How Often Should I Workout?

Our workouts are underway with online classes on the schedule each day of the week. It didn’t take long before the question arose from members: Should I workout everyday? Here’s the answer I shared with them.

Exercising once a week is great.

Most people don’t do that. If you can dedicate yourself to a weekly workout that using a variety of movement patterns and raises your heart rate a little, you will be a far fitter and healthier individual than if you do nothing.

Two workouts a week is amazing.

This increase in frequency or range of movements can make a big difference and help further develop or maintain your fitness, depending on where you’re starting from. It can also inject some variety by featuring two totally different activities which can add even more enjoyment and motivation.

Three times is considered ideal.

For the typical adult, three workouts a week is considered ideal by many. This allows both increased adaptive stimuli and the critical component of recovery time if you have one day off in between workouts. Of course, if you enjoy the other elements of the workout, the social side for example, doing it more improves your mental health more too!

Four-plus workouts per week needs some planning.

Four-plus workouts per week is really good but now you need to start to think about balancing your overall workload. If your body isn’t given time to rebuild, you will simply become overtired and progress will stall. When working out on consecutive days, make sure both are not hard or taxing workouts. For example, if you do our Athletic Strength classes (resistance exercise, gentle plyometrics, agility moves) on back to back days, take it really easy in the second one, keep the loads and effort light. Or, perhaps just do part of the class to get activated and loosen up. Such light workouts on the in between days are highly beneficial.

The above guidance is summarized by our philosophy of following the path of the JETI – do Just Enough To Improve. Always remember that consistency is the key to progress so set yourself up for success by establishing a sustainable weekly schedule. More consistent exercise means better health, physically and mentally.