How many hours a day can you exercise? Research Review: How Often Should You Workout to Build Muscle? How many times a week to train for weight loss

The frequency of training plays a significant role in the process of developing a beautiful body - it is no less important than the choice of fitness direction.

The number of workouts directly depends on your sports goals.

In this article we will look at how many times a week you need to exercise, the nuances of losing weight and building muscles, as well as advice from experts.

How often can you train to see noticeable results?

To lose weight

In the process of losing weight, calorie expenditure plays a huge role: you must spend more than you consume. This is where fitness training can help – regular physical activity speeds up the body’s metabolism and the process of breaking down subcutaneous fat.

The conclusion is obvious: you should train quite often (at least 3 times a week). The best option is considered to be high-intensity areas for aerobic exercise - water aerobics, Zumba, etc.

In the process of such exercises, not only muscles are strengthened, but excess fat is also burned (due to intense cardio load on the whole body, more calories are broken down).

Important! If you exercise 1-2 times a week, the weight loss process may be significantly delayed. In this case, it is better more often and regularly than rarely, but intensively.

At the same time, do not forget about proper rest between classes - a healthy night's sleep and the absence of a large number of stress factors. Your body must fully recover for the next workout, otherwise a state of overtraining, fatigue and depression may quickly appear.

Note! The number of sessions per week should be increased gradually (as the muscles adapt), especially if your body is not accustomed to constant physical activity.

To tighten muscles and maintain tone

High-quality muscle training is based on the correct frequency of exercise and choice of fitness direction. In the first stages, it is better to pay attention to areas with an average level of load (fitness yoga) - these workouts are also good for maintaining athletic shape.

To effectively tighten and strengthen muscles, you can attend CrossFit classes (interval training with elements of strength exercises), pump aerobics (training with a mini-barbell).

Important! The increase in muscle tone and strength does not occur during the lesson itself. These processes occur during the period of rest/recovery after intense exercise!

In this case, training acts as an activator, giving impetus to natural processes within the body. This is why it is so important to maintain a balance between training and rest periods. If you decide to exercise frequently and vigorously, this can cause exhaustion (especially in the case of beginners, whose body is not prepared for grueling loads).

The best option is 2 intensive classes per week. This training regimen allows our body to fully recover for subsequent loads, while maintaining activity and sports motivation.

Should you go to the gym every day?

There is a fairly popular opinion among beginners: “More practice – faster progress!” In practice, the physiology of our body plays a major role.

If we exclude professional athletes and competition participants (whose bodies have adapted for years to intense and fairly frequent loads), then the average person needs approximately 24 hours to fully recuperate.

During this time, the necessary amount of protein enters the muscles for tissue regeneration, and the nervous system rests.

Note! If pain appears in the muscles after the next training session, you should not proceed to the next session (until they disappear).

Such sensations indicate microdamage within the muscle fibers - your body may need more time to properly recuperate. Try to listen to your own body and how you feel - in some cases, pain may indicate sprains or serious injuries that cannot be ignored.

In the absence of proper rest, a state of overtraining quickly occurs:

muscle fatigue;
general exhaustion of the body;
low mood, lethargy.

This not only slows down athletic progress, but also causes great harm to the health of the beginner. It is for this reason that going to the gym every day is not recommended - it will not bring the expected benefits in the form of quick weight loss or six-pack abs.

Note! Exceptional cases include professional athletes during the period of active preparation for competitions.

Be sure to check out:

K. Rich, sports expert, personal trainer to movie star J. Lawrence

When developing a weight loss program, I use a fairly simple rule: 5 kilometers or 30 minutes. This means that to effectively lose weight, you should devote at least half an hour to fitness training almost every day or go for a 5 km run.

It is quite natural that training 7 times a week tires the body, so for the average beginner, 4 days with intense exercise is enough. It is not necessary to study only in one direction - you can safely experiment. For example, a combination of dance classes and water aerobics will bring a huge boost of positivity, vigor and well-being. Remember that the more active your day is, the more intense your fat burning process will be.

A. Masharin, sports consultant, specialist at Fitness-M

Probably the most important rule in any fitness routine is systematicity. The “correct” frequency of training in the gym is 2-5 times a week. This indicator will fluctuate depending on:

sporting purposes;
amount of free time;
level of training;
individual characteristics, etc.

