Time, the one thing we can’t get back. How you use it for your health and wellness matters, especially since training can take up a significant portion of our day. Determining the optimal training schedule for you is crucial. When it comes to your training, your experience level, and the time you have available for training, these factors determine how often you should train.
Where Are You In Your Fitness Journey?
Depending on where you are in your journey, training 6 days a week won’t make sense. It’s too much for your body to handle to start, and you’ll be sore, leading to less motivation to get started on your next session.
The Beginner
If you’re just starting on your fitness journey, 3 days of training a week is a great place to start. In these 3 days, you can train the whole body effectively with just dumbbells. Your training split will be a Push, Pull, Leg split, 3 workouts over 3 days. Our expert trainers have provided a great dumbbell-based Push, Pull, Leg workout for you to do on your own at home. You’re learning about how nutrition supports your training and start to clean up your diet.
The Intermediate
Now, let’s say you’ve been training for 1-3 years, you’ve got a better understanding of how to train, and can handle more strenuous workouts 4-5 times per week. Your training split might look more like a Bro Split: Chest, Back, Legs, Shoulder & Arms/ Shoulders, and Arms. It could also be Push, Pull, Legs, Full Body. You have a better understanding of the nutrition basics, and you do your best to hit your daily macro nutrient goal.
The Advanced
The advanced lifter is someone who’s been lifting for 3+ years. They train 5-6 days a week, taking a 7th day as an active recovery day to stretch and perform light cardio. Your training split could be a Bro Split, a Push, Pull, Leg, and repeat, or it could involve more functional training, CrossFit™, or others. Your body recovers faster because of how you train and support it with your daily nutrition.
Define Your Training
To start, take a step back and observe what your weekly schedule looks like. Do you have kids with activities? Do you work an off-shift job? Are you more of a morning or evening person? Will it be easier to train in the morning or late afternoon/ early evening? Once you’ve defined what a typical week looks like, we can start to figure out when training will fit into your schedule.
When
When you train is based on when you can, regardless of your skill level. There will be weeks when you can only complete 3 workouts due to your schedule. Finding the time to train depends on your schedule.
Consistency
The biggest key to your “When” is consistency. Knowing what days you’re training will help you map the rest of your schedule and keep you accountable to your goals. Creating a workout plan to keep you consistent allows you to focus on your training session and not on guessing what movement you’ll do next.
Where
Truth be told, your schedule defines where you train. You may have time to go to a gym, but for those who don’t but still want to start or continue their fitness journey, investing in a home gym may be the best route for you to take. This is where the PowerBlock Ecosystem of home gym equipment comes in. With a variety of Adjustable Dumbbells, Kettlebells, dumbbell attachments, and other home gym must-haves, you can build out an iron paradise in your own home.
What
The “What” is all about what kinds of workouts you want to perform. Your programming should be shaped around your goals, but should include more than just strength training. Include light cardio like walking and an active rest day where you’re focusing on mobility and flexibility. The cardio gets you outside and in the sun, and it will help with your cardiovascular endurance, making everyday movement easier. Your active recovery days will help your muscles recover from your hard workouts and improve how you move during them and through your regular life.
How Many Days Per Week Should I Work Out?
So how often should you work out? The exact answer depends on your fitness goals, lifestyle, and availability. However, PowerBlock’s Adjustable Dumbbells, Kettlebells, and whole ecosystem of home gym products make building a home gym easy, and your training is now convenient.
