How Often Should You Work Out to Reach Your Goals?
If you find the neverending stream of fitness advice on the ’gram overwhelming, um, hi, same. Whether you want to run a record number of miles, get into strength training, lose weight, or just feel healthy, there’s so much conflicting info out there that even answering a simple question like “how often should I work out?” can feel downright impossible.
Ask five different fitness gurus whether you should exercise every day or just a few days per week—and how much sweat time you should dedicate to strength versus cardio—and you’ll get five different answers. Ugh. Can I just get the SparkNotes, please?
Don’t stress too much, though. Fitness pros do have some clear advice about how often you should work out—and what types of exercise you should focus on. First, though, you have to figure out your goals, says WH advisor Sohee Lee, CSCS, trainer and fitness educator. Three main buckets to consider: general health, weight loss, and building muscle. From there, be realistic about lifestyle factors like how much time you have.
Excerpted from Women’s Health