I constantly repeat that you need to train regularly - there will be practically no benefit from “super-intensive” training from time to time. At the same time, it makes no sense to exhaust the body with daily stress in the absence of proper rest and reserves for muscle recovery (quality night sleep, balanced nutrition with an emphasis on proteins, absence of severe stress).

At the beginning of your sports journey, it is also important to consider your own level of training. For beginners, 40 minutes of exercise at an average pace twice a week will be enough (you can gradually increase the intensity of training, duration and frequency).

To achieve the fastest possible effect, people start training every day, but this approach is not justified. You need to play sports in such a way as not to overload the body, the muscles must be restored. And first you need to decide on that.

Each workout puts stress on the muscles, so it takes time to restore tone. If you don’t do this, then the results and effectiveness of your training will decline, the volume of exercise will decrease and losing weight will become more and more difficult. No personal trainer would recommend doing it every day; proper rest is an important component of any complex, so you shouldn’t tear your veins.

A more noticeable result will be with the right combination of sports and recovery periods. The exception is jogging, which can be done every day, especially if done outdoors.

— How many times a week should you exercise?

People become active for a variety of reasons, but most often to lose weight. The question immediately arises, how many times a week should you train?

The training program is selected based on several parameters: initial weight; Lifestyle; how much weight a person wants to lose; initial physical training. All these factors determine the number of workouts per week. The body must get used to the stress; very obese people start with daily exercises, gymnastics, and active walking down the street.

People with basic training to lose weight immediately sign up for a gym, an aerobics group and do it twice a week. Over time, the number of trips to sports increases to 3-4 per 7 days.

— Sports mode for weight loss.

Let's start with the fact that there is no single correct training system. Various experts recommend their own method of weight loss, but general principles can be found in everyone. Remember that the final result will depend on a number of conditions:

1) your starting weight;
2) features of metabolism and functioning of the body;
3) age;
4) specific nutrition and other criteria.

Periodicity:

To lose weight, you need to exercise at least 3 times a week. This load is recommended for “beginners”; the intensive program involves up to 5 workouts per week. The duration of each of them is at least 40-60 minutes. There is an opinion that “half an hour” is ineffective for losing weight.
An hour-long load according to a special scheme will not only allow you to work out all problem areas, but will also activate a mode of active calorie expenditure (which will continue for a long time after training).

Lesson outline:

1) 5 minutes of aerobic exercise to warm up the muscles (jump rope, cycling, running);
2) 20-25 minutes – power load, which is aimed at working out problem areas (hips, abs, buttocks and others);
3) 30 minutes – again energetic “cardio”, which will increase your heart rate and start the fat burning process, optimally – interval exercise with a change in pace moderate/fast.

Experts say that for at least 3 hours after such an activity, your body will be in a state of intense calorie expenditure, as if you were continuing to train.

Time:

The optimal time for training is morning or evening (before 21.00). A later session will not bring half the effect. But if for some reason work has kept you busy, but there are at least two hours left before bed, don’t skip a lesson, devote at least half an hour to the strength or aerobic part (interval exercise).

The workout should take place on an empty stomach - at least an hour after eating, and preferably two. You can’t eat immediately after class - quench your thirst, take a shower and delay eating for at least an hour.

Excessive diligence or insufficient, as well as irregular loads, have almost the same effect in the long term. Follow the time-tested measure.

— Conditions for the required amount of training.

First, you need to set the following parameters for yourself, which will help you roughly understand how many workouts per week will be enough:

1) Body type.
2) Pursued goals (what you want to achieve through classes).
3) Daily routine.
4) Opportunity for classes.

Secondly, after the criteria have been established, you need to move on to the training itself, not paying attention to interference.

Body types:

There are only 3 types of them - ectomorph (thin and tall), mesomorph (athletic) and endomorph (well-fed and possibly short). As a rule, there is no pure body type, but one type will be the most pronounced. It is based on this that you should determine how many times you can train your body.

So, the first body type will be characterized by 2-3 classes per week, lasting no more than 1 hour. The second – 4-5 workouts per week, lasting up to 1.5 hours. Well, the third one has 5-6 lessons, each of which lasts up to 2 hours.

