Weekly Fitness Tips, Part 4

How many days a week should I work out? Short answer: 2-5 days per week, but it depends on many other factors…

A more nuanced answer: It’s like asking how long is a piece of string. I’ll do my best to give you an answer. For beginners, 1-3 days per week would be ideal. This gives you the chance to ease into exercise, so that you don’t do too much too fast. This number of sessions wouldn’t be too objectionable, even to someone who is very out of shape.

For Intermediate people who have been training for 2 years or more, 2-4 days per week would be a good suggestion. It’s enough for a good stimulus and adequate rest between sessions, and it still gives a good balance with other aspects of life.

The longer you’ve been exercising, you can typically handle a higher weekly volume of exercise. This means if you’re advanced (5+ years), you can train up to 5-6 times per week. However, you don’t need to in order to make progress, it’s just more likely you’re body will be able to handle it. It’s up to you to decide at this point, based on your goals and your physical capacity.