How long do I need to work out?

As reported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, adults should perform both aerobic and muscle-strengthening physical activity. Generally, adults should engage in at least 150 minutes of moderate aerobic activity each week. In addition to the aerobic work, adults should participate in muscle-strengthening activities 2 or more days per week. Of course, these requirements can vary depending on your current physical condition and previous experience. In the beginning, try to engage in moderate intensity exercise for 10 to 20 minutes at a time. Be aware of how your body responds to exercise. You should actively reflect on your perceived rate of exertion during exercise. Listening to your body will help you to distinguish between light, moderate, and vigorous intensity when exercising. Light or weak activity takes very little effort, and you should be able to carry a conversation with no problem at all. Engaging in moderate intensity activity is somewhat hard, and this means that you are raising your heart rate enough to break a sweat, yet you are still able to carry a conversation. Vigorous intensity activity means that you are breathing harder and faster, and you will not be able to carry a conversation without having to pause for a breath. From there, you will be able to determine whether you should stay with the same time, increase the time, or increase the intensity you are working out at. As exercise becomes easier, slowly progress from moderate level activities to more vigorous ones.

How long you workout will be influenced by what your goals are, how much exercise experience you have, and what your present state of health is. Always consult your physician before starting any fitness regime. If you are just beginning a fitness regime and are in generally good health, please remember to start smart and make your workouts appropriate for your present capabilities.  Once you begin to see results you can make incremental changes to your workouts that will keep challenging you and ensure you see results.  The Center for Disease Control and the President Council on Fitness (www.fitness.gov) suggests 30 minutes of moderate to intense cardio activity per day for adults and 60 minutes a day for children.  

Depending on your goals you will have to adjust the time you spend exercising. For example, if you are looking to lose weight you may have to increase you cardio activity to as much as 60 minutes per day but if you are just seeking general fitness 30 minutes per day will do.  For my clients who also perform resistance training I usually recommend 3 days of resistance training (30-60 minutes depending on goals and capabilities) and 3-5 days of cardio activity (20-60 minutes also depending on goals and capabilities). Bodybuilding and sports specific clients require different modalities so if you have any questions please feel free to contact me.

Most people starting off should do at least 30 minutes of strength training 3 times a week, workouts will vary due to health, age and medication that you may be on. Depending on your health and cardio level you should try to do cardio 3 times week for 25-45 minutes. Before you start your cardio, you should find your target heart rate and training zones.

To determine heart rate training zones, simply use the following formula:

(220 - age) x % of HRmax = Training intensity
Training Zone
HR Formula Purpose

Zone 1 - 65-75%  (220 - age) x 0.65 or 0.75 Helps build an aerobic base and is used for warm-up and recovery.

Zone 2 - 80-85% (220 - age) x 0.80 or 0.85 Increases anaerobic and aerobic capacity, can build leg strength and fuel calorie burning.

Zone 3 - 86-90% (220 - age) x 0.86 or 0.90 Increases speed, power, metabolism and anaerobic capacity.

Remember 5-10 minutes of the cardio should be your warm up and allow 3 minutes for your cool down.

The best way to find out the length of time and what intensity you should be working-out at, is to get a check up by your physician, then get with a Fitness Professional/Personal Trainer and together design a workout program based on your goals and fitness assessment.