SHARE

How Often Should I Go to the Gym: Tips for a Healthy Lifestyle

Max. D Gray
By Max. D Gray. Updated: November 15, 2018
How Often Should I Go to the Gym: Tips for a Healthy Lifestyle

Some people think that if they want to get fit and make the effects of going to the gym visible they need to train extensively every day. However, this is not true. In fact, our bodies need down time in order to recover, avoid the effects of over-training, prevent injuries and stay healthy.

Here at oneHOWTO we want to help you make the most of your visits to the gym. If you're starting to work out regularly, you'll probably asked yourself "how often should I go to the gym?". Read on and find out our best tips for a healthy lifestyle.

You may also be interested in: How Often Should You Increase Weight Lifting

How often should I go to the gym?

There are seven days in the week, and there are different possible combinations to plan your training. However, they are not equally effective, and they must fit your goals and lifestyle. Let's go over the most common training schedules for gym users:

  • Training 1 or 2 days a week

People who have just started going to the gym or who don't have much time to go usually decide to the gym once or twice a week. While this is a good way to maintain a basic level of fitness, this frequency is not enough for your body to adapt to new muscle work, so you won't see physical changes or an improvement in your athletic performance.

  • Training 3 days a week

This is the minimum frequency to go the gym if you want to see any results in your physical shape and your stamina. However, if you're going to the gym 3 days a week you will have to do intense exercise and give it 100% of your capacity to get visible results.

  • Training 4 or 5 days a week

This is the most recommended training frequency because you can maximize the result of your workouts without over-training. Going 4 or 5 days to the gym means the body gets used to the new energy expenditure, making your body leaner and more muscular.

  • Training 6 or 7 days a week

This type of training is recommended for athletes or people working in the sports industry such as football or tennis players, dancers, etc. If you want to train for health reasons or aesthetics, it is recommended you go often but remember your body needs rest to recover.

If you're a beginner, you can make the most of your time with our article on what are the best workout accessories for beginners.

Why are breaks so important?

As we have said, it is vital for the body to rest in order to avoid over-training. With these breaks your body has time to recover, which also helps the muscles to prepare for a new workout. Bear in mind that your strength and endurance increase when your body is resting and recovering; if you want to get a fit body shape, you really need to rest as well as work out.

Rest at least once a week, especially if you are training for a sports event or you are a professional athlete. However, the most recommended schedule for a healthy lifestyle is that you rest for 2 to 3 days per week.

If your body and strength aren't given rest after the gym, you may feel the symptoms of overtraining:

  • Fatigue
  • Weariness
  • Bad mood
  • Decreased athletic performance
  • Lack of appetite
  • Muscle discomfort
  • Dizziness and nausea

Do you want to start going to the gym?

Now that you know how often you should go to the gym, we must make clear that if you aren't used to working out it is more recommendable to go to the gym less often at first. Increase the frequency of training progressively, building up your stamina until you can go to the gym 4 or 5 times a week.

Here at oneHOWTO we recommend planning your gym schedule depending on your experience with physical training.

  • Beginners

Beginners are those who have just started training or have been going to the gym for less than three months. The ideal way to enjoy a healthy workout is to go to the gym 3 days a week with one day of rest between them. For example, a good option is to go on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.

  • Intermediate - Advanced

If you've been going to the gym for more than three months, your body is ready to train more often. Go to the gym between 4 or 5 days a week. Keep those sessions apart so that you don't train too many days without a break.

One option can be Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday if you want to do 4 days or Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday if you want 5 days of gym time. Try not to work out for more than three days in a row, because you'll feel sore, fatigued and over-trained.

Stay with us to discover how often should you increase weight lifting in order to get your body ready to gain strength and muscle.

If you want to read similar articles to How Often Should I Go to the Gym: Tips for a Healthy Lifestyle, we recommend you visit our Fitness category.

Write a comment

What did you think of this article?
1 comment
Rating:
Nelson saraiva
I use to go to the gym almost every day and i was happy, now i cant go to the gym i fill Misereval. Do Mister Ford think that i do not need the gym for my mental health as well as my physical Health Mister ford we need the gyms open, or else you are going to have another problem witch is depression, restless syndrome and other problems. I been asking what is the incidence of coved 19 at the gyms but no body answer. Now i ask once again ? what is the incidence of coved19 cases at the gyms. mister Ford we in Canada are luging behind the other countries because organization in Canada is terribly bud, look at countries that were the worse and know are the best. Look and learn Sir is never too late. do not penalized as anymore open the gyms......
How Often Should I Go to the Gym: Tips for a Healthy Lifestyle
How Often Should I Go to the Gym: Tips for a Healthy Lifestyle

Back to top ↑