »
    For weight lifting, 4 days are better than 3, 5 is better than 4. Need to use splits depending on number of days.

    No. The number of days depends on the individual adaptations, time available, goals, programming, recovery fROM said programming, and health.

    Five days is not better than three by a universal hard rule.

    Also splits are not a neccessity of training. It can be done and be fine and someone can train another way and be fine. One can train arms 7 days or only 3 days a week if programmed correctly.
  • cyw5
    cyw5 Posts: 10 Member
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    As people have said already, listen to your body first and foremost. There's no point training your upper body hard on the second day when you still feel sore from the first. The general rule is to have one rest day for the specific body part (upper, lower, arms, legs, etc.) you've trained. You need to let your muscles rest and repair in order to gain muscles. I personally work out 4-5 time a week. 4 of those days, I do 'weight' training and then one day cardio in some form. But again, it depends on your body goals.
  • Holly92154
    Holly92154 Posts: 119 Member
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    This is my current schedule.

    M-
    AM- Medium Run 45 minutes
    PM- (optional) Easy 20 minute bike zone 2

    T-
    AM- Yoga, body weight
    PM- (optional) Rowing, 30 minutes zone 3

    W-
    AM- Interval Run
    PM- (optional) Easy Bike 20 minutes zone 2

    TH-
    AM- Yoga
    PM- (optional) Rowing, 30 minutes zone 2

    F-
    AM- Long Run 1:30 - 2:45
    PM- Dynamic Stretching

    Sa-
    Body weight, light walking.

    Su-
    Couch potato, massage, bubble bath, naps, stretching, general lounging around. ADL's only.

    Pre Covid lockdown, I would do a group hike on Saturdays or switch my long run to trail. Occasionally, I would swap a run or a spin on my road bike. 😢

    Optional workouts are in addition to the AM. It just depends on how I handled the AM and which phase of training I am in. Some weeks I hit 7 hours of training, some 4. I don't worry about the number as long as I am still enjoying what I am doing.

    80% of my workouts are in my aerobic zones (1-3) 20% in anaerobic (4-5). It took me a long time to build up to where I'm at.

    Each week is adjusted building a little more followed by tapering before a race and repeated several times a year. If I am doing a cycling event, I just swap bikes for runs and follow the same protocol.

    Technically, exercising in your anerobic zones 4 and 5 burn more calories in a shorter amount of time but you are stuck with longer recovery periods. Exercising in the lower zones builds a strong base which increases your overall capabilities while minimizing your chances of injury.

    I use my Polar watch to monitor my recovery rate. If I am sore, lacking in sleep or not feeling well, I don't workout. I might (depending on several factors) do the AM and skip the PM or take an unscheduled rest day.

    Most people starting out, do need a longer break period between sessions. It is easy to overlook but your growth happens *during recovery*. If you wear yourself out without proper off time, you do more harm than good. Also, on a side note, the more you push your body, the more you need to focus on nutrition.

    Ultimately, ALWAYS listen to your body. If you suddenly have no urge to exercise or are dreading doing something, re evaluate your schedule. You may be pushing too hard or getting bored. Either way, exercise should be something fun or at least bearable 😂
  • MostlyWater
    MostlyWater Posts: 4,294 Member
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    right now i'm doing intervals 5 days a week, a band or pilates type class in the middle, and a rest day walk. when Covid is over, I'll back to spin class 2 or 3 days a week interspersed with intervals and probably band or pilates once a month or so. I'll get plenty of walking in my regular life so that'll get cut out.

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