Though few would deny the importance of physical exercise or working out, less of us may understand how often we’re supposed to hit the gym or run on the treadmill at home.
It’s also useful to understand the benefit of rest days and of alternating the kinds of exercise we do each day – be it cardio, weightlifting or targeting different muscle groups with a variation of each workout. “Strength is not the only goal in working out for most individuals, and people’s priorities vary,” explains Loren Fishman, MD, a professor of physical medicine and rehabilitation at Columbia University.
No matter how you choose to exercise, here’s how much of it you should be doing.
How many days a week should I work out?
The first step towards deciding how many day to plan to work out is to understand how many minutes per week you ought to be engaging in physical fitness.
The Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans published by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), says that for optimal health benefits, adults should engage in at least 2 hours and 30 minutes to 5 hours of moderate-intensity fitness each week OR 1 hour and 15 minutes to 2 hours and 30 minutes of vigorous-intensity fitness each week. The guidelines add that “adults should also do muscle-strengthening activities of moderate or greater intensity that involve all major muscle groups on 2 or more days a week.”
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) provides 3 different examples of how you…
