I’ve been getting this question a lot lately. Everyone wants to know how much time they need to spend exercising to see fantastic results. Our lives have become this craziness of fitting in a million commitments each day, that sometimes it feels impossible to fit exercise in on top of everything else. (Note: See “Why You Need to Chill the Hell Out” to start dealing with your cray-cray life)
Figure Out What You Can Sustain
I get it. We’re all busy. Although we know we need to make the choice to fit in exercise because it enhances our lives hugely, it can be tricky at times. Some weeks I don’t get as much physical activity as I’d like. Here’s the thing though: consistency is key. You don’t get to workout 6 times this week, skip the next 2 weeks altogether, repeat, and expect to see results. Set your plan, stick to it most of the time, and keep working away at it. Readjust your plan as you go depending on what life throws at you and the results will come.
I always get this look of shock when I tell people that they need to figure out how little exercise they can get away with to see the results they’re looking for. Most people’s lifestyles just don’t allow for 6 workouts a week. We might have 3-4 hours a week to exercise, or maybe even less. The good news? You can get great results with a fairly minimal time investment.
(Photo courtesy of a client)
Scenario #1: I Want To Start Feeling Better, Moving Better, Looking Better.
If you’re just starting out, or getting back into a workout routine, this is for you. You want to have more energy, get rid of your aching low back, get stronger, and feel more comfortable in your clothes (or even lose a size or 2!). The beauty of this stage is that it really won’t take a huge amount of time spent exercising to see results. Start slow because your body does not need that great of a stimulus to start burning fat, gaining strength, and becoming more mobile.
Your exercise prescription: 2-3 workouts a week for 20-30 minutes each session. These will be strength training sessions that tax the whole body, in each of these workouts. You want to raise the heart rate, have little rest and focus on creating tension in your muscles (don’t flop your way through the exercises, move with purpose).
Scenario #2: I Want Significant Body Composition Changes/OR I Want To Maintain My Lean-ness.
The woman in this picture is a busy mom of 2. She does not have time to spare. We have to use our workout time wisely!
Perhaps you now have some experience exercising. Maybe your goal is to lose a specific amount of body fat, or you want to build an athletic looking body. You might be lean and strong, and looking to maintain that level. It’s going to take a little bit more effort to reach these goals compared to scenario #1. I’m in the stage of maintenance and this is generally where I stay. I recently had a conversation with a client about how it has become “easy” for me to maintain my body shape. My clothes have pretty much fit the same for years now. That doesn’t mean my workouts are easy or I can eat cheeseburgers, chocolate cake and ice cream everyday of the week. It just means consistent training and nutrition are relatively simple to incorporate into my life…because I make it that way.
Your exercise prescription: 3-4 workouts per week for 30-60 minutes. (Note: My workouts are rarely more than 45 minutes and I can’t remember the last time a workout lasted longer than 60 minutes, unless I was practicing yoga). In this phase, you’re going to have 2-3 weight training days, plus 1-2 metabolic conditioning sessions per week. Your strength training days will include full body sessions and last around 45-60 minutes, and your metabolic conditioning sessions will only be around 20-40 minutes. This time range includes your full warm-up to cool-down period.
Scenario #3: I Want Major Body Composition Changes.
Now you really want to train for a specific goal, potentially performance related. This high volume of training is suited for someone who is competing in a figure show, for example. Another case may be someone who wants to lose a significant amount of fat in a shorter period of time (not recommended, obviously). This situations will take much more dedication to your training plan.
Your exercise prescription: 5-7 workouts per week for 45-60+ minutes. This plan will likely include a split-body strength training program, some metabolic conditioning sessions, and perhaps even some longer steady state cardiovascular training. These types of plans take a much greater time commitment compared to scenario #1 and #2, but are clearly meant for people are looking for very specific