How many times a week should I work out?
To know how often you should be training, keep reading!
First of all, how many times a week you should work out depends on many things, (everyone’s different)!
Even if you work out once a week, you may not think you’re doing enough, but you are still going to be feeling the benefits of doing some exercise!
So let’s dive straight in and have a look at these different factors…
What is your fitness level?
If you haven’t done much strength training before, then it is easy to go in full blast and lead yourself straight to a burnout. It is important to ease yourself in and take your time to become familiar with the movements before using heavier weights.
In this case, your body needs time to recover, so it would not be recommended by us to train more than 2-3 times a week to begin with!
On the other hand, if your body is very conditioned and is used to strength training, you will see the benefits of training between 4-6 times a week!
It’s important to note that not all weeks are the same! Make sure you are tuning in to what your body is telling you, this is the key!
What is your lifestyle like?
It is rare that the gym will be the only thing you are juggling in your life! We have work, children, pets, households, family, events, health conditions, a social life, hobbies… to take into consideration. Not every week is going to always be the same, so you need to give yourself some slack that you can’t always hit your targets of training a certain amount of times a week. But just because you didn’t do any training at all one week should never mean that you should just quit! Skipping a week of training will not affect your health and fitness in the grand scheme of things!
If you know you have a busy schedule, then it is important that your workouts are efficient! That’s what we aim to do at Patch Fitness, is guide people to make sure each workout they do is as efficient as possible and brings you closer to your fitness goals!
Even if you are a busy person, once you find the right environment that fits into your life, you will be able to achieve your fitness goals!
What are your goals?
Most of our members share a common goal, which is to feel better and stronger in day-to-day life! They are not looking to become professional athletes & don’t want to feel too restricted so that they can’t enjoy a meal out for example! In this case, training 2-4 times a week is plenty to make your body feel strong, fit and healthy- mentally and physically!
To reiterate, exercise is one of the key steps to achieving this goal. Don’t downplay the importance of a good nights sleep, eating the right things to fuel your body, reducing stress where possible as well as having fun! These are all key to achieving your goals for your health and fitness.
What kinds of things can I do on rest days?
Stray hydrated
Focus on your nutrition
Elevate your recovery- make sure you’re getting some quality sleep!
Include light movement such as walking and stretching to help loosen stiff muscles.
Getting personal with Patch
What we are proud of at Patch Fitness is that we are able to give each of our members the attention where we can tailor sessions to suit how you are feeling that day. If you have an injury or some part of your body is bothering you, we can make sure you are not doing any movements that will contribute to that, and help you find ways of easing your pain. We are always here to help you re-evaluate your goals and figure out a more achievable schedule and nutrition plan if you need it!
At the end of the day, you must consider all of these factors above when you’re organising your fitness schedule, there is no straight one answer fits all!
If you think this sounds like the guidance you need to make healthy changes in your life, try our 30 day trial, or get in touch with us!