How many days in a week should you workout?

Working out is the act of physical fitness and exercise that tests your ability, capacity, sustainability, stamina, and endurance.

How many days you should workout in a week depends on your goal. People workout to lose weight or to gain muscle strength and fitness.

The act of losing weight means losing more calories than your daily consumption. Meaning if you need 1500 calories in order to maintain your normal weight then you need to consume less than this. That is probably taking 1300 calories in the diet and burning 300 calories during the workout.

Obviously one should start with 2 days a week and then take it to 4 or 5 depending on their capacity and commitment.

The workout is a series of combination of-

• Cardio
• Strength training
• Core work
• Stretching

Benefits of working out-

1. Helps improve your mood and mental health
2. Reduces the risk of cardiovascular diseases
3. Increases the ability to think and promotes better judgment skills
4. Helps you quit smoking
5. Promotes better sleep
6. Improves sexual health
7. Helps you live longer.
8. Increases energy levels.
9. Leads to muscle strength and growth.
10. Helps to control weight

How much to workout to lose weight

To get maximum results your workout should be a combination of strength training and cardiovascular exercises.

Strength training- strength training basically involves lifting weights. Now that weight can be in the form of dumbles or it can be your own body weight. When you do strength training it increases your lean muscle mass and increases your metabolism hence leading to more weight loss.

Aim for three days per week for strength training.

• Squats
• Deadlift
• Pushups
• Pull-ups
• Planks
• Crunches
• Dumbell rolls

Different Cardiovascular exercises

Cardiovascular exercises basically mean doing exercises that increase your heart rate.

• Running
• Swimming
• Walking
• Rowing

Do 30 minutes of moderate-intensity cardio 5 days a week. Then take 2 days of rest to recharge your body.

How much to gain muscle strength

1. Cardiovascular exercises
   Do 2-3 days of 25 minutes of HIIT cardio.
2. Strength training
   i) Do atleast 2-3 days a week. Increase the number of reps per session as you workout further.
   ii) Beginner- 2-3 days of strength training divided into upper and lower body workouts
   iii) Intermediate- 3-4 days
   vi) Advanced- 4-5 days

Conclusion: both strength training and cardiovascular exercises are important in order to lose weight or increase muscle mass and muscle strength. Find the correct balance to choose whichever goal you prefer. A most important tip is to not push yourself and work according to your stamina and endurance and capacity. Do only enough exercise that you can commit to. All the best!