How Often Should You Work Out?
Our bodies are built for activity. This means that your body will look and feel its best when you stay active.
Many of us, however, spend most of our days seated and move very little. Extended periods of inactivity can have a ton of negative effects on your health, such as:
slowing down your metabolism (making it harder to burn fat)
impairing the body’s ability to control blood sugar levels (putting you at increased risk of Type 2 diabetes)
impairing the body’s ability to regulate blood pressure (putting you at increased risk of heart disease, heart attack, and stroke)
One study recently published by the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) found that individuals who spend most of their time sitting at work are 16% more at risk of all-cause mortality and 34% more at risk of death from heart disease.
The best way to keep your metabolism high and reduce your risk of health problems is to live an active lifestyle. This means getting up and moving often on most days.
The American Heart Association (AHA) recommends aiming for a total of 150 minutes of moderate-intensity activity (or 75 minutes of vigorous or mixed vigorous and moderate activity) each week at a minimum to keep your heart healthy and reduce your risk of illness.
If your goal is fat loss, the AHA recommends 300 minutes of moderate-intensity activity (or 150 minutes of vigorous or mixed vigorous and moderate activity).
You can break that activity up in whichever way works best for you. Many of my personal training clients aim for 30 minutes on 5 days each week. Some people have less time available on most days, and so they spend about an hour on just 3 days per week.
You don’t necessarily need to go to the gym to meet the basic guidelines for activity. Many of my clients spend most of their activity time each week outside the gym doing activities like gardening, playing pickleball, or hiking.
However many people find that getting into a workout routine is a helpful way to reach their reach their weekly activity goal.
Types of Workouts
Workouts are structured sessions of activity or exercise that are often done in a gym—but really, they can be done anywhere. There are many different kinds of workouts to choose from depending on your goals, level of experience, and the equipment that you have access to.
Cardio Workouts
Cardio workouts (or cardiovascular workouts) are a style of training that is focused on improving the health of your cardiovascular system. These workouts aim to get your heart rate up into a target heart rate zone (either moderate intensity or high intensity) and keep it there for the majority of the training session. Examples of this are things like power walking, jogging, using a cardio machine like a rower or elliptical, and taking a group fitness class. Get your heart pumping for at least 150 minutes total per week at a moderate-intensity level (or 75 minutes at a high or mixed high- and moderate-intensity level), splitting up those minutes however works best for you. If your goal is to burn fat, do 300 minutes of moderate-intensity cardio (or 150 minutes of high or mixed high- and moderate-intensity level).
Frequency: 150 minutes total per week (i.e. 30 minutes 5 days per week, 50 minutes 3 days per week, etc)
Resistance Training Workouts
In addition to getting your heart pumping, it’s also important to keep your muscles challenged so that they stay strong. As we age, muscle mass naturally declines in a process called sarcopenia. As your body breaks down muscle tissue, you lose strength and bone density—which has a negative impact on your coordination, balance, and overall mobility. You’re also more at risk of falling and getting injured.
Doing resistance training at least 2 days each week is a great way to keep your muscles and bones strong. This style of workout involves pushing your muscles to work against some form of resistance—such as weights, resistance bands, or kettlebells. Resistance training has a ton of other benefits like boosting your metabolism and improving your insulin sensitivity (decreasing your risk of diabetes and making diabetes more manageable).
Frequency: 2-3 days per week minimum (30-60 minutes per session)
Mobility Training Workouts
Mobility training is another important component of maintaining a healthy body. This style of training includes stretching, foam rolling, and other exercises that aim to increase the range of motion of your joints. You can do mobility training separately on its own as a workout, but most experts recommend incorporating it into your other workouts as part of your warmup, cooldown, or within the workout itself. Doing mobility training as often as every day can greatly increase your flexibility and coordination while decreasing muscle stiffness and tightness that can impede your other workouts.
Frequency: Daily or every time you work out (10-60 minutes per session)
Build Your Routine
Now that you know what the recommendations are for each workout type, it’s time to create your personal workout routine.
Take out your calendar and decide on which days you’ll do your cardio and resistance training. You can split the workout types up into separate days or do them on the same day. For example, if you have 5 days available to work out, your routine might look like this:
Day 1: Cardio 30 minutes + Resistance Training 30-60 minutes
Day 2: Cardio 30 minutes
Day 3: Cardio 30 minutes + Resistance Training 30-60 minutes
Day 4: Cardio 30 minutes
Day 5: Cardio 30 minutes + Resistance Training 30-60 minutes
Try as much as possible to keep your workouts on the same days and at the same times each week. This will help you to get into the habit of working out regularly—which will help keep you consistent on the days when your motivation is low.
It also would be super helpful to follow a program for your resistance training so that you always know what exercises you should do each time you work out. Check out my Body Sculpt program for beginner-friendly and intermediate program options.
About the Author
Jayd Harrison (aka Jaydigains) is a health coach, personal trainer, and host of the Coaching Corner Podcast. She helps people build muscle, burn fat, and clean up their diets with her online coaching programs and other online content. Check out some of Jayd’s coaching videos on Youtube, or join Jayd live on Twitch and follow on social media:
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