This is one of Google’s most searched for fitness questions, if not THE most searched for.
It can be hard when you’re new to exercise, or you haven’t worked out for some time, to judge how often you should aim to train.
Ideally, 3-4 times a week is optimal, but this can be unrealistic if you haven’t exercised for some time. If you’re in the process of kickstarting your fitness the best way to start is gradual.
Start with your steps. Track how many you take each day and aim for 10,000-12,000 daily steps. Achieveing this means you are doing a substantial amount of walking and building up your fitness bit by bit.
On top of your steps, you can then begin to build in visits to the gym or other forms of daily exercise.
Making this a habit and part of your schedule will be key. It is very easy to over commit in the beginning only to be burnt out by week 2 or 3.
Slowly building a schedule of fitness that just becomes part of your life is the best way to stick to exercise long term.
The kind of exercise you do will depend on your goals. If your main goal is fat loss, weight training will be the quickest and most effective way to lose body fat and start to build lean muscle.
Speaking with a personal trainer would be a great idea as they would be able to slowly introduce you to weight training in a safe and controlled way, reducing the risk of injury through bad form or lifting too heavily.
The next step in the process will be to examine your nutrition. By eating as healthily as you can, including eating the right amount of calories for your fitness goal and prioritising protein, your diet will begin to compliment your fitness routine and help you to reach your goals faster.
If you’d like to speak with one of our personal trainers in Liverpool, Manchester, Leeds and London, get in touch with us here.
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