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“How many days a week should you work out?” This is a question that many people who are looking to get into fitness for weight loss or overall health purposes find themselves asking. It is because different people have different routines. Some could be at the gym from Sunday to Sunday, others go for five days, while others are okay with just two days a week, it can be hard to figure out how many days a week you should work out to lose weight or build muscle.
In this article, we are going to delve into this matter to try and determine different common questions such as “Is it good to work out every day?”, “How many days a week should you work out to make progress?”, “How many days a week should you work out for intermittent fasting?”, and “How much cardio per week?”, and more.
Before determining how many days a week should you work out for weight loss, it is best to, first, determine how much weight you need to lose and how much you can safely lose within a week or a month. Many of us start exercising to lose the most amount of weight in the shortest time frame possible.
This is unhealthy and quite dangerous. According to the CDC, safe, healthy, and sustainable weight loss means losing no more than one to two pounds a week (17). It is also important to remember that weight loss cannot be sustained by exercising alone, you must consume a well-balanced diet and ensure that you are eating on a calorie deficit of 500 to 1000 calories a day (9). This means consuming no less than 1200 calories per day for women and 1500 calories a day for men (6).
So, if you have fixed your eating habits and reduced your energy intake, then how many days a week should you work out to make progress and achieve your goals? This depends on how well you are used to working out. A beginner cannot workout as frequently or even using the same intensity as someone who has been working out for years.
For beginners, it is advisable to start slow and pace yourself. Try working out for at least two to three days a week to eventually work out for four to five days a week (14).
What about if you are not a beginner? How many days a week should you work out as an intermediate or advanced gym-goer? Intermediates should try working out three to four times a week, while advanced people should not exercise for more than five days a week (14).
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Now that you have figured out the answer to “how many days a week should you work out to make progress”, how long should your workout be? According to the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM), if you are looking to improve your health, and are overweight or obese, then you should attempt to get in a minimum of 150 minutes (30 minutes in five days) of moderate-intensity aerobic activity per week.
However, for long-term weight loss, this number goes up to 200 to 300 minutes a week (40 to 60 minutes a day) (4). It is further recommended that if you would prefer more intense workouts (and are fit enough to do them), you can do 75 minutes per week of vigorous aerobic activity (15 minutes a day for five days or 25 minutes a day for three days). These workouts can be separated or combined depending on your strength levels and what your body is capable of.
Examples of moderate-intensity aerobic activities include brisk walking (at least 2.5 miles per hour), water aerobics, slow or social dancing, gardening, and biking slower than ten miles per hour. On the other hand, vigorous aerobic activities include running, hiking uphill, jumping rope, or swimming laps (1).
Remember that exercising is not just for people who are overweight or obese. Healthy people at a healthy weight should also work out because it improves their health by reducing their risk of cardiovascular diseases, type 2 diabetes, metabolic syndrome, and some cancers like bladder, breast, lung, kidney, and colon cancer (5).
Cardio exercises are some rhythmic activities that raise your heart rate into a specific target heart rate zone, which helps you burn the most fat and calories. The most popular cardio workouts that are beginner-friendly include jumping jacks, jump rope, kickboxing, jogging, swimming, and running up the stairs.
So, how much cardio per week for weight loss? It is suggested that you should try and do 30 to 45 minutes of cardio workouts for three to five days a week; three days of moderate-intensity cardio exercise and two days of vigorous cardio workouts (15).
However, you must keep in mind that if you are a beginner, then you absolutely must pace yourself or risk injury. A study was done in 1977 on male jail and prison inmates showed that participants who jogged for 45 minutes a day for five days a week experienced more injuries than those who did the same but for one or three days for 15 minutes and 30 minutes, consecutively (10).
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Say that you are at a healthy weight but would like to build some muscle definition and bulk up, how many days a week should you work out?
A training frequency of muscle groups for the biggest and best gains is something that remains to be a heated topic of discussion in the fitness community. Some suggest that for bigger gains, you should train a single muscle group about once a week, while others suggest that this should be done twice a week (12).
Irrespective of the argument, we suggest that for maximum gains, you should not work out for more than four days a week (16). According to Men’sHealth, about ten studies have revealed that the best muscle growth is experienced when each muscle group is exercised twice a week (13).
We suggest that you split your upper and lower body training sessions by two days each. I.e., Monday and Tuesday = Lower body workouts, Wednesday = Rest day, and Thursday and Friday = Upper body exercises. You could also alternate the days, i.e.:
As seen above, sometimes less is more. You should not lift weights more than four times a week, and you should rest at least once between the two days. According to the HHS-U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, you should work out all your major muscle groups (chest, back, arms and shoulders, abs, and legs) at least twice a day (3). Depending on your goals, do:
Sticking to working out for up to five days a week or strength training two to four days is enough not to make your muscles shrink. Taking a much-deserved rest day will also not lead to muscle breakdown. You are only at risk of losing muscle strength if you take a break from exercising for three to four weeks. Anything less than that is safe for your muscle strength and cardio fitness (11).
You may still be able to work out while you are intermittent fasting as long as you plan your workouts and make sure that your sessions are after you have broken your fast. However, even with your desire to work out, you may experience side effects, such as poor performance, inability to build muscle, lightheadedness, and fainting (8).
In light of this, we would suggest that you stick to low-intensity-aerobic workouts while fasting. For those hoping to preserve their muscle mass, you are advised to limit your lifting to two times a week (18).
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Now that you have a better understanding of how many days a week should you work out for body fat loss and weight gain, here are some simple workouts that you can do at home or the gym:
Cardio workouts are all full-body workouts, and they will all help you burn calories to lose weight and fat. Here are some common cardio workouts and how much calories they can burn in 30 minutes on a 155-pound person (7):
Other workouts that you can do include:
They work out both your upper and lower body targeting the muscles in your legs, hips, buttocks, abdomen, arms, chest, and shoulders.
Beginners can omit the push-up entirely or do it on their knees. You could also not jump and stretch your hands in the air instead.
They workout the muscles in your chest, shoulders, core, triceps, and serratus anterior (muscles under your armpits).
These are a full-body workout that works out the muscles in your core, glutes, legs, triceps, and shoulders. Here is how to do them:
They engage the muscles in your core, shoulders, triceps, back, glutes, hamstrings, and quads.
Please note that these exercises can be done with or without weights. If you would like to use weights but cannot afford them, improvise by using water bottles, soup cans, or a full backpack.
They target your leg muscles as well as the muscles in your core, hips, and glutes.
A more advanced version of the ordinary squat, they target the muscles in your calves, hamstrings, quads, hips, and glutes.
Beginners should not try going all the way down to the floor. Instead, they should attempt doing this in front of a chair, couch, or a wall to use it for balance.
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These are a fantastic lower body workout as they target your calves, quads, glutes, and hamstrings.
This workout targets the muscles in your chest, triceps, and shoulders.
This exercise works out the pectorals, deltoids, triceps, trapezius, and core.
This article is intended for general informational purposes only and does not address individual circumstances. It is not a substitute for professional advice or help and should not be relied on to make decisions of any kind. A licensed physician should be consulted for diagnosis and treatment of any medical conditions. Any action you take upon the information presented in this article is strictly at your own risk and responsibility!