But there are also alternative ways to structure a class schedule.
1) Ectomorph - 5-6 times a week, but 30 minutes each session.
2) Endomorph – 2–4 classes per week, but increased in time to 3 hours each.
3) A mesomorph usually doesn’t have problems, so you can independently choose convenient days for yourself (based on how you feel).

All of the above-described solutions to constructing a training schedule are determined by anatomy - the number of fast and slow (white and red) muscle fibers in the muscles.

Pursued goals:

Based on your physique, you can determine what you want to achieve. Typically, people with a thin or athletic body want to gain weight, while overweight, well-fed people want to lose it and “get lean.” But it happens the other way around. Your body type and goals open up the possibility of choosing a training program, which will determine the required number of sessions.

Daily schedule and activities:

Of course, if all weekdays are busy with work, and you don’t have the energy to study in the evening, then it’s quite natural to take classes on weekends. But if you still have the opportunity to expand your daily routine and squeeze in training, that would be great.

Ka It is worth building your regime so as not to harm your health (training) and pleasure. In general, the main thing is to exercise; it’s worse when a week goes by without a single workout.

The material was prepared by Dilyara specifically for the site

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How many times a week should you train? Most often, this question is asked by beginners who are taking their first steps towards building a strong and beautiful body. The question is very important, since the frequency of training has a direct impact on your results. Often, those trying to lose weight exercise too infrequently. Conversely, those who want to gain weight train too often to do so. What is the optimal training frequency? Let's figure it out.

The number of workouts per week will primarily depend on your recovery abilities, because if you exercise too often, the body will not have time to recover, which will lead to worse results and overtraining.

What affects post-workout recovery?

The post-workout recovery process depends on many factors related to your individual characteristics, such as genetics, age, nutrition, sleep, stress level, lifestyle, and so on. It is clear that the more genetically gifted a person is, the younger he is, and so on, the faster he will recover after training.

Post-workout recovery is also directly dependent on the intensity and volume of your workouts. As you know, during training we injure, that is, we destroy our muscles. After training, the recovery process begins, which ideally should end with an increase in muscle size and strength. The more intense and extensive the workout, the more micro-trauma we caused to our muscles and the more time they will need to fully recover. Accordingly, the easier the training, the faster the recovery process will go and the more often you can train.

It is worth noting that the recovery is not uniform. Different functions have different recovery times. This way the energy is completely restored in one, maximum two days. It takes a little longer for the hormonal levels to recover. Muscle fibers recover in about 48-72 hours if there was a moderate workout. Heavy, high-volume training can extend recovery time and beyond recovery (growth) by up to one, and sometimes even up to two weeks. Research shows that nervous system recovery takes several days longer than muscle recovery. But, again, it all depends on the intensity and volume of training, as well as the recovery abilities of your body.

That's why you can't train every day without days off. Workouts should be separated by at least one rest day to allow the body to regain its strength. Hard daily training is only possible if you use steroids, which significantly speed up the recovery process.

How to speed up the recovery process?

To speed up recovery after training, you need to sleep at least 8-10 hours a day. During sleep, intensive restoration of the entire body and muscles in particular occurs. In addition, it is during sleep that men experience a powerful release of anabolic hormones, which contribute to the restoration and growth of muscle fibers.

Increase your calorie intake and protein intake. It's no secret that in order to restore and grow muscles, it is necessary to create a surplus of calories and consume a sufficient amount of protein - the building material for muscles.

Our muscles are made up of approximately 80% water and only 20% protein. When gaining muscle mass, the intensity of metabolic reactions increases significantly, which creates the need for large water consumption. Even slight dehydration of the body interferes with muscle recovery and growth, and leads to a loss of strength and energy. In addition, water removes toxins and waste products from the body. Therefore, drink enough liquid - about 2 liters of clean water per day.

Get more rest. Try to avoid unnecessary physical activity. If after a hard workout you go to unload bags of cement, the recovery process will be significantly delayed.

Sports nutrition can also speed up the recovery process. If you want to gain weight, then you can take gainer and creatine. For those who want to lose weight, it is advisable to take protein or BCAAs after training.

Other recommendations that will help you recover faster after training include deep massage, contrast showers, being in the fresh air and a good mood. Try to avoid stressful situations.

