How many times a week should you exercise if you want to lose weight and lose weight?

Wanting to get an ideal figure, people go on grueling diets, starve themselves, endlessly cleanse the liver and intestines, do anti-cellulite wraps and wear shapewear with a sauna effect.

Despite such a comprehensive approach, the results are, frankly speaking, disappointing. The weight comes off slowly, fat deposits remain, but the muscles become flabby and lose their tone. And all because the body, placed in strict conditions of calorie deficit, begins to replenish the missing energy by breaking down muscle fibers. Being under stress, he also makes provisions for a rainy day, fearing hunger and malnutrition. It’s good that there is a way out of this vicious circle. And its name is fat-burning training.

Fitness or active recreation?

When the body weight is very large - over 20 extra kilograms - such a person must be trained according to a health improvement scheme. That is, often, but very easily and not for long. “It’s optimal to move 5 times a week for 30 minutes,” says Daniil Lobakin, PRO expert at Sportmaster PRO. — Let me emphasize - namely, move: give yourself a light load at a low heart rate.
It could be just a walk, stretching, morning exercises. In addition, 3 times a week for 20 minutes, you need to exercise at a higher heart rate: either walk at a faster pace, or increase the load through training, use weights, etc.” Please note: a week 5 walks for half an hour plus 3 any workouts for 20 minutes is to maintain health. This regimen reduces the risk of cardiovascular diseases, but does not shape the figure. To lose fat weight and gain muscle mass, your exercise schedule and intensity must be different.

How many times a week do you exercise if you need to lose weight?

Most experts recommend training at least 3 times a week. Anastasia Khorosheva, an international fitness trainer , believes that the optimal amount is 2-3 times a week. Daniil Lobakin believes that you need to exercise at least 3 days a week to see results. Eduard Shakula, fitness manager of the Pride Fitness network of fitness clubs , recommends devoting 3-4 days a week to fitness. {expert}

“Once a week is a tick in your favor that you go to workouts,” says Elena Hardina, fitness trainer, nutrition consultant, detox specialist . - You will get results for a very long time. 2 times a week is to maintain the existing shape. It will also take a long time to see changes in weight or muscle growth. Three times a week is the amount aimed at obtaining a new result.”

For weight loss, it is preferable to exercise at a low and medium heart rate, the so-called aerobic exercise. “With this mode of movement, the maximum amount of oxygen is present in the blood,” explains Daniil Lobakin. — as long as there is enough oxygen, fat burns. If the intensity is high, then with a high pulse there is less oxygen in the blood, and there is not enough of it to use fat. Then the muscles begin to consume carbohydrates (glycogen).” This is already an anaerobic - without aero, that is, without oxygen - training regimen.

Anaerobic training is not suitable for beginners: it requires a well-prepared heart and blood vessels. So keep an eye on your heart rate while doing this lesson. If you use a heart rate monitor, your heart rate should remain in zone 1-2; if you do without it, do not exceed 130-140 beats per minute.

How effective are group trainings and do you need them personally?

The schedule of fitness clubs always includes workouts for those who cannot stand loneliness. But how effective are group classes and whether you personally need them? Let’s ask the professionals.

Ruslan Panov, expert methodologist and coordinator of group programs of the federal network of fitness clubs X-Fit
Natalya Saitova, personal trainer of the World Class network of fitness clubs, specialist in integrative health optimization

The American College of Sports Medicine has released a report on the most likely fitness trends of the future. The 2020 forecast, published in Health & Fitness Journal, took into account the opinions of fitness experts around the world and compiled a ranking of trends that are about to become a reality. According to professionals, group training will not lose popularity: in the latest chart, it again entered the top three. Let us remember that we are talking about fashion trends. It turns out that good old water aerobics or Body Pump are no worse than intellectual simulators, individual fitness plans, proprietary techniques, in the end. “Despite the fact that clubs today are focused on personalized client management, group training still takes up the lion’s share of the schedule and is constantly being improved,” says Ruslan Panov, coordinator of group programs at the federal network of fitness clubs X-Fit. — Obviously, such activities have advantages. However, so are the disadvantages.”

