To keep healthy, it’s imperative that we exercise regularly. Constant workout has been shown to have positive outcomes on our mental and physical health overall. It is key to keeping heart diseases at bay and even has a tremendous impact on mood. The benefits of exercise are well known, but one aspect of working out that remains a gray area for many people is how often. If you’ve ever thought to yourself “how much exercise do I need”, stick around as our personal trainer gives you the full scoop.
“Enough” is relative
We must make this clear right off the bat: there’s no one-size-fits-all formula when it comes to exercise. How often you should work out will vary from one person to another depending on a plethora of criteria, including but not limited to:
- Why you’re working out (i.e. your goals)
- Your passions or interests
- The personalized needs of your body
- Underlying health conditions
- Age, gender, and others
Working out for weight loss- Optimal exercise frequency: Daily
A lot of people are curious about figuring out exercise frequency for weight loss purposes. Our San Diego fitness experts receive a ton of queries in this regard. If that’s the case for you, you’ll find this section particularly enlightening as we discuss how much exercise per day to lose weight.
At the very least, research by Mayo Clinic suggests that half an hour of working out daily is the bare minimum. Many other studies seem to zero in on 30 minutes as the magic number, with another WebMD analysis vouching for this threshold for weight management. Delving deeper into the latter report, here’s what they dug up:
- You need to work out hard enough to sweat for half an hour each day
- Subjects who exercise for 30 minutes daily shed 8 pounds each in 90 days
- Participants who work out for 1 hour daily, lost 6 pounds in that same time frame
Researchers were surprised by this finding as the initial hypothesis was the frequency or duration of exercise was directly proportional to pounds lost. However, they believe that these results were due to the conveniences and appeal that a 30-minute daily workout provided in comparison. These were much more doable- not to mention time-efficient which is a huge plus for the busy adult- and thus could have had a significant impact on the subject’s desire to keep up with the work.
Hitting the gym for muscle gain – 3 times a week
We talked to a bunch of other gyms in San Diego, and, in unison with the experience of our personal trainer San Diego team, we find that you need to work out your muscles at least twice in seven days if your goal is to grow or sculpt a particular muscle group.
Is it OK to train the same muscle group twice or every day? Certainly not. Your muscles won’t have time to recoup and this could lead to muscle continuing to micro tear and not build. The rest period is when the muscle fiber is actually growing and building.. Advisably, if you’re to work out every day, then you want to alternate the muscle groups you target as follows:
- In terms of recovery from resistance training, muscle groups may require between 2-3 days of rest]
- Therefore allow for at least 48 hours of resting after intense training (1 hour, high-intensity workout) before reworking that group
- If you did your hamstrings and quadriceps on Tuesday, for example, then you want to work these out no earlier than Thursday
You may need to work with a personal trainer near me to get the perfect plan for you depending on the exact muscle groups that are of concern to you. Iron Orr Fitness is here for you should you require assistance along this line.
How often should I exercise to lower cholesterol?
As we pointed out before, the frequency of working out is dependent upon your objectives. If perhaps your primary goal is to get a handle on spiraling cholesterol levels, then you should know that some of the best gyms in San Diego recommend that you should work out at least every day of the week.
Here at Iron Orr Fitness, we couldn’t agree more. We believe working out for 30 minutes daily at least 5 times a week can have a tremendously positive impact on your cholesterol levels. Our recommendation is backed by the American Heart Association (AHA) which recommends a similar frequency of exercise to reduce cholesterol. They further advise multi-muscle group aerobic workouts as the best option for this purpose.
Some contenders for the best exercise to lower cholesterol include:
- Cycling
- Jogging
- Brisk walking
- Swimming
- Yoga
How much exercise by age and lifestyle
How often should you exercise a week? Your age will also have a large part to play. Generally, it is the case that younger individuals are more active than senior citizens. That has a lot to do with the natural effects of aging such as bone and muscle loss as well as lifestyle changes such as retirement.
A report by the NCBI finds that we can become up to 80% less physically active as we age. And that certainly opens the door for various chronic illnesses. Older adults with inactive lifestyles should work out more to compensate for any drops in physical activity.
Here are a few more reasons why you should exercise more often as you grow older:
- Working out regularly can slow down or avert bone loss
- Regular exercise can ease symptoms of age-related chronic illnesses
- Flexibility and muscle strength improve and that decreases the risk of falls
- Consistent exercise can also halt cognitive decline & lower dementia risk
It’s never too late to start working out to get healthy or in shape. Contact Personal Trainer San Diego Iron Orr Fitness to learn more about our personal trainers and how we can assist with your workout plan.
How much exercise is too much?
On the flip side, there is such a thing as overtraining. Again, this is all relative and there isn’t one magic number in terms of regularity that would classify as too much. However, when exercise starts taking a toll on other aspects of your life, then that’s when it becomes a point of concern. It’s also important to include rest days in any workout plan, to give your muscles and body enough time to rebuild and recover. So what are your goals for exercising? You should check out some personal trainers near me from Iron Orr Fitness to help craft a personalized workout plan with the right variations, intensity, and frequency. Reach out to us today for a consultation.