How Many Days Per Week to Work Out to See Maximum Results, According to Trainers

Jessica Sager
·6 min read

Wasit up image of a fit, young African American woman working out with hand weights in a fitness gym.

If you've ever said, "I don't have time to work out," you're not alone. We all have different goals when it comes to exercise—whether it's to feel mentally and physically better, lose weight or get stronger—so it can be helpful to know how much time at the gym is required. 

With that in mind, here's how often you need to work out based on your goals, according to personal trainers.

Related: Is Three Hours a Week Really Enough Exercise?

How Many Days Per Week Should You Exercise for Weight Loss?

Jenny Liebl, CPT and senior content director at the International Sports Sciences Association, recommends following the World Health Organization's recommendation of 150 minutes per week of moderate cardiovascular exercise if you want to lose weight, but you also have to be mindful of your diet.

"Weight loss occurs when we consume fewer calories regularly than we are burning, creating a calorie deficit over time," Leibl explained. "Of course, we know that exercise is important for general health and it is good for us, so we should do it as often as we can. But you actually don't need to exercise at all to lose fat."

With that in mind, he says that exercise is still always a good idea and can certainly help with weight loss. "When you exercise, it is great for general health and is a tool for increasing the number of calories burned each day."

Related: The Exercise That Burns the Most Calories, According to Obesity Doctors

How Many Days Per Week Should You Exercise to Gain Muscle Mass?

If you're trying to get those gains, get ready to put in the work. "Taking the weekend off is fine," Marshall Weber, CPT and owner of Jack City Fitness says, "but during the work week, you should be hitting up the gym either before or after work each day."

As far as how much work to do on those days, Leibl says you have some options.

"Research supports completing 28 to 30 sets of exercise for a muscle group per week, and each set must be relatively close to failure (three to four reps in reserve—meaning you could only do three to four more reps before failure for each set)," she explains.

"You can actually train with any weight," she says, "and the higher the weight, the fewer reps needed to reach three to four reps in reserve, and the lower the weight, the more reps needed to reach that threshold."

So, depending on how you split your training (by body part, body region, upper and lower body, etc.) and what muscle you are targeting, training for balanced muscle gain (equally focusing on the upper body muscles and lower body muscles for a balanced, functional physique) can effectively be done in four to five days per week."

Related: Should You Work Out On an Empty Stomach? What Personal Trainers Say

Should You Take Rest Days from Working Out?

Good news if you're as lazy as I am: Trainers agree that rest days are crucial.

"If you workout seven days a week, you might last a month, but will eventually burnout on your workout plan," Weber explains. "Having a couple rest days or days that you do yoga or stretch are optimal for reaching your fitness goals."

Rest days should feel rejuvenating.

"Rest days can even include recovery techniques like stretching, hot or cold therapies and massage to help relieve soreness and stiffness while promoting blood flow and nutrient delivery to the muscles for repair," says Leibl."The body doesn’t repair itself during activity. It technically doesn’t repair itself when we’re awake either! So adequate sleep, hydration and nutrition as well as days of rest are important to ensure the body is recovering from the physical activity that can break it down. Without recovery, performance will decline significantly."

If you're training intensely or an elite athlete, Josh York, CPT, founder and CEO of GYMGUYZ, says you basically need a rest vacation periodically, advising, "Every twelve weeks, you should take a full week off for a complete reset."

Related: What Happens to Your Body When You Exercise For 15 Minutes Per Day

What Are the Risks of Over-Exercising?

At the very least, over-exercising is going to bore you."Overtraining can lead to injuries and sickness and not being able to work at maximum capacity for the rest of week," Cara D'Orazio, CPT, founder, owner and fitness instructor at G.C.M. Fitness, warns.

"Over-exercising can lead to burnout and fatigue," Chris Pruitt, CPT and CEO at WorkoutHealthy.com, concurs. "Working out is a mental game too, so resting is essential for a sustainable, long-term exercise routine."

According to D'Orazio, some signs you may be over-exercising can include:

  • Feeling tired

  • Feeling depressed

  • Trouble sleeping

  • Injuries

  • Joint pain

  • Mood swings

What's more, whether you're trying to build muscle or lose weight, over-exercise can sabotage both.

"We know that [over-exercising] is not optimal for driving peak performance," Leibl says. "If the goal is fat loss, the body needs to recover from the stress of exercise to operate optimally—this includes the ability to break down adipose tissue (fat). So, over-exercising may be hindering weight loss."

Related: If You Want To Lose Weight and Only Have 10 Minutes, Here’s What Trainers Say You Should Do

Should You Do the Same Exercises Each Week or Change It Up?

This is a bit of a yes and a no."I recommend doing the same exercises repeatedly," York says. "Every once in a while it can be good to switch things up to keep workouts dynamic and engaging."

D'Orazio advises to mix things up at least a little bit. "You should change up the routine to work different muscles daily," she says. "I change my workout program every day to avoid overuse injuries, and boredom and to challenge different muscle groups."

If you're a creature of habit, don't fret. Leibl says that while there isn't anything inherently wrong with sticking to a set program, you do need to adjust it at least slightly.

"The body will adapt to (or get used to) these repeated movements over time, and progress or physical changes will stop. When it does, it’s important to increase or change the stress if you wish to continue to see changes (adaptations)," she says. "This can mean adding repetitions, adding sets (both of which increase training volume), changing the range of motion or equipment being used, or, of course, increasing the weight used."

Next, Trainers' Best Workouts for Weight Loss

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