One of the worst parts of working out is how long it takes to start seeing results. You desperately want to know that all your effort is paying off, but slimming down isn't a quick and easy process. It can take weeks, if not months, to get anywhere with your workouts, by which point the motivation to keep going has all but disappeared. To try and start seeing results quicker, some people will increase the number of workouts they do, but does this really make a difference? The experts say no.
It’s different for everyone
Determining how many workouts you should be doing isn’t always simple because many factors come into play. For instance, if you’re someone who’s new to exercising, you shouldn’t push yourself by doing too much in the early days. You want to find something that’s comfortable when you’re newbie, then increase the number of sessions once you’ve adjusted to everything.
Moreover, some people don’t have a lot of free time for exercise. As much as they’d like to get out more, they can’t squeeze in any extra workouts without ruining their schedule. Exercise needs to fit comfortably into your everyday life if you want it to pay off; otherwise, you won’t be motivated to maintain it. It’s no good pushing yourself too hard because you’ll just exhaust yourself and give up sooner than you’d like.
The optimal schedule
As a general rule, experts suggest that you do three to four workouts a week, with plenty of rest time scheduled between each session. You might think that exercising every day would help you lose weight better, but all it does is put you at risk of injury. After all, if your body never has an opportunity to recover from all those workouts, the only thing it’ll do is get weaker.
It’s also important to consider what you’re trying to achieve as to how you should schedule your weekly workouts. Depending on whether you’re focusing on cardio, strength training, or both, you should ensure you give equal time to everything. Both forms of exercise have their benefits, so you typically shouldn’t prioritize one over the other.
Focus on yourself
While experts understand that multiple workouts a week will provide the most beneficial results, they also know that everyone is different. You shouldn’t feel pressured to perform a certain way just because that’s what the others around you are doing. As soon as you start focusing on everyone else and not yourself, you put your fitness in jeopardy.
As long as you have a weekly schedule that you can follow, everything will fall into place. Try not to focus too much on whether you’re seeing results yet, and if you should be doing more. As long as you’re able to maintain what you’re doing and feel comfortable doing so, the payoff will come naturally.
No-one said that losing weight was easy. In fact, it’s one of the hardest things you can ever do. However, it’s important not to let it dominate your life. As soon as you start obsessing over it, you’ll find it so much harder to do.
COMMENTS