How many times a week should you exercise?

The number of workouts per week depends not only on recovery, but also on the goals pursued and training experience. However, there are certain recommendations in this regard.

For beginners, it is best to practice the “Fullbody” system 2-3 times a week, working out all the main muscle groups in each workout. Between workouts there should be at least one day of complete rest. Since the load is small at the initial stage, the body will have time to recover between workouts.

Advanced athletes are recommended to exercise 3-5 times a week using split training programs, working 1-2 muscle groups in one workout. Naturally, the intensity and volume of training must be varied so that you have time to recover, otherwise, over time, you will be overtaken by a state of overtraining.

In any case, two workouts per week is the minimum. Three workouts per week is the best option not only for those who want to gain weight, but also for those who are trying to lose weight. Good luck with your training!

The optimal frequency of training per week is determined, first of all, by the main purpose of visiting the gym - from building muscle mass for men, to training for fat burning and maintaining good physical shape for women. It is the goal factor that determines how many days of proper rest the body will need to recover.

If long-term, but relatively light, cardio training for burning fat can be done 4-5 times a week, then strength training for the purpose of muscle growth will require more recovery time. That is why the most effective training frequency for muscle growth is 3-4 visits to the gym per week. We also talked about that.

On the other hand, the answer to the question of how many times a week you can train, in many cases, is related to your life schedule. In most cases, people find it more convenient to go to the gym 3 times a week - usually Monday, Wednesday and Friday. It is according to this schedule that the three-day split is built and.

How long does it take for muscles to recover?

Scientific research suggests that the time required for muscle recovery after exercise is on average 48 to 72 hours - or 2 to 3 days. In reality, this figure depends both on the level of experience of the athlete and his age (the older the person, the longer the recovery takes), and on which muscles were involved in the training.

Moreover, if small and medium muscle groups (for example, arms, shoulders and abs) require about 48 - 60 hours for regeneration, then for the full restoration of large muscles (primarily legs, chest, back), and, in particular, the central nervous system , also experiencing severe stress when performing basic exercises, needs at least 72 hours (1).

Recovery time for muscle groups

Shoulders	48 – 60 hours
Breast	up to 72 hours
Back	up to 72 hours
Press	48 – 60 hours
Triceps	48 – 60 hours
Biceps	48 – 60 hours
Buttocks	up to 72 hours
Thigh muscles	up to 72 hours
Caviar	48 – 60 hours

It is traditionally believed that specific “pulling” pain in the muscles after playing sports is directly related to their growth. From a scientific point of view, this is not entirely true, and muscle growth can occur without pain at all - it all depends on the individual characteristics of a person’s metabolism. Let us also note that sports significantly reduce this pain.

In fact, the specific “delayed” pain felt in the muscles of the body after performing heavy strength exercises simply means that the body is successfully repairing muscles and eliminating toxins formed after training (including). Typically, this pain begins 12 to 24 hours after exercise and ends completely within 24 to 72 hours.

Recovery after sports

Oddly enough, complete rest is not at all the optimal way to quickly restore the body after training. Research shows that moderate physical activity on days off from gym training increases blood flow and the rate of elimination of toxins, thus significantly accelerating the processes of regeneration and growth of muscle tissue.

In other words, light cardio done for 20-25 minutes on non-strength training days will not only speed up recovery, but will ultimately allow you to train more effectively for muscle growth and definition. A visit to the pool will also be useful - it’s no secret that swimming perfectly develops the body.

How many times a week should you pump your legs?

The legs are one of the largest muscle groups in the body, so it is recommended to train them no more than once every 72 hours - in other words, if you did heavy barbell squats on Monday, it is better to train your legs on Thursday or even Friday. However, if you trained exclusively calves or inner thigh muscles, then the time is reduced.

At the same time, the final number of days required to restore leg muscles also depends on the person’s body type - they can train more often (and, ultimately, build muscle faster), while the body either requires an increased amount of time to replenish energy reserves.

How often can you train your abs?

For beginners, in the first months of strength training, you can pump up your abdominal muscles 5 times a week - the presence of “delayed” pain will help you literally feel your abdominal muscles, which will dramatically increase the effectiveness of your abdominal training. However, we are talking about performing single exercises without additional load or simple training at home.

