Never Stop Working Out!

How many days a week should I workout? Simple question with a not so simple answer. The short answer is, it depends (thanks Captain Obvious). It depends because for one, none of us are the same and it’s not a one size fits all approach. Second is that training styles, training splits, nutrition, and our DNA all play a role in recovery. Recovery time is ultimately what determines how many days a week we can and should work out. Let’s go over the factors that affect recovery.

Training Styles:A mixture of light resistance training and light cardio vs. heavy resistance training will have a different effect on the central nervous system. How you shock the central nervous system will affect the time it takes to recover.

Training Splits:Training full body, training one muscle group, push/pull workouts or doing just cardio will shock your central nervous system in different ways and once again affect your recovery time.

Nutrition:The nutrients our body has available for recovery will determine how long it takes to recover. If you hit a hard workout and you don’t refuel you body with proper nutrition, your body will take longer to repair. It’s hard to tighten a screw with a wrench. Your body needs the right tools to repair and those tools are proper nutrients.

DNA:We are all made differently because of our DNA. Some people recover faster than others. Every individual is different; therefore, your recovery is going to be different than that of others.

            You can see now how there is no specific answer as to how many days you should workout. It depends on your body being recovered or not. Not being recovered increases you risk of injury during workouts. Listen to your body, it is usually pretty good at telling you when to take a rest day. You can speed up your recovery time with proper nutrition and exercise prescription but ultimately you will only recover at a certain rate. Don’t try to outdo your recovery; if you do so, you are going to be looking at the outcome as injury.