How Often Should I Workout?

• What are the benefits of exercise?
• How many days per week/hours should I be working out?
• Tips for making exercise a way of life

According to the Department of Kinesiology and Health at Georgia State University, more than 60 percent of adults in the United States do not engage in the recommended amount of physical activity needed for good health; 25 percent of people in the United States are not active at all. Exercise is an essential part of achieving optimal health and quality of life, so it is important to get adequate amounts of physical activity in your life. Check out these seven ways exercise can improve your life:

• Controls weight
• Combats health conditions and diseases
• Improves mood
• Boosts energy
• Promotes better sleep
• Improved complexion
• Can be fun!

How often you should work out is really a matter of your current fitness level, the types of exercises you are performing, the intensity of your workouts, and how much time you actually have available to spend in the gym, However, The American College of Sports Medicine exercise guidelines for average healthy adults under the age of 65 states that you should do moderately intense cardio for 30 minutes a day, five days a week, or do vigorously intense exercise for 20 minutes three days a week and 10 minutes of strength-training with eight to 12 repetitions twice a week. The World Health Organization recommends that adults get 150 minutes of moderately intense aerobic exercise or 75 minutes of vigorous-intensity aerobic exercise weekly.

Getting and staying fit can be a challenge. For many of us, it’s hard just to get up off the couch. So what’s the secret of people who have managed to make exercise a way of life?

• Be consistent
• Set realistic goals
• Follow an exercise routine
• Workout with a friend
• Make your plan fit your life
• BE PATIENT!

Determining how often you should workout is a bit science, a bit art and a lot of experimentation.  Each individual is different and each person’s ability to recover may vary considerably from another’s, even if their experience level or intensity seems identical.

The best approach to determining the right training frequency is to ease into your workout schedule slowly and take note of the mind-body changes that you experience.  Keep a journal or record of your progress in notebook or exercise log or program. Make notes about your perceived intensity and whether you were sore the next day. This will help you determine the right workout frequency for you.