Complete sets of exercises for developing abdominal muscles will require about 48-60 hours for recovery. Separately, we note that more frequent training of the abdominal muscles is absolutely not able to remove fat from the abdomen faster (this requires only a diet). In fact, they will only cause overtraining and negatively affect overall progress.

How many times a week should girls train?

Speaking about training for fat burning, it is important to mention aerobic training for girls. In their case, daily training while reducing calorie intake can give the opposite effect to the desired one. Instead of speeding up metabolism and losing weight, the body can increase the level of the stress hormone cortisol, thus provoking not fat loss at all, but fat gain.

Losing weight should always begin with normalizing your diet and eliminating excessively high-calorie foods. Physical training for fat burning in this case is only a way to normalize metabolism and equalize blood sugar levels, and not at all a mechanism for getting rid of excess calories and directly “burning” fat.

***

Since the total time for muscle recovery is 48 hours for small muscle groups (arms, abs) and 72 hours for large ones (legs, chest), strength training for gaining mass is recommended 3-4 times a week. Training for weight loss can be done more frequently (up to 5 times a week), but without a sharp reduction in caloric intake.

Scientific sources:

The Truth About Muscle Recovery Time,

Becoming more and more popular. It includes proper nutrition as well as regular exercise. However, beginners often have little idea of how to achieve certain results. This is exactly what we will talk about in our current article.

The regularity and frequency of training excites almost everyone who is just starting to engage in fitness. This is indeed a very important question, depending on many external and internal factors. First of all, physiology plays a role here, and more specifically, muscle recovery time.

Recent scientific studies have proven that on average, in an adult, relatively healthy person, muscles recover after intense training over the next 48-72 hours. That is, we can say with confidence that it is better to do training with breaks of 2-3 days. Then the body will respond better to stress. However, it should not be overlooked.

Lesson objectives

When figuring out how many times a week to train, you first need to decide why you need it.

How often should you exercise to lose weight? To do this, you will have to exercise quite often. The more time you spend in the gym, the more often you go there, the faster the hated kilograms will go away. Moreover, the more excess weight you have at the very beginning of training, the more intensely you will have to work. In this case, it is better to create a training program based on cardio with the addition of strength training.
To build muscle mass, you will have to slightly limit yourself. In order for muscles to have the opportunity to grow qualitatively, they will have to be given the opportunity to fully recover. Therefore, it would be optimal to plan no more than 3-4 classes per week. Appropriate strength training and light cardio will do.
To stay in shape, it will be enough to do only 2-3 workouts a week.

For young people under forty, professional trainers recommend regular sports training 3-4 times a week. At a more mature age, the number of classes can be reduced to 2 times.

Fitness level

Newbies to sports and fitness often say that they find it very difficult to go to the gym four or five times in one week. But this is not at all necessary. If your physical fitness is very low, you can start with regular walks, sports or Nordic walking, and cycling. More advanced athletes can create a training program based on their level of preparedness.

Features of metabolism

Individual metabolic rates also play a big role in creating a sports schedule. It’s easiest for people who have a fast metabolism. You can do it any number of times, depending on your goals. Those who happen to be the lucky owners of a slow metabolism will have to make every effort to speed it up. This means that you will have to play sports more often.

A person’s somatotype plays an important role in how often one can and should exercise. According to scientific theory, all the various figures that exist in the world can be divided into three main subtypes.

It is most difficult for endomorphs or people with a hypersthenic physique. They will have to train more often, put in more effort just to stay in shape.
Mesomorphs (normosthenic type), on the contrary, have the easiest time. They very rarely suffer from excess body weight and easily acquire beautiful, sculpted muscles. Therefore, they usually need less training.
The middle can be called ectomorphs (asthenic structure). Such people most often have a minimal amount of body fat. However, it is quite difficult for them to build muscle.

Life mode

Everyone has their own, long-established routine, which they have followed for many years. Some people easily experiment and decide to change something by setting aside time in their schedule for training, while others don’t succeed. For example, many people work late five or even six days a week. Therefore, training has to be scheduled at a later time. Choose your schedule so that important things do not interfere with your classes, otherwise you will find it difficult to stick to your schedule.

