Exercising is a good way to reduce fat and build muscle. Keeping in good shape helps the body stay in shape and reduces the chance of developing certain health problems.
Obesity is a growing health concern. About 66.3% of adults in the United States are obese or overweight.
This increase in obesity among American adults is leading to an increase in conditions such as type 2 diabetes and heart disease.
Staying physically active can help people maintain a moderate body weight.
Exercise also has other benefits to physical, mental and social health that can improve the quality of life for people of all ages.
In this article, learn more about how often to train to lose weight and gain muscle. This article also discusses how to choose a workout based on current fitness levels.
There are many types of exercises, and people use them in different ways, depending on their fitness goals. An example of these types is high-intensity interval training. This is a popular method that uses a combination of cardiovascular and strength-based conditioning to achieve weight loss and muscle gain.
The benefits of exercising outweigh, but usually cardiovascular exercises are better for weight loss as they burn more total body fat.
Strength-based exercises target specific muscle groups. They also burn calories, but unlike most cardiovascular techniques, strength-based movements focus on individual areas of the body.
If a person moves from minimal physical activity to training, they may find that progress is slow to start.
However, once the body gets used to the process, a person’s metabolism starts to increase. Having a higher metabolism causes the body to burn more calories, even during rest.
Starting an exercise routine after not doing a lot of physical activity for a while can put your body under stress and cause injury if you start too quickly. Therefore, it is best to start slowly and gradually increase the frequency, duration and intensity of the exercises.
Also, remember that being physically active does not lead to weight loss alone. Eating a healthy and balanced diet should accompany an increase in exercise.
In general, losing weight depends on the person’s body using more calories than it consumes.
The effect of how often a person trains on the weight they lose varies based on individual factors, such as metabolism, diet and the type of exercise they are doing.
A moderate intensity workout will not burn as many calories as a more vigorously intense workout.
The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends that healthy adults between the ages of 18 and 64 perform 75 minutes of intense exercise or 150 minutes of moderate exercise per week.
The American College of Sports Medicine and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) advise people to perform vigorously intense exercise sessions lasting at least 20 minutes each, on 3 days a week.
They also advise people to do these vigorously intense sessions, in addition to moderately intense exercise sessions that last more than 30 minutes on 5 days a week.
To control body weight, some studies suggest doubling these periods of exercise.
That would mean allocating at least 150 minutes a week for intense exercise or 300 minutes for moderate intensity exercise. When a person’s goal is to lose body fat, they should try to increase the amount of time they spend on cardiovascular exercise.
It is difficult to say how often a person should exercise to gain muscle, as there are many individual factors involved.
Focusing on just one muscle group will cause muscle gain in that area, but it can result in a person not focusing so much on other parts of the body. A good exercise program will include all major muscle groups.
Depending on a person’s fitness goals, they can train these muscle groups individually, using exercises that isolate specific muscles, or, at the same time, using full body exercises.
To increase strength, a person may want to decrease the number of repetitions he does, but increase the intensity of the exercise. For example, this may mean lifting heavier weights, but with fewer repetitions.
Increasing the number of repetitions with a lighter weight will help to increase muscle endurance and burn fat in the region, which will make the muscle more visible.
A workout designed to build muscle can span the training of different muscle groups on different days. For example, this may mean training your arms on a Monday and your legs on a Wednesday, with at least 48 hours of rest between training sessions that target the same muscle group.
Workouts can be done at a gym, but they can also be done at home or outdoors. A person’s individual preference will depend on which option is the most comfortable and motivational environment for them.
Below are some examples of weekly muscle-building exercises that a person can perform anywhere.
As these exercises are targeted at all major muscle groups in the body, it is best to perform them on 3 or 4 days a week, leaving at least 48 hours of rest between sessions.
Beginner
Warm:
- 15-minute walk
- 5 minutes of dynamic stretching, starting at the upper body and going down to the feet
Full body workout routine:
- 30 second punches
- five sit-to-stands
- Start by sitting in a chair, then get up and sit down again.
- eight calf raise
- five knee lifts on each leg
- Keep your knee raised for 5 seconds each time.
- 10 abdominal bridges
Rest for 2 minutes and repeat the exercise routine two more times.
Cool down:
- 10-minute walk
- Stretching 5 minutes
Stretching at the beginning and end of each workout can help improve the flexibility needed for the activity. However, while many people believe that it reduces the risk of injury, some sources suggest that it may not be the case.
Intermediate
Warm:
- 15 minute cycle
- 5 minutes of stretching, starting at the top of the body and going down to the feet
Full body workout routine (resting for 30 seconds between sets):
- eight squats
- eight forward strokes on each leg
- 20 second board
- 10 tricep dips
- 10 sit-ups
Rest for 2 minutes and repeat the exercise routine two more times.
Cool down:
- 10 minute light run
- Stretching 5 minutes
Advanced
Warm:
- 15 minutes of light running
- 5 minutes of stretching, starting at the upper body and going down to the feet
Full body workout routine (resting for 30 seconds between sets):
- 12 lateral strokes on each leg
- 12 forward strokes on each leg
- 15 squats
- 10 push-ups
- 1 minute board
Rest for 2 minutes and repeat the exercise routine three more times.
Cool down:
- 10 minute run
- Stretching 5 minutes
People cannot just work out for a certain number of hours a week and expect to lose weight or gain muscle.
Workouts must be challenging enough to make a difference. In addition, exercise must accompany a healthy and balanced diet.
To lose weight, a person’s body must expend more calories than it consumes.
Practicing low-intensity but long-term physical activities will aim to lose weight, while more intense exercise will increase muscle strength.
It is important to follow an exercise regime. Studies suggest that muscle-building exercise programs can take 6 to 10 weeks of work before results start to show.
Also, keep in mind that body weight may not change much if a person is losing fat, but replacing it with muscle.
There are many ways to exercise. Find fun and motivating exercises. Push to try new and more difficult things, but avoid overloading your body; otherwise, injury may occur.