How Much Should I Work Out?

Our fitness requirements are diverse like we are, so a successful plan requires flexibility. Setting goals means reevaluating them often to match the changes that our bodies make as we get stronger and healthier. These changes don't come with occasional effort; the body requires consistent challenges to build muscle or keep the furnace burning calories. Sticking to the plan is very important whether you want to enhance your strength, lose weight, or improve your general fitness. Learn to do so without punishing yourself for going off course on occasion. You'll have a few things to consider:

How Much Time Do I Have?

I wish I had some super sweet motivation here, but I don't. Make time! Most of us will never train if we don't make a place for it during the day. "My training days are on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday at 12:30 pm- for 45 minutes!" is deliberate and definitive. We make time for everything else but fitness. Have you ever spent 30 minutes looking for the right show to watch? Have you ever been stuck scrolling through social media and wasted an hour? You didn't plan that, yet the time made itself available. Plan and normalize a time to make fitness a part of your daily lifestyle.

What's Your Activity Level Outside of Training Sessions?

Do you sit at work, cover ground, or use your strength to accomplish tasks? How is your free time used? Sports like basketball and golf can burn up to 1500 calories in one outing. I spend an additional 325 calories daily biking my kids to and from school. Likewise, a 45-minute cruise around the neighborhood might cost about 400 calories. I once wore my heart monitor before I washed our minivan, and that's wax on, wax off clean to the tune of 500 calories in about 90 minutes!  I skipped training that day as I sometimes use these ventures for active recovery. These different chores, games, and hobbies count-- even more when compared with binge TV! Still, it's best not to rely on these to achieve maximum fitness, but the ability to participate is a good indicator of general health, too! You can pack a lot of work into 30 minutes or lower the intensity over a long period. Either way, your body will be accustomed to some stress and may require more or less work from you to see progress based on your activity level.

Rest.

One or two days of rest weekly should do it. These are periods to rest your mind as well as your body. The body heals from the different stresses caused by training, and it gets rid of waste. Rest days are great days to binge (finally) on your favorite shows or participate in your favorite activities. Some people become antsy on rest days and prefer to train. It's okay to do so on occasion, but with reduced output. Yoga is a great way to challenge the body on a rest day, and it provides mental and physical benefits that will enhance your progress. Some people opt for cardio between strength training days, which gives your heart a workout and keeps your body burning calories. A light session can also help ease soreness from a previous workout. How athletes rest is a bit subjective, but be sure to take advantage of those days in a way that is restful for you. Rest days are critical to progress. Resting will help avoid injury and overtraining the body, and will improve your engagement and focus during your sessions and the long-term journey.

The reality is that 2 or 3 days of fitness weekly won't cut it. That's not even half of the week! Beginners will see early changes with that frequency, but the returns may not be steady or long-lasting. If you're focused on results, you have to focus on creating better habits the majority of the time- at least 4-5 days weekly. I often recommend a 45-minute session to clients because we get a complete workout done with the 15 extra minutes. That's enough time for a dynamic warmup that uses multiple ranges of motion (ROM) movements, gets the heart rate up, and prepares the body for the work that's about to happen. The extra time also gives us an additional moment to keep the tempo or to slow it down for better focus. Once it's all said and done, we have enough time for a proper cool down and gradually reduce the heart rate.

All you need is 30 minutes of moderate-intensity activity five days a week. That's the recommended 150 minutes of weekly exercise as per the Dept of Health and Human Services. Everyone can benefit from a daily fitness break, and those benefits can add up quickly. You'll notice a difference in how you feel in no time, and it can help increase your energy level and improve the quality of your sleep. This recommendation doesn't mean limiting your training to just a half-hour. You may find yourself exercising and being active for longer as your strength and endurance increase. Good for you! Then again, you may not even feel the idea of working out at first. Just remember that all you need is 30 minutes! That means you can get in and out before you can convince yourself why you shouldn't train, and you'll never regret following through!

How long are your training sessions? Is a 30-minute workout long enough? How long is too long? Leave a comment below!