Given all the studies done to date about how working out improves health in some way, it’s no surprise to read something on how physical activity is good for you. For some, “What kind of exercise should I do?” is as important as “Should I workout every day?” and with good reason.
The reality is that not everyone is in their best physical shape; those who aren’t may find it challenging to engage in the kind of workouts as their peers. And while it’s true that a bit of exercise is better than none, there still should be a minimum. That said, here are a few guidelines to remember.
How Much Exercise Per Week is Ideal
According to current Physical Activity Guidelines, adults need 150 to 300 minutes of moderate exercise and 75 to 150 minutes of vigorous exercise weekly. At first glance, those numbers may seem like a lot, but if you break it into smaller chunks, you’ll find it’s actually doable.
For example, if your schedule doesn’t leave much time for you to work out, you can stick to a minimum of 150 minutes for moderate exercise, which you can divide into five sessions of just 30 minutes each. As for 300 minutes a week, that’s five sessions a week, each lasting an hour.
For vigorous exercise, you can do three sessions of 25 minutes each to reach a minimum of 75 minutes a week and five sessions of 30 minutes each to reach a maximum of 150.
Remember, though, that depending on your current physical ability, what may be vigorous for someone else may be moderate for you – or vice versa.
For instance, brisk walking would be a light exercise for a marathoner but moderate for someone who doesn’t usually walk or run long distances.
What is Moderate Physical Activity?
Always remember that answering the question, “Should I Workout Everyday?” is not enough; it’s also about knowing the intensity of your activity.
Moderate physical activity, also called MPA, is any exercise that gets you moving strenuously enough to burn calories without a big difference in your breathing and only a moderate difference in heart rate.
That is, your heart rate may go up a bit, but you won’t be breathing that much harder than you would when sitting quietly. Or even if you do, you can still breathe quickly enough to converse with a companion.
If you’re fond of yoga, light jogging, walking, or gentle calisthenics, those all count as moderate physical activity. Other forms of exercise that fall in this category include:
- Bicycling
- Recreational badminton
- Tennis doubles
What is Vigorous Physical Activity?
Compared to MPA, vigorous physical activity, or VPA, is any exercise that gets you to move even more, with a noticeable change in respiration and heart rate.
With vigorous exercise, you tend to breathe harder and have a higher heart rate, and you won’t often be able to talk in short bursts.
Tough cardio workouts, high-intensity interval training (HIIT), and jogging are vigorous physical activities. Other forms of VPA include:
- Hiking
- Soccer or basketball games
- Tennis singles
How Long Should You Workout a Day
Aside from asking yourself, “Should I Workout Everyday?” you may also wonder how long you should work out. It really depends on your daily schedule and how many minutes of exercise per week you’re aiming for.
That is, if you want to start with a minimum of 150 minutes (two hours and thirty minutes), you won’t have to work out for as long as someone who aims for 300 minutes (five hours) a week.
If 30 minutes to an hour each day doesn’t seem feasible, you can break those sessions into even smaller chunks throughout the day. After all, there’s no rule stating you have to get all your exercise for the day in one go, especially if you’re usually very busy.
For example, you can run on the treadmill for 115 to 30 minutes in the afternoon, then pick another activity, such as yoga, that you can do for another 15 to 30 minutes in the evening. You can also go for a 10-minute walk thrice a day.
And if you’re trying to balance keeping your property neat and clean with getting your much-needed exercise, it’s important to note that household chores count as exercise, too!
Many of them, like mowing the lawn, mopping, and washing windows, are also forms of moderate physical activity. So, if you have to choose between walking and cleaning a room or two, you can safely opt to clean because you’d take care of two things simultaneously.
How Much Exercise a Week is Best to Improve Health
A 2022 study in the journal titled “Circulation” found something interesting. It stated that doing more than 300 minutes of exercise each week is better for improving health. This was different compared to the recommended guidelines.
In fact, moderate physical activity to improve health enough to have an impact can be challenging. You’d need 300 to 600 minutes a week, or five sessions of one to two hours each. On top of that, you’d need 150 to 300 minutes of vigorous physical activity.
If you’ve lived a fairly sedentary lifestyle up until now, you’re likely asking, “Should I work out every day to be healthier?” or “How many days a week should I work out?”
On the one hand, a daily workout means each session won’t have to be long. Therefore, getting at least 300 minutes weekly will be more doable in practice. So, working out seven days a week can make achieving your fitness and health goals easier.
On the other hand, it’s not always possible to work out every day. Surprises can happen that throw off your daily schedule and make it difficult to get as much exercise.
Aim to exercise as many days as possible. However, don’t beat yourself up if you can’t work out on as many days one week as you did another. Just increase the intensity of the exercise or have more than one session each day.
And if you’re asking, “How many times a week should I work out?” The answer depends on how many days a week you aim to work out and how many times each day you plan to do so.
The health benefits of working out less often each week will not be vastly different from those of working out more often.
In other words, just as with being unable to work out every day, you don’t have to worry if you have no other choice but to work out multiple times a day. Because no matter how often you work out each week, you’ll still experience positive changes to your health.
How Much Exercise Do I Need?
Several other factors to consider when making changes to your lifestyle and improving your health include diet, sleep quality, and stress levels.
It’s not just physical activity that determines how healthy you are. In fact, even a slight increase in that will positively impact your health. The earlier you start, the better it will be for you in the long run.
When asking, “Should I work every day?” don’t get discouraged by the answers you find. There will always be ways to add exercise to your daily schedule. Just make a commitment to being more active. Eventually, you’ll be able to live a longer life and live it to the fullest.
You Can Also Read These:
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- Is Walking Better Than Running?
- 9 Quick And Easy Fat Burning Exercises To Get You Sweating