How Many Days Workout
How many days workout, how often you should work out depends on things like your activity level, age, and fitness goals, but it’s generally advised to get 150 minutes of moderate aerobic (cardio) exercise per week. Ideally, you should also do two days of strength training.
But exactly how many days a week should you work out to reap those benefits? It’s understandable if you’re feeling confused. There’s some conflicting information out there, and what’s more, the best weekly workout cadence for you might not be quite right for someone else.
When in doubt, regular exercise—whenever you can fit it in or whatever it looks like—is always better than none at all, Dr. Lee says. But there are some expert-recommended best practices on exercising to meet your goals, whether that’s gaining muscle, increasing cardio, or simply maintaining good health. Read on for everything you need to know about how often you should work out.
How Often Should You Work Out?
The best workout plan for you is one you can consistently follow.
Types of Physical Activity
If you’re new to exercise, start small by reducing your time sitting or going for a walk before or after meals.
Different types of physical activity include:
- Cardio, or aerobic or endurance exercise
- Flexibility, which increases agility and range of motion
- Strength training
- Balance training, which helps prevent falls
Finding pleasure in your workout helps you stay consistent and leads to results.
Strength Training
Strength training keeps your muscles strong. Aim for at least two days per week.
Examples of strength training include:
- Body-weight exercises, such as crunches, push-ups, sit-ups, and planks
- Using resistance bands
- Weight lifting
- Yoga
Try incorporating different types of strength training exercises that work all major muscle groups, including:
- Abdomen
- Arms
- Back
- Chest
- Hips
- Legs
- Shoulders
Cardiovascular Exercise
What you choose to do for cardio comes down to what you enjoy doing. There are many types of cardiovascular exercises.
High-intensity interval training (HIIT), or circuit workouts, are intense, quick workouts, followed by brief rest or lower-intensity periods. You do several rounds alternating between workouts and rest.
Any exercise can be used for these cardio workouts, as long as it is done with a high enough intensity. Some exercises include:
- Biking
- Doing yard work
- Jogging
- Playing sports
- Running
- Swimming or water aerobics
- Walking
- Body weight exercises like burpees and planks
30-Minute Butt and Thigh Toning Workout
Your workout plan Goal for the better result
If you want to build strength and lose or maintain weight, combining cardio and strength training is ideal. Here’s how your workout frequency and intensity may vary depending on your goals.
General Health
It’s important to do 150 minutes of moderate aerobic exercise each week. You might split this into five 30-minute workouts per week. You could also opt for 75 minutes of vigorous exercise per week.
Examples of weekly workouts include:
- Briskly walk for 30 minutes, five days per week
- Jog or run for 25 minutes, three days per week
- Do 30 minutes of walking and running intervals, at least two days per week
Weight Loss
It’s important to create a calorie deficit to lose weight, which means you burn more calories than you consume.
You may need to increase the length of time or number of days you exercise to lose weight, such as 60 minutes daily, five times per week.
The number of calories you burn will depend on what type of exercise you do. For example, a 154-pound person may burn the following calories in 60 minutes:
- Brisk walking: 280 calories
- Dancing: 330 calories
- Swimming laps: 510 calories
- Jogging or running (at 5 miles per hour): 590 calories
Muscle Gain
To gain muscle, aim for two 30-minute workouts that target the entire body. Include compound movements, which are exercises that work multiple muscles at once, such as deadlifts, pull-ups, push-ups, and squats.
If you can, designate different days to work on your upper and lower body. Lower body exercises include hinge exercises like deadlifts, lunges, and squats, while upper body exercises include pushing and pulling motions, like chest presses, push-ups, pull-ups, and rows.
As you can, increase the weight you use and the total repetitions you perform.
Here’s what a week of workouts may look like if you want to gain muscle:
| Days | Workout |
| Monday | 30 minutes of cardio and a total-body strength session |
| Tuesday | 30 minutes of cardio and an upper-body strength session |
| Wednesday | Light stretching and foam rolling |
| Thursday | 30 minutes of cardio and a total-body strength session |
| Friday | 30 minutes of cardio and a lower-body strength session |
| Saturday | 30 minutes of cardio |
| Sunday | Light stretching and foam rolling |
Precautions
Everyone’s exercise tolerance is different. An individual’s weight, existing medical conditions, age, and activity level can play a role in what exercises and intensity levels are appropriate for them.
Always exercise safely to prevent injury or illness. This includes starting at a pace that is manageable for you, and slowly working up to more intense workouts. Don’t forget to drink plenty of fluids during exercise.
It’s also important to stretch before and after each workout to prevent muscle soreness and injury. Stretching before a workout also prepares your heart to pump blood efficiently for the workout.