How Often Should I Workout? No More Excuses.

How often SHOULD you workout?

It's a great question, and one that most people ask themselves at one point or another.

The answer is, there are many answers to this question because it is entirely subjective to the person. What type of personality do you have? Are you a mother of 3 young kids? What is work like - hands on, or sitting at a desk? What are your specific goals? All of these questions, and more, will lead you to your own correct answer for how often you should be exercising. 

For simplicity, we are going to break down the conversation into two categories.

1. What are your goals?
2. What is realistic for you, and How to Make it Work?

What are your Goals?

There are multiple reasons why someone might be motivated to exercise, and knowing that reason will help determine how often you should be working out. We have chosen Three Goals:

GOAL #1: "I want to tone my muscles"

In this case, exercising 3-5x per week (depending on your schedule) should do the trick. Of course, exercising more often (as opposed to less often) is best. The type of exercise being performed is important as well. Toning muscles means you're exercising frequently, and ensuring weekly exercises are well-rounded and challenging.

Additionally, it is extremely important that you are incorporating Cardio & Stretching into your routine. Cardio will increase muscular endurance and strength as well as give you a toned look versus too muscular. Stretching (also recommended to be performed before and after ALL workouts) is important to elongate muscles and allow for protection against injury, better range of motion, and over all better looking definition to your muscles.

Our recommendation is as follows:

Exercising 5x per week:

• Workout #1: Cardio - 30-45 Minutes
• Workout #2: Upper Body - 45 Minutes - 1 Hour
• Workout #3: Lower Body - 45 Minutes - 1 Hour
• Workout #4: Core - 30 Minutes
• Workout #5: Stretch / Yoga - 1 Hour +

Exercising 4x per week:

• Workout #1: Cardio - 30-45 Minutes
• Workout #2: Upper Body - 45 Minutes - 1 Hour
• Workout #3: Lower Body - 45 Minutes - 1 Hour
• Workout #4: Stretch / Yoga PLUS Core - 1 Hour +

Exercising 3x per week:

• Workout #1: Cardio - 30-45 Minutes
• Workout #2: Full Body Workout - 45 Minutes - 1 Hour
• Workout #3: Stretch / Yoga PLUS Core - 1 Hour +

Note: This (as well as weight loss) happens to be Amanda Brianne's (MEY Founder) area of expertise. She has helped many people achieve their toned-muscle goals and has many videos on her YouTube Channel specifically geared towards this type of exercise. 

Check out her YouTube Channel: AmandaBrianneFit 

And her Instagram: @AmandaBrianneFit

 

Goal #2: "I want to lose weight"

 

In today's society, and specifically in western culture, weight loss is a goal many people have for themselves. What's important here is consistency as well as diet. For today's post, we will only speak of the importance of consistency, as well as recommended exercises. Though, we promise to touch on the importance of healthy consumption and food/diet recommendations in another post.  

Often times when people with this type of goal feel the rush of motivation to get fit, they want to do so as quickly as possible. In some cases, this can lead to becoming discouraged at the minimal short term results. In other cases, individuals go "all-out" for a couple weeks and see great results, but then progress slows and again, motivation dwindles. 

In order to avoid the above to situations, it is important to incorporate exercise into your routine. Make it a part of daily life, and not a chore. Monitor progress from the perspective of how you feel, rather than the numbers on a scale. Find a happy place - perhaps in your backyard overlooking a garden, or a secluded room in your home with walls covered in motivation or mind-quieting neutral colours - where you can focus, and give your body & mind the gift of me-time, and uninterrupted exercise. Look forward to it :) 

Additionally, starting off with beginner-friendly exercises and working to more challenging exercises can also keep you from becoming discouraged. Be prepared to be a little uncomfortable during your workout. To be out of breath, and struggling for those last couple rep. It is in these moments that the most change happens, and results follow. 

Lastly, we recommend that you incorporate exercise into your routine at least 5 days per week, though 6 would be best allowing yourself a one-day break. Even on this day, you can go for a walk, or take your dog to the park to play fetch & chase after them.

See below recommendations:

• Workout #1: Cardio - 30-45 Minutes
• Workout #2: Stretching & Core - 1 Hour +
• Workout #3: Upper Body - 30-45 Minutes
• Workout #4: Lower Body - 30-45 Minutes
• Workout #5: Stretching & Core - 1 Hour +
• Workout #6: Full Body - 45 Minutes - 1 Hour

Note: This (as well as Muscle Toning) happens to be Amanda Brianne's (MEY Founder) area of expertise. She has helped many people achieve their Weight-Loss goals and has many videos on her YouTube Channel specifically geared towards this type of exercise. 