A positive response

The main advantage of group fitness programs is known to every club card holder: you can usually attend them for free as part of your contract. Whether this is sufficient motivation for the general public is another question. Nevertheless, formally, collective training is the most inexpensive way to pump up the body. And this is far from the only argument in favor. Freedom of thought.
Group programs are a happy opportunity to turn off your head during class and not have to decide anything.
There is no need to think about the order of exercises, count repetitions and keep track of time - just follow the instructions of the instructor. For newcomers to the gym and those who are not good at self-organization, this is what you need. Antistress.
Most people who cross the threshold of a fitness club for the first time feel uncomfortable in the exercise equipment area.
Another thing is group classes: it’s easier to get lost in the crowd, see what the more advanced group members are doing and how, and get emotional support from the instructor. “If you haven’t yet chosen the optimal fitness activity for yourself, you want to get involved in regular trips to the gym, if you lack motivation for individual training, group classes are a great option to at least somehow move,” says a personal trainer at a network of fitness clubs World Class Natalya Saitova. Safety
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For people who do not consider themselves experts in fitness matters and cannot yet spend time immersing themselves in theory, group exercises are definitely safer than amateurish attempts to train themselves on their own. Healthy competition.
Group training is not only an opportunity to make new acquaintances among like-minded people. “The big advantage of teamwork is that people get to know each other, start communicating more, and come to the gym with pleasure. All this increases the overall motivation of the group. But most importantly, it develops a competitive spirit, which means that theoretically you can increase the effectiveness of your training,” Natalya Saitova shares her observations.

Dark side

Every good idea has its downsides, and group fitness programs are no exception. “As a trainer, I’ll say it straight: group training does not give the result that a client, especially an ambitious and busy one, usually expects from fitness,” Natalya identifies the problem. - This does not mean that they are completely useless: calories are consumed one way or another, the cardiovascular system is trained, and muscles too. But if a person’s goal is slightly larger than “I want to move more,” group exercise is a dubious way to achieve it.” Anyone who is looking for a new activity in the gym should take this into account. Average approach.
“Even brilliant group programs that have been proven over the years are just a kind of training matrix, generally aimed at developing endurance, strength, and functionality,” explains Ruslan Panov.
— In general, the approach is standardized, and each person’s body adapts differently. At the same time, the load during collective classes is usually higher than during individual work. In personal training, especially under the guidance of an instructor, there is always more time for recovery, more transition zones when we change equipment. And the exercises themselves can be less intense, but with more attention to technique. In group programs, the exercises are usually non-stop, more exhausting and generally designed for healthy people.” Everyone is at risk.
“Within group training, it is very difficult to establish the correct movement pattern, follow the technique, and take into account the anatomical features of the person,” adds Natalya Saitova.
“If the instructor has more than four people in a group, it is almost impossible to control the technique - this becomes the responsibility of the client.” There are nuances.
“Every person’s body has strong and weak muscle groups,” continues Natalya.
“Women can almost always work out their arms well even in group programs with light weights. But the back of the thigh, gluteal muscles, back - this is difficult in group classes: it is difficult to fully load them. If your ideal image is unthinkable without toned buttocks or if you have back problems, personal training is important.” It's not for long.
The average nature of group programs means that there is no point in attending them for years: the body will adapt to the load.
“You can progress within one workout, but this does not mean that the quality of the body will also improve,” says Roman Panov. “If you already feel that your workout has become simple, you need to look for an alternative load and move on to another type of activity.” How to understand if group training is right for me Fitness expert Ruslan Panov explains: “The smartest way to choose the right activity is to try different directions. Training is effective only when it brings pleasure and is energetically appropriate, so listening to yourself is as important as reading descriptions of programs or asking advice from the coordinator. I recommend making conclusions “like it or not” a couple of days after the lesson. In many areas, people are trained in such a way that at the moment of the load a person may not even feel it. But the muscles work, and the effect will overtake the fragile body only after a few days. It is also important to go to each training session at least three to four times. Find the strength not to run away right away - maybe you just need time to get into the process.”

Subtleties of training

For health, as we said, you need to move every day for 20-30 minutes. This is not enough to significantly reduce weight.