Types of training

Depending on the type of training chosen, their frequency will depend. Everything here is also tied to the goals you want to achieve. For example, beginners often don’t understand what they need or how to get started competently. It is better to alternate power and cyclic loads, performing them on different days. For example, schedule strength training on Monday, and cardio on Wednesday, no more than half an hour. On Friday, you can combine some strength training on certain muscle groups with aerobic exercise.

As the level increases, the lesson schedule can be changed at your discretion. Everything will depend on what muscle groups you need to pump. Advanced athletes typically opt for about 15-25% strength training at a high intensity level, no more is needed. You will simply work in vain or achieve overtraining, which will also not bring anything good. This means that you need to do one strength training session per week, as well as 2-4 light, calm exercises.

Many beginners sometimes ask how many times a week they need to work out their abs, legs, arms or buttocks. Here, too, everything depends on your individual form, preparedness and goals that you set for yourself. The growth of muscles and endurance, as we have already mentioned, requires rest and quality recovery. Daily exhausting exercises will not bring anything good, and even after a month you will not see not only beautiful relief, but also will not feel that you have become more prepared. Under no circumstances should you overdo it.

The main condition for playing sports is regularity: recommendations

The main advice that should be permanently imprinted in your mind is the systematic implementation of the selected exercises. Only through diligence, determination and consistency can you truly achieve high results. Correctly drawing up a plan and training program can be described in detail in a separate material on our website.

The main rule is that you need to go to training only when you feel good, you have the mood and the strength to exercise yourself. If general fatigue predominates, you feel very unwell, weak, then exercise, most likely, simply will not bring any benefit. There is no need to steadfastly overcome yourself and crawl into the gym with a fever or in terrible depression. First, get yourself in order, only after that go in for sports.

To the question of how to overcome laziness, there is only one correct answer - get up and go to training. Do not delay the start of classes until Monday or the first of the month. So you will never start. Decide to change something and soon you will notice that you no longer see your future life after doing exercises.
Proper nutrition will help you achieve sports training results faster. It’s time to say a firm no to fast food, sweets, and baked goods, while at the same time leaving behind illnesses, poor health and mood, the danger of gaining excess weight, obesity, and, as a result, various diseases.
By doing your usual set of exercises, you can always “play for the unexpected.” You can briefly change the load, speed, force. A little stress will allow the body not to get used to monotonous activities.
Try to get good rest and sleep at least six to eight hours a day. Violations of the regime can negatively affect your well-being, and therefore the effectiveness of your training.

When creating a schedule and schedule of classes, you should focus on the weekly cycle. There are different programs, sometimes they are designed for a different time period, for example, ten days or even a month. However, at first it is much easier to focus on seven days. This will make it easier to coordinate activities with work and rest.

How often to change your training program

Changing activities due to muscle adaptation to stress is one of the popular myths promoted by modern fashion magazines and the Internet. If you constantly jump from one to another, regularly changing the types and types of exercises, focus, and mode, then it will be very difficult to achieve any result. The optimal formula that is always relevant: if it works, it’s worth continuing in the same spirit. Nevertheless, there is still a point in changing them. Let's figure out when it's better to do this.

If the program and exercise regimen you have chosen does not bring any benefit for quite a long period, then it is definitely time to change tactics. However, there is a caveat here: think about it, perhaps the goals you initially set are too unattainable and sky-high. If this is the case, it is worth slightly lowering the demands on yourself and simplifying the task.
You can and should surprise your body, but for a reason. Short bursts are helpful, but that doesn't mean you have to change your entire program or schedule because of it.
If circumstances put you in a position where you have no choice, don’t be afraid to change your schedule. For example, this could be a job with a different schedule, an injury that forces you to change your workload, or even a move to another city that ruins all your plans.
If the exercises seem mortally boring to you, and doing them is depressing, then it’s time to change something. Otherwise, sooner or later your motivation will change, and you will give up your studies. Sport should always be interesting and exciting; you should want to fly to training, as if on wings, and not crawl exhausted.

Another good reason for any athlete to change their weekly training schedule is to change their training goals. So initially you might just want to pump up your shoulders or abs, and then suddenly you realized that you lack strength or endurance. Changing the frequency, type and program will then be absolutely advisable.