Many people who are just starting to train ask the same questions, the main ones being: how much time to devote to physical activity and how often to train? Of course, it all depends on many factors: personal goals, type of sport, level of physical fitness, schedule, etc., but there are general recommendations that we will share in the article.
WHO recommends at least 150 minutes of moderate exercise or 75 minutes of vigorous exercise per week. According to research, even this minimum is enough to reduce the risk of mortality from any disease by 20%.
Decide on your training goal
When it comes to setting fitness goals, one of the biggest mistakes is that people expect to see results here and now, preferably after the first workout. But trying to tackle everything at once is doomed to failure from the start.
As a rule, the main goals of visiting fitness centers and gyms come down to the following:
- Keeping your body in good shape
- Weight loss
- Muscle building
Having a measurable goal allows you to track progress, and the more specific it is, the clearer the path to achieving it becomes. For example, wanting to “get stronger” is a great start, but what does that mean? Try to think more specifically. Set yourself the task of learning to do 20 push-ups in a minute in a month or run 5 km without stopping in 2 months. This will set a specific time frame and help increase efficiency.
How many days a week should you train?
Most experts agree that 3-4 days a week of moderate-intensity aerobic exercise is ideal. Don't be alarmed, classes don't have to take place in the gym; a 30-minute brisk walk or regular cycling is enough, which anyone can do. And also two days of weight training or bodyweight training, as they are very important for improving metabolism, strengthening bones and muscles.
The minimum indicator is visiting the fitness center 2-3 times a week. As a rule, this option is recommended for beginners. This will be enough to develop strength and endurance. Remember, the primary goal in this case is consistency and developing a habit. Over time, you can experiment with the intensity and amount of training.
In addition, you need to pay due attention to rest days to allow the body to recover. Many people think that if they exercise every day, it will quickly lead them to their desired goal. But in fact, it can work exactly the opposite. At this pace, it is very easy to get injured or overtrain, which will only slow down the process or completely discourage you from going to the gym.
Is it possible to do fitness every day?
Do you intend to lose fat and tighten problem areas? Are you ready to work out at the fitness club at least every day, but are not sure whether it is safe for your health? Here is the answer: you can do fitness every day, provided there are no medical contraindications. However, there is no point in spending two hours every day on a treadmill or in aerobics classes: the body needs to be accustomed to the load gradually, and with such a “impudent” approach you risk becoming exhausted and fed up with fitness.
How long should the training last?
The typical average workout lasts from 45 minutes to an hour. This includes a 10-minute warm-up, 30-40 minutes of core training, and 5-10 minutes of cool-down and stretching.
Don't neglect the first and last points. The purpose of a warm-up is to gently activate and prepare your muscles for the workout, and to get your heart pumping more blood to your muscles with each beat. Cooling down, in turn, helps the body recover, eliminate waste, and reduces the likelihood of sore throat.
Half-hour workouts can also be effective if they include high-intensity exercise. For example, circuit or interval classes differ in that they alternate periods of maximum activity and minimal rest between exercises. This density and concentration of physical activity allows you to simultaneously work out different muscle groups in a minimum period of time.
For example, a circuit workout at FitCurves includes a warm-up, alternating cardio and strength training, as well as a cool-down and stretching. In half an hour of training on hydraulic simulators, created taking into account the anatomical features of the female body, you can lose up to 500 calories.
How long should one workout take?
– Average training time – 1 hour (maximum 1.5) . This time is enough to do quality work on your body. But it often happens that some try to do it in 20 minutes, while others try to do it in three hours.
By increasing your time, you are not doing yourself any good. Fatigue accumulates, intensity and concentration decrease, the central nervous system becomes tired - this does not allow you to exercise effectively. You definitely won’t grow anything faster this way, but the risk of injury and overtraining will increase.
For example, you worked out in the gym for three hours on Monday: everything hurts, you can barely walk. A day later, when the body has not yet recovered, there is still pain, you come back to study for three hours. On Friday the same thing. Firstly, your indicators stop growing, and secondly, your nervous system will sooner or later say: “I’m tired of it.” And the motivation to train will disappear.
