Have you ever wondered how often you should go to the gym? If so, you’re not alone. We get this question a lot. And the answer is: it depends!
Here are some common goals I hear from our members:
- Build visible muscle
- Stress relief
- Feel more confident in movement
- Run/bike/swim/ski/dance with more endurance
Each of these goals will have a slightly different ‘ideal’ number of days per week to do strength and/or conditioning work. But here’s some general guidance I’ve seen works well for our members.
- 1 or fewer visits per week – This is suitable for maintaining social connections, which is a super important part of living a healthy life, but won’t really help you build strength or stamina.
- 2 visits per week – This is great for getting back into fitness if you’ve been out of it for a while or maintaining your current level of fitness.
- 3 visits per week – This is what I find works best for getting results with a busy schedule.
- 4+ visits per week – Depending on your goals, this can be great, or it honestly can be overkill. We’ve added things like the strength and mobility classes for those who want more sessions per week, or if you just like our main classes, be sure to follow the intention of the Metcon (low, medium, or high intensity).
So now that you have some idea of ‘ideal’ visits, the most important thing is to look at your schedule and make a commitment to yourself for how often you realistically can make it to the gym. If you can block out 1-2 times a week to be here, do it, and make it a habit. Whatever you can do consistently is going to be way more effective than trying to come more often than your schedule allows and then falling out of the habit because you’re too stressed about work and can’t make time for the gym.
If you need help figuring out what’s best for you, sign up for a free no-sweat intro and we’ll help you figure out the best cadence for your goals and availability. These sessions aren’t just for new members, current members are welcome to sign-up for a free quarterly goal review.
