Any personal trainer in the world may have been asked by a client "How many times a week should I workout?" The truth is there is no simple answer.

Ideally, the number of days you work out should be based on your fitness goal, fitness level, and lifestyle. However, experts from the World Health Organization recommend that adults should do 150 minutes of moderate exercise or 75 minutes of intense exercise weekly. That can be spread out to five days of moderate exercise for 30 minutes or three days of intense exercise for 25 minutes.

Personal trainers like us at Alchemy, are experienced in creating structured and personalised training plans to help integrate fitness into your daily routine. Below are the three factors we consider when determining workout frequency as well as five pointers for safe and effective workouts to ensure long-term success.

3 Factors to Consider When Determining Workout Frequency

How you work out and how often you work out should always align with your fitness goals, fitness level, and lifestyle.

1. Fitness Goals

Fitness goals are important because they provide structure to your workouts and make it easier for you to monitor progress. Personal trainers will always ask you to define your goal, whether that is for general health, weight loss, or to build muscle. From there, they'd be able to determine the ideal workout frequency.

General Health

Those working out for general health can follow the general recommendation of the World Health Organization which is to devote at least 25 to 30 minutes of your day to physical activity such as walking, cycling, swimming, and other sports.

Switching through cardio and strength training will help you get optimal results. Working with a personal trainer will help you become more accountable. We'll also provide insights on how you can complement your workouts with a nutrient-dense diet plan.

Weight Loss

You need to create a calorie deficit to lose weight and keep it off. Exercise will help you burn fat and calories while a balanced diet will help reduce your calorie intake.

Personal trainers suggest you exercise for at least 150 minutes weekly until you can progress to 250 minutes. That means working out up to 60 minutes a day at varying intensities of cardio and strength. Hiring a weight loss trainer will help you avoid a workout plateau and boost the efficiency of your training sessions.

Build Muscle

It's important to build muscle because muscle mass decreases as we age. To develop muscle, you need to incorporate resistance training into your workout routine. You can have a full body workout 3 times a week, then dedicate two days of the week to activating specific muscle groups.

When it comes to increasing muscle mass, it's more about the number of repetitions and amount of weight than the longevity of the workout. You can consult a personal trainer at Alchemy to help you figure out the ideal combination of reps and weights, when to increase them, and which muscle group to target.

2. Fitness Level

Once you've gathered the courage to work out, starting your fitness journey is easy. However, personal trainers would discourage you from doing too much, too soon, or too fast. At Alchemy Personal Training, we assess your current fitness level and help you build consistency slowly but surely.

At Alchemy, we offer four training programmes to help you achieve your dream body transformation, all of which include a structured training and diet plan, enabling you to increase your fitness level. The length of each programme will depend on your preferred pace.

3. Lifestyle

How many times you should work out a week and the best time to work out will greatly depend on your lifestyle. You need to consider your responsibilities at home, work, or school as well as your commute. All these need to be factored in to find out how much time and energy you have available for exercise.

If you reside in a walkable neighbourhood, take advantage of raising your step count as you turn walking into a workout. You can take it a step further by enrolling yourself into a training programme here at Alchemy. We're open seven days a week from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. to accommodate different schedules. Our goal is to make fitness accessible and flexible to you.

5 Pointers for Safe and Effective Workouts

1. Personalise and Structure Workouts

Don't pressure yourself to do an intense and long workout session right off the bat. Remember that there are multiple ways you can slowly but surely increase your fitness level. Just start building the habit through a personalised and structured workout plan that is tailored to your fitness goal and fitness level.

2. Listen to Your Body

You should not push yourself to do more than you can. Listen to your body and make sure no part feels strained to avoid injury. Take breaks when your body feels weak or out of breath and hydrate as much as you need. Also, be sure to execute proper exercise form.

3. Plan for Strategic Recovery

Overtraining is counterproductive, it only leads to fatigue, muscle soreness, or worse injury. Planning for strategic recovery allows muscles to heal, grow, and repair. You can count on personal trainers to keep you motivated so you don't lose momentum. They'll also remind you to be patient with yourself and allow your body to adjust to the workout.

4. Consistency Trumps Intensity

Your workouts need to be sustainable for you to achieve long-term effects. A structured training plan will help establish consistency, making it easier for you to adapt to varying intensities. Going at high intensity is not always the way to go because you might be putting your body under too much stress which will not yield your desired results.

5. Track Your Progress

Tracking your progress will allow you to find out what works and what doesn't. It will allow you to celebrate small wins and drive motivation as much as it enables you to modify your training plan as needed.

Takeaways on How Many Times Should You Workout a Week

An effective workout plan includes a good combination of cardio and strength training while the best workout frequency is a schedule you can consistently follow. That said, how many times you should work out a week and the best time to work out vary from person to person. Remember to factor in your fitness goal, fitness level, and lifestyle.

Personal trainers here at Alchemy would be more than happy to design a customised training and diet plan for you. All of us here will be rooting for you to transform your body safely and effectively.