Wondering How Many Times You Should Hit The Gym? Trainers Are Here To Answer! (2 of 3)

Do not ignore the rest days if you want to build muscle

Contrary to popular perception, muscle building is not just about pumping in iron. Your body needs rest to grow. In fact, without proper rest, you would not see any major muscle growth no matter how much you work out. Kennedy says that our muscles get stimulated when we work out but after that, it needs rest in order to recover and then grow. Both under-training and overtraining are bad for you, she adds.

You should put in at least two to four days of rest every week, depending on your experience in dealing with weight training. With lesser rest, your body will not have enough time to recover for that next training session, which is bad.

And you do not have to worry here – your body understands what it needs. If you are feeling a lot tired, you should give yourself some much-needed rest so that the muscles are recovered and ready to train again.

Weight loss – how many times should I work out?

A weight loss regimen should be a good combination of nutrition, lifestyle changes, and exercise. Without a healthy program, chances are you will not be able to achieve desired results. However, if you want to keep your weight loss regimen sustainable in the long run, your workout schedule should be different than if you were bulking up.

Anjorin recommends people work out three to four times every week in order to get rid of excess weight. Since fasting and related diets can only help you up to a certain extent, you need to make the necessary lifestyle changes. Going for at least workout sessions a week provides you enough motivation and flexibility to continue the same regimen for months after months.

Another important factor to keep in mind is that you should put an effort to be more active in your life in general – even when you are not working out. Lee says that people who have a high activity level such as doing errands or walking a lot usually do not gain too much weight in the first place. By burning more and more calories during the day, you will be able to create a caloric deficit and get your desired weight loss results. So, apart from working out on a regular basis, you should also try to move more in general. It will help you in the future.

Best cardio approach for weight loss

And how exactly to create your weekly workouts? Let’s talk about that. While you may believe that getting rid of that excess fat requires tons and tons of cardio, the good news is that you no longer have to just slog in cardio all the time for weight loss. By including proper resistance training along with specific cardio exercises will help you lose weight quickly and in a more efficient manner.

Anjorin points out that one should start with just a couple of days of cardio every week. Once you get a hang of it, try adding more cardio workouts like swimming, running, HIIT depending on how awesome you feel later. In short, you can try out any aerobic workout as long as it pumps up your heart rate. If you do not enjoy your workouts, the chances are you are not going to keep doing it in the long run either. So, try to find what you like and stick to it. Ultimately, that’s what is going to get you the results.