If this condition is not stopped, the risk of injury is very high. And recovery after it can take from one month to six months - this is a very long process. If you worked your legs on Monday, work on your arms and back on Wednesday.
How much to exercise to improve health and stay fit?
It's no secret that exercise has many health benefits. Sport serves as a preventive measure for various diseases, including:
- cardiovascular diseases
- stroke
- high blood pressure
- diabetes
- obesity
- osteoporosis and fractures
- depression
- colon and breast cancer
- dementia (memory loss), etc.
Keep in mind that baseline body fat levels are different for everyone to begin with. For example, there are ectomorphs (to put it simply, people with a thin physique), it is a priori easier for them to keep themselves in shape than endomorphs (people who tend to be overweight). In addition, the level of healthy fat in the body depends on gender, in men its amount ranges up to 24%, while in women it is up to 31%. The result, in addition, will be influenced by the amount of muscle mass; men by nature have more of it.
Although it all depends on many factors, if your goal is to keep yourself toned and healthy, 3-4 workouts per week is enough.
How quickly will my body begin to change?
– This is a very common question asked to a coach. But here you need to take into account too many factors that influence the result: the training itself, recovery, nutrition, and stress factors.
But in general, if a person follows a diet, a training regimen, then, in principle, after three months you can already feel some changes in yourself, people around you will notice it in six months (but we are not talking about losing weight now: it can be done much faster). Yes, this can happen earlier: I repeat, everyone’s body reacts differently.
How often to exercise to lose weight?
Let's start with the most important thing. If you are trying to lose weight without changing anything in your diet, this venture is unlikely to be successful. Until you start expending more calories than you consume, excess weight will continue to accumulate.
The general recommendation of experts is to lose no more than 2-3 kg per week. This is considered a safe health indicator. Be prepared that lasting, long-term change takes time. When you suddenly lose weight, muscle mass goes away along with excess fat, and skin sagging appears. This is clearly not the result that you want to see when playing sports.
For weight loss, at least 4 workouts per week are recommended. It is important to combine aerobic and anaerobic exercise (cardio and strength). The optimal amount of cardio training is considered to be 2-3 per week. This could be, for example, an elliptical class, cycling, jumping rope, or jogging outside. Cardio helps keep your heart healthy and reduce fat levels.
It is also important to set aside at least 2 days a week for strength training. Many people tend to neglect them when trying to get rid of excess fat. Women's greatest fear is that they may become masculine. Of course, these fears have nothing to do with reality, since to achieve such obvious results you need to work for many years and comply with many conditions. The maximum that working with light weight will give you is relief. But the main bonus of strength training lies elsewhere. Working out muscles increases the metabolic rate, which means that even at rest a person will lose more excess weight. For example, an additional 500 grams of muscle can burn 100 kilocalories.
Many people ask more specific questions, such as how often to train the abs or how often to train the legs?
Unfortunately, we cannot control where fat is stored, how quickly we lose it, and from what part of the body. Burning works on the following principle: free fatty acids and glycerol, used by the body as fuel, can come from anywhere in the body, not from the area you are training.
Accordingly, targeted (local) training is not the answer. The abdominal or leg muscles are the same as all other muscles. If you do too much exercise to build fat, but not enough to burn fat, it will not produce visible results.
How often to train to gain muscle mass?
If you want to build muscle mass, the emphasis should be on strength training. They should devote 3-4 days a week. The main rule is not to train the same muscle group several days in a row. Use splits. This is a training program method that involves performing exercises on different muscle groups on different days.
Example of a weekly plan:
- Monday Upper Body Exercises
- Lower body exercises on Tuesday
- Recovery Day (Wednesday)
- Repeat the same division on Thursday and Friday
If you are not gaining muscle as quickly as you would like, you may be experiencing a plateau effect. To put it simply, this is a “period of stagnation.” When the same muscles are trained over a long period of time, identical exercises are performed with the same weight, there is a high chance that the body and metabolism will adapt. Also, the reason for the lack of results can be overtraining, genetics, incorrect and ineffective exercise technique.
