How often should I workout?
Whether you are bodybuilding, losing fat, sports conditioning, do what your schedule, your goal, and your needs allow.
Not everyone can train 5 times a week
For example, I am in the middle of a bodybuilding contest prep. I perform five weight training sessions a week. Three low impact cardio sessions, and one fifteen-minute, high-intensity interval session. I train this way because of a few factors. My training studio is close by in a separate area of my house with it’s own entrance, so I have convenience. The other factor is that I love to train. I enjoy being in my studio, and in my adjoining office. My wife calls it the office Batcave.
For those who need to use a gym, my schedule may not fit their needs. This is where training economy comes into play. I train a CEO of a large military technology company. He has a very tight schedule, but he makes the time to train twice a week with me.
He gets two full body workouts a week, plus he has a home pool in which he enjoys doing laps. He gets it done and has dropped 45 pounds since training with me last December. He also competed in the swim relay of a recent Ironman at the young age of 62.
He is not the only person that can afford that kind of schedule. Doctors, college students who work full time, or moms or dads who are active with their kids that do not have time.
It also depends on your goal. I have powerlifters training three times a week. I have swimmers who are actively competing have “dryland training” twice a week. And, I have bodybuilders on two-a-day routines. These can run five days a week.
Your time, your goal, and your training structure all important
Your time needs management. Then your goal, then there's training economy.
Training economy means that you need to select exercises that will give you the most back. Squats, deadlifts, rows, overhead presses, bench press are the starters.
These lifts aren’t set in stone if the exercise pattern is similar. If your shoulder hurts when doing a flat bench press, change it to an incline. If you are meeting the movement pattern, you have proper training volume, and you are doing enough sets the training effect will occur.
After the above-mentioned compound lift is completed, add a second supplementary movement. For example, if you start with a bench press or squat, the next exercise can be incline flies + press. A lat pulldown can also be used. A leg press fits for a second exercise after the squat. You can also use a stiff leg deadlift after the squat.
How much? how many times?
As a beginner or intermediate, do three full-body training sessions a week. Commit 3-4 low impact cardio sessions a week. One can be a high intensity interval training exercise. Start with a 3-minute warmup. Perform 15 seconds of sprints and 45 seconds walking pace. Repeat that 10-15 times, then do a cool-down period for 3 minutes.
For intermediate to advanced trainees with a few years training under their belt, you can go as high as 4-6 times a week. Again, it depends on your schedule and how well you structure your training week.
Recent research from Brad Schoenfeld says the total amount of sets needed to stimulate a response for muscle growth is 10-20 sets a week. This can would be through the week. The other part, and just as important are the number of reps in given set. You can go as high as 30 reps, provided training volume is adjusted.
Info on how to structure an efficient training program can be found on google. If you need more than a cookie cutter sample routine, contact me for a consultation.
