This is a question I get asked often by friends, family, and potential clients.
At Tidewater Fitness, we offer 1x, 2x, and 3x per week training options so that everyone has something to fit their needs. But one thing everyone wants to know is, can they receive any benefit from working out only 1x week?
I always answer this question the same way.
Yes, it’s absolutely possible to achieve results training only 1x week. For example, I remember a client I worked with a few years ago was able to drop down to a 32 inch waist size for the first time in over 20 years training only 1x week.
But while the answer is always yes, there’s more to it than that.
I believe the real question people are asking is can I only workout or perform some type of exercise 1 day per week and still see results? My answer to this question is no.
Let me elaborate.
Going back to the client who reduced his waist size, he physically trained with me only 1x week. However, he performed other strength training and cardio workouts during some of the other days we didn’t meet. Not only that, but he was making a lot of nutritional changes in his life.
He is a pastor, so one thing he constantly struggled with was desserts. Members from his church were constantly bringing him things to eat or they had gatherings where he was surrounded by mounds of food. It was hard for him to turn down things like cakes, cookies, and pies.
So I had him start focusing on improving his nutrition habits while supplementing that with some more strength and cardio workouts during the week. And you know what? Amazing things started to happen.
His clothes started to become loose, his measurements went down, and you could clearly see a difference in his face. Everything was working as it should based off the work he was putting in.
And that’s where the answer to this question truly lies.
Again, it is possible to see great results meeting with a personal trainer only 1x week. However, it’s only possible by supplementing that with movement on other days of the week and better nutrition habits.
You can’t expect to hit the gym 1 day per week, not change your food, and still see results. It just doesn’t work like that.
The point I want to get across isn’t that you must constantly be in the gym and preparing your food ahead of time to see any real progress. It’s that daily movement and good nutrition form the base of any real results you’re going to see.
And daily movement could be anything. Don’t think it’s limited to strictly gym time. This could be playing in a recreation sports league, going for a run with the dog, or playing in the backyard with your kids.
That’s the beauty of movement, you can make it what you want. It’s not confined to the four walls of a gym.
Now, let’s answer our original question, how many days should you exercise each week?
For a specific answer, it depends on what your goal is. For the general population who just want to drop a few clothing sizes, have more energy, and do things they previously couldn’t, I have found 3-4 days per week to be a good average.
2-3 of those days should include some type of strength training, where the focus is on improving or maintaining the amount of muscle mass you have. Increased muscle mass makes everything in life easier, not to mention studies have found those with the most muscle mass have the lowest risk of mortality.
For the other 1-2 days, feel free to do whatever you enjoy most that will allow to keep movement apart of your life and schedule. Can you do more that 3-4 days? Absolutely! I’m just providing a minimum based on the experience I’ve had with my clients and myself.
As I mentioned earlier, the important thing is to constantly improve your nutrition habits (if you want some help with that check this out) and make movement apart of your lifestyle. That is the simple, yet complicated answer to this question 🙂
But I hope it provides some clarity as to what is most important.