Check out her YouTube Channel: AmandaBrianneFit 

And her Instagram: @AmandaBrianneFit

 

Goal #3: "I Want to Maintain"

This is speaking to those who are at a point where they are satisfied with their body image and are simply wanting to maintain, or exercise for their mental health. So how often should you workout? 

Depending on your schedule, we recommend that you exercise at least 2-4 times per week. It is likely that you already have healthy eating habits, and the semi-regular butt-kicking will help you maintain your body image, while avoiding any major fluctuations - whether it be too much muscle gain or too much weight loss. The frequency will also release endorphins, and help to satisfy a healthy mental state. 

We recommend the following:

• Workout #1: Full Body - 45 Minutes - 1 Hour
• Workout #2: Stretch / Yoga / Core - 1 Hour +
• Workout #3: Full Body - 45 Minutes - 1 Hour
• Workout #4: Cardio - 45 Minutes - 1 Hour

Click on the below links for Amanda Brianne's awesome workouts:

YouTube: AmandaBrianneFit 

Instagram: @AmandaBrianneFit

 

Now onto the second major question...

What is Realistic for You, and How to Make it Work?

Now that we have touched on the influence subjective goals have on exercise frequency, we will now talk a little about factors that shape what is REALISTIC for you! 

In order to do this, we will look at the number one EXCUSE people often resort to and ways of squashing it. 

"I Don't Have Time"

Maybe you have a family of mouths to feed, or are in school studying to be a lawyer, or work in a field that requires long hours at the office.  Regardless of how you fill your days, it is important to remember how essential it is for you to exercise and take care of yourself. 

First of all, we must note that exercise is a key ingredient to increasing overall energy. Therefore, in order to have the energy to give to your daily tasks,we must exercise. 

Secondly, exercise leads to increased general happiness through releasing endorphins, body image satisfaction, and balanced mental health. Not to mention the ability to get around without aches and pains. 

Now that we have a general understanding of the importance of exercise, let's see about squashing the "I have no time" excuse. 

Busy Bee Moms & Dads:

If you have young children, there are a number of suggestions we can offer to help you reach your goals.

1. Perhaps welcoming the kiddos into your workout routine. What we mean is, making it a parent-child "playtime" experience where you put on a workout video, and everyone spends the 30-45 minutes smiling and following along. You will get in your workout, while the little ones burn some energy! It's a win-win!
2. Another way to incorporate exercise is introducing a one-hour period of "mommy/daddy" time to your children's daily routine. Where they know they get to colour pictures or play with their blocks while their parent has their time. Children love routine, so if introduced and stuck-to, you're looking at a full, uninterrupted hour of me-time. Sounds nice right?
3. A third option is incorporating physical activity into your daily activities. If you are a stay-at-home mom or dad, choose activities that will get the whole family moving, rather than throwing on a TV show and snuggling in with some popcorn. Select one full hour of every day where you head to a park for a game of tag, or go for a bike ride, or play the lava game where you have to hop from pillow-to-pillow avoiding the evil lava king. You get the picture. 

Hard Working Student / Employee:

We understand the importance of getting good grades and maintaining an efficient image in the workplace. We would like to offer some suggestions for ways to incorporate exercise into your routine without having an impact on your performance.

1. If you are in school studying or have a busy work schedule, one simple suggestions is commit to either a morning or night routine without excuses. Personally, morning works best for me, however everyone is different. Try a week of exercising in the morning, and a week of exercising in the evening. Evaluate what works best for you and your schedule. It's not about not having time, it's about finding the right time and prioritising. 
2. Another suggestion is incorporating exercise into your day. If you know you have a 30 minute break between classes on Wednesdays, wear exercise clothing that morning (we recommend products from MEY's Comfort Clothing Line) and commit yourself to a 20 minute walk while listening to a motivational podcast, or your favourite Tay Swift playlist. 
3. Get a workout buddy. This doesn't necessarily mean you have to workout with them, but commit to a schedule and check in on each other. The liability of being someone else's motivation & success will likely drive you to commit to a healthy routine. 

 

Conclusion:

And there you have it. How often you should be working out is not only subjective to your goals, but also to your daily schedule and what is realistic for you. 

Never hesitate to reach out if you have any questions. 

Email: mysupport@myearthyoga.com

Instagram: @myearthyoga

Facebook: @myearthyoga 

Brought to you by Amanda Brianne Fit 

Have a beautiful and healthy day!

- The MEY Team

OX