How Many Times a Week Should I Work Out

Contents

So you’re new to weight lifting or you have been lifting for a while now and are still a little confused about how much you should be working out. You are asking yourself the question of “How many times a week should I work out to achieve my fitness goals?” and would like to find out some answers. As you become more trained, your workout frequency should increase.

So How Many Times Should You Work Out To Reach Your Fitness Goals?

If you are a beginner just starting to lift weights for the first time, I would recommend full body workouts 2-3 days per week and never on back to back days. Perform 8-12 repetitions per set for every exercise besides abs. Perform abs exercises until you cannot do anymore. Make sure to rest 1-2 minutes between sets. I would also recommend doing  light cardio exercises such as fast walking or a light jog 4-6 times per week for about 20-30 minutes. A full body workout would look something like this:

  • 3 sets of regular bench 8-12 reps
  • 3 sets of squats 8-12 reps
  • 3 sets of lat pull downs 8-12 reps
  • 3 sets of crunches (as many as you can do)

So after about 4-5 months, you realize that you are not getting very many good strength gains anymore and you realize you need to switch things up to allow you to continue to keep bulking up and to keep moving towards your fitness goals. At this point, it is time to switch up the routine to an intermediate workout plan. You will be lifting about 4-5 times a week and the volume of your workouts will increase.  In this workout, you will be lifting each muscle group 1-2 times a week, but you will be lifting each muscle group more intensely. Rest is key so do not workout on rest days.

After another 6-9 months, it will be time to change it up again to an advanced workout plan to allow yourself to continue to achieve your fitness goals. At this state, your body will able to take on more volume and intensity in each workout. You will be lifting each muscle group only once a week but you will be performing much harder regimens on each body part. After each of your workouts, if you go hard, you will be extremely sore for the next 1-5 days! Rest is extremely important and make you sure you do not lift a muscle group that is sore. Also I highly recommend getting adequate sleep to be able to perform at a high level at each workout. You will focus on specific muscle groups more often in this workout regimen then in the previous ones. Follow this Advanced Workout Program.

Since biceps are worked during a back workout, and triceps and shoulder are worked during a chest workout, I would highly recommend working out each muscle group in this order:

  1. Back
  2. Chest
  3. Legs
  4. Biceps/Triceps
  5. Shoulders/Calves
  6. Rest

Well there you have it. Hopefully this simplified your question of “How many times a week should I work out to achieve my fitness goals?”. If you have any questions do not hesitate to ask!

Put It into Practice: 3 Impactful Takeaways to Implement

  • Start with full body workouts: If you are a beginner just starting to lift weights for the first time, it is recommended to do full body workouts 2-3 days per week and never on back to back days.
  • Aim for 8-12 reps: For every exercise besides abs, perform 8-12 repetitions per set. For abs exercises, perform until you cannot do anymore.
  • Allow for rest Make sure to rest and not perform workouts on back to back days. This will allow your body to recover and rebuild.

Daniel Maman

Daniel is a certified personal trainer (ACE), has a Bachelors of Science degree in Sports, Exercise, and Wellness, and spends his free time keeping up to date with the latest research in health and fitness. In his free time, you can find him playing basketball, doing muay thai, camping, traveling, reading, and eating tomatoes like they're apples.

Like what you read? We would love a share :)

  • Written by: Daniel Maman
  • ACE Personal Trainer
    BSc Sports, Exercise, & Wellness
  • Last Updated on August 5, 2023

Check out our other great content