How Many Days a Week Should I Work Out?
Updated
Short answer
For health, the Australian guidelines recommend being active on most days, adding up to at least 2.5 hours of moderate-to-vigorous activity a week, plus muscle-strengthening activity on at least 2 days. For building strength and muscle, 2 to 4 strength sessions a week works well, as long as each muscle is trained about twice a week.
What the guidelines say
The Australian 24-hour movement guidelines for adults aged 18 to 64 recommend 30 minutes or more of moderate-to-vigorous activity on most days, at least 2.5 hours a week, and muscle-strengthening activity at moderate or greater intensity, working all major muscle groups, on 2 or more days a week.
Sample weeks
| Days available | Strength | Cardio and activity |
|---|---|---|
| 2 | 2 full-body sessions | Walk or ride on most other days |
| 3 | 3 full-body sessions (Mon/Wed/Fri) | Walks; one interval session if you like |
| 4 | Upper/lower split, 4 sessions | Easy cardio on 1 or 2 other days |
| 5–6 | 3–4 strength sessions | 1–2 cardio or interval sessions, at least 1 full rest day |
More is not always better
Training a muscle twice a week has produced more growth than once a week, but adding more sessions mostly helps by adding more weekly sets. Pick the number of days you can keep doing for months. Three good sessions every week beats five for two weeks followed by none.
Frequently asked questions
Is working out 3 days a week enough?
Yes. Three full-body strength sessions meet the muscle-strengthening guideline and train each muscle three times a week. Add walking on other days for the activity guideline.
Is it OK to work out every day?
Moving every day is good. Hard strength or interval training every day is hard to recover from; keep at least one or two days easy or off.
How many rest days do I need?
Most people do well with at least one or two full rest days a week, and a day between hard sessions for the same muscles.
Sources
- Australian Government Department of Health, Disability and Ageing: 24-hour movement guidelines, recommendations for adults (18 to 64 years)
- Schoenfeld, Ogborn & Krieger (2016). Effects of resistance training frequency on measures of muscle hypertrophy. Sports Med 46(11)
- Schoenfeld, Ogborn & Krieger (2017). Dose-response relationship between weekly resistance training volume and increases in muscle mass. J Sports Sci 35(11)