How Many Times a Week Should You be Exercising?
By Brooke Fletcher
I get asked this question a lot and the answer is simple. The current physical activity guidelines state that you should be aiming to do something on most, if not all days of the week.
That doesn’t mean if you haven’t been doing any exercise that you should start walking every day of the week, in fact I would advise against that. This also means that you don’t need to be completing 7 gym sessions a week going or going to absolute maximum on every day of the week. I’m here to break this down.
The current guidelines state that you should be aiming to accumulate 150 to 300 minutes (2 ½ to 5 hours) of moderate intensity physical activity or 75 to 150 minutes (1 ¼ to 2 ½ hours) of vigorous intensity physical activity, or an equivalent combination of both moderate and vigorous activities, each week. You should also be aiming to do muscle strengthening activities on at least 2 days of the week as well. Muscle strengthening exercises can be bodyweight, using weights, machines and or resistance bands and needs to be challenging you to be having an effect on the body.
So, you don’t do much exercise? Don’t panic. If you haven’t been exercising regularly it is best to gradually build up to doing something on most days of the week. This may mean adding something extra every week or two until you have reached the 7 days or what you are aiming for. If you add too much too quickly, this is when you can be more prone to injuries.
If you have been exercising regularly but tend to just go for walks or stick to the cardio machines this is fantastic; however, you may need to think about adding some variety of some strength training into the mix. If this thought alone scares you check out our latest blog on all you need to know about strength training and the benefits it provides.
If you feel like you are doing quite a lot throughout the week and don’t know how you could manage to put your body through another session, firstly you may need to reshuffle your training and listen to your body. Not every session has to be vigorous and instead look at your activity on some days as an active recovery.
It isn’t all about the exercise either. The key point of the new research is to sit less and move more. Try and think of ways throughout the day where you can integrate more movement throughout the day. Whether it be standing for phone calls, walking meetings or catch ups, taking the stairs, parking further away or getting off the stop before you need to.
Listening to your body and what it needs will guide you to the best choice of activity for that day. If you are unsure on what this may look like for you have a chat to one of our Exercise Physiologists who can work with you to set realistic and practical goals for you and to map out your exercise week.