Over the years, I have spent hours speaking with people who are trying to improve their health. These people each have their own story. Some try starving themselves to lose weight. Others don’t change their diets but spend hours in the gym. And then you have those who change their diets, workout for hours each day, and still can’t build muscle. Over time, this led me to wonder how often should you exercise? If you were to do a quick Google search, you would discover conflicting answers. Which is why I want to share what I realized about how often you should exercise. Especially if your goal is to gain muscle and lose unhealthy fat.
Above, I mentioned how you can find conflicting answers when it comes to how often you should exercise. The general goal seems to be exercising for 30 minutes each day. However, you will also find websites that say 150 minutes of moderate intensity exercise a week. Or 75 minutes of vigorous exercise each week.
Some people will follow the 30-minute guideline exactly to the minute and wonder why they aren’t getting anywhere in their fitness journey. Others will tackle their 75 minutes of vigorous exercise all at once and sit on the couch the rest of the week.
Then there are those people who will spend 2 or 3 hours in the gym every single day of the week. Those people may still not see muscle gain, despite all the exercising they do.
As a person who has spent years working out, I made a discovery through trial and error. When I first started my fitness journey, I exercised for more than 16 hours every week. I changed how I ate. And yet, I still wasn’t where I wanted to be.
I found out that I could gain more muscle, and lose all the extra fat, by working out for 4 hours each week. Those 4 hours include both strength training and cardio workouts.
Imagine spending only two percent of your week getting healthy. Imagine feeling less guilt, because you are not skipping exercising due to family events or work. Imagine not having any excuses to become the healthiest version of yourself.
Of course, I had to continue to eat healthy while cutting back on hours in the gym.
If you want to stop asking the question, “How often should you exercise?”, you need to know how to lose fat and build muscle the right way. It is the only way you can stop spending hours in the gym and following the latest dieting fad.
First, create a healthy eating plan. Start eating foods that are better for you. Instead of skipping meals and eating processed foods, plan to eat healthy foods regularly throughout the day.
Yes, you can still indulge in your favorite foods on occasion. However, as you continue your fitness journey, you will find that you crave those foods less.
Your workouts will consist of both cardio and strength training. During strength training, you will be using resistance exercises. These exercises will break down your muscles. Your muscles will then grow during your resting times.
I wrote the book on “Fat Burning Secrets” that covers details about the workouts and diet discussed in this post. Learn more about how to lose belly fat.
It is important to note that during your strength training, you will utilize a principle called “time under tension”. Therefore, you will use lower weights, as you perform slower reps of at least 8 counts each. This process ensures you are working your muscles and not your joints.
As for your cardio workouts, you only need to commit to 20 minutes sessions twice a week. This is perfect if you have always hated, and maybe skipped, the days when you had cardio planned for your workouts.
The last thing you need to learn to be successful in decreasing the amount of time you spend exercising is building habits. These new habits will allow you to stick with this exercise regimen a lot longer than you have any other diet or program.
I understand everyone wants to lose weight when they begin to workout on a regular basis. However, losing weight should not be your ultimate goal. Losing fat should be the goal you are trying to reach.
After all, muscle weighs a lot more than fat does. So, as your muscle mass increases, and you lose fat, it is common for you to weigh more. Skeletal muscle is now known to be tied to longevity.
Despite the weight gain, you will be a healthier version of yourself. Especially since you want more muscle and less fat as you grow older. As an added bonus, your body will burn fat more efficiently once you have more muscle mass.
Are You Ready?
Are you ready to stop wondering how often you should exercise? Are you ready to reclaim extra time in your life since you won’t be spending hours in the gym? Are you finally ready to lead a healthy lifestyle?
If you answered yes to all those questions, you need my book, “Fat Burning Secrets”. In this book, you will find guidelines to follow to successfully complete the steps I mentioned above.
You will learn what to eat, how to build habits, and which exercises you should do in order to lose fat and build muscle mass. You will never ask the question, “How often should you exercise?”, because you will know the answer. And you will finally feel comfortable in your own body, as you continue to feel healthier.
Want to transform your life with my online Fat Burning Secrets Solutions Fat Loss course? You’ll get the Fat Burning Secrets eBook and my 28 Days to a Better You challenge free.