“3 times a week for 1 hour are the numbers that will lead you to a new result as quickly and with pleasure as possible,” says Elena Hardina. An hour is enough for you to give your best during the workout, observing the technique of doing the exercises and the rest time between approaches.

“If a person is just starting to engage in fitness, then the workout can last 30 minutes,” says Eduard Shakula. — Subsequently, this time should be increased to 40-60 minutes. The number of classes may vary depending on the person’s physical fitness.” When creating a program, it is important to consider the type of training, recovery time after it and nutrition.

To lose extra pounds, it is enough to maintain a calorie deficit. That is, you get 200-500 kcal less from food than you spend during the day. A nutrition and workout diary, which can be conveniently kept in an application on a smartphone, will help you keep track of calories and nutritional supplements.

“You don’t need to strictly limit yourself in food,” reminds Eduard Shakula. — A person must receive the required amount of proteins, fats and carbohydrates. Otherwise, the body becomes exhausted and loses not extra pounds, but water and muscle mass.” It’s not for nothing that after grueling diets and workouts, people gain more excess weight than they had before.

Stress plays an important role. In critical situations, including hunger, cortisol is released. This hormone is involved in stimulating fat and carbohydrate metabolism. When cortisol is elevated, appetite increases, which leads to excess weight gain. Therefore, it is very important to monitor your emotional state.

How often can an average person exercise?

Sometimes beginners hope that daily exercise will help them lose weight faster. However, in order to do exercises or run every day, you need to be a physically fit person. A beginner can walk every day or engage in other active activities, but not train with full gear.

“In training for both weight loss and muscle gain, recovery is important,” explains Elena Hardina. —Therefore, training 3 times a week will be enough for you. More is for professional athletes.”

“Even for a beginner it is possible to physically cope with the daily load, but over time the central nervous system (CNS) becomes overloaded,” Eduard Shakula reveals the nuances. “As a result, apathy, interrupted sleep, poor appetite and injuries appear. To avoid this, you need to learn to feel your body and competently build a training program.”

Of course, there will be beginners who will say that they go to the gym every day and do not feel any overload of the central nervous system. But going to the gym and doing full-fledged training are two different things. As a rule, such people are easy to distinguish by the fact that they do it often, but their progress is not noticeable.

Useful video

To learn how to quickly lose weight in the gym, watch this video:

How many times a week can you train if you want to build muscle?

“After strength training, the body requires a longer recovery than during training aimed at losing weight,” says Alina Mantulenko, winner of the World and European championships in synchronized swimming, winner of the championship, championship, cup and sports day of Russia. “Therefore, it is advisable to do up to 3 strength training sessions per week and stretch on recovery days.”

“The optimal amount is 2-3 times a week,” agrees Anastasia Khorosheva. “This alternation gives the muscles time to rest and recover.” The duration of the workout depends on its intensity, usually an hour is enough. Another important factor is a sufficient amount of protein in the diet, without which it will not be possible to gain muscle.

“When training with weights, microdamage occurs to certain muscle fibers,” explains Daniil Lobakin. “During recovery, they grow and increase in volume, which is how muscle mass is gained.” This is a natural process, do not be afraid of it.

How to increase the effectiveness of classes

Regular exercise on various exercise machines is not enough to get your figure in order and get rid of excess weight. It is necessary to follow a number of recommendations regarding nutrition and lifestyle:

You should start your morning with a glass of clean water to wake up your body.
You need to follow a diet. It is recommended to completely exclude sweets, baked goods, and fatty foods from the diet. You also need to eat at least five small meals a day.
You need to drink a lot of water, at least 2 liters per day.
You should prefer walking to traveling by transport, as this will burn even more calories.
As for working out in the gym, you should start with light weights and not heavy loads.
Don't forget to do stretching exercises.

We recommend reading about the Orbitrek weight loss machine. From the article you will learn about the benefits of orbitrek for weight loss, doing exercises at home, and the duration of the workout. And here is more information about how to use an elliptical trainer for weight loss.

Combining different types of loads and regular training on exercise machines will allow you to get closer to your ideal body. Going to the gym will help you get rid of excess weight and work out all muscle groups. The main thing is not to forget about proper nutrition and drinking regime. No one has yet invented anything more effective for losing weight than the tandem of physical activity and diet.