To get back to the muscle building phase, you need to change something. Several ways to fix the situation:
- Increase the weight in your workouts
- Add new exercises to your routine
- Change the number of sets and reps you perform
What are the negative consequences of intense training?
If you exercise intensely every day, there are a few safety rules to follow. Daily activities can lead to injury, fatigue, and burnout. As a result, you won't want to continue at all.
Photo: istockphoto.com
Start slowly and gradually increase the duration and level of intensity of any new exercises. Feel your body. Whether your body can withstand such a rhythm depends on your level of athletic training, well-being, nutrition, and quality of sleep.
Alexander:
If we consider an ordinary person working out to maintain health (not a professional athlete) with work and other circumstances, then daily intense training can lead to overwork, decreased immunity, and decreased performance. But if there are favorable conditions for recovery, such as sleep, a balanced diet (not only the composition of the food basket, but also the required calorie content), and an appropriate level of training, then there will be a positive dynamics in classes.
What to do on recovery days?
The recovery period does not mean total laziness and lying on the couch. Light training is recommended on these days. This could be stretching or some light cardio (brisk walking, cycling).
Regular stretching can increase blood circulation. This ensures sufficient blood flow to the muscles, which helps reduce recovery time and reduces muscle soreness after intense exercise.
It has been proven that after complete recovery, a period of supercompensation begins, during which functional capabilities exceed the initial level. During this period, muscles grow faster.
You should also pay due attention to sleep. During the deep sleep phase, the hormone somatotropin is released, due to which muscle tissue is restored faster, and the level of the stress hormone cortisol, on the contrary, decreases. Without proper rest, the next workout can become counterproductive, as problems with concentration and performance inevitably arise as the nervous system is depleted.
Individual stress, serious physical or mental stress at work, and a poor diet can also lead to under-recovery.
When is it better not to exercise?
- After eating . After eating, blood circulation increases around the gastrointestinal tract, promoting food digestion. The body directs most of its energy to this and produces hormones that have a calming effect and slow down any activity - to save energy. Surely each of us has noticed that after eating a state of greater calm sets in, the desire to move is small, and you want to sit or take a nap.
- After 9 o'clock . At this time, the body prepares for sleep, and therefore, for example, body temperature gradually decreases. In addition, we need this time to produce melatonin, a sleep hormone that is usually released in a calm mode. In addition, he needs complete darkness, so at this time, going to bed will take priority over training, from a physiological point of view.
- Immediately after getting up . There are studies that confirm that at 8-9 am there is a peak in the production of testosterone, a hormone that has a good effect on the effectiveness of training. However, there is also such a factor as the readiness of the nervous system to engage. If you have not yet woken up or switched from sleep to a more active rhythm of the day, then the abrupt start of an intense workout immediately after waking up will be stressful for the body. When you wake up, you can do exercises or go for a walk. A light load will not harm, but it is better to avoid intensive training.
The quality of training is more important than the quantity
What you do at the gym or fitness center is more important than how often you exercise. If you go to the gym almost every day, but distribute the loads incorrectly, do not adhere to the exercise technique, or get little rest, you can end up with more harm than good. Many suffer from burnout, overtraining and injury.
Consulting a professional trainer is a great way to create a fitness plan that suits your goals, body type and abilities. It's important to find a workout routine that you can actually maintain over the long term.
Morning
There are no clear recommendations regarding how long you should wait between waking up and starting your morning workout. It is best to monitor your well-being and give yourself a load only at the moment when you are already engaged in a new day, when the desire for more active actions appears. For some, this period is 10 minutes, while for others, even an hour is not enough to finally wake up.
When looking for your own version of morning workouts after waking up, you can take a closer look at the regime followed by professional athletes. In their case, the schedule includes morning exercises, breakfast, and then the first serious workout between 10 and 12 am. It is at this time that they train most effectively and show the best results in competitions. The second such period during the day is 5-6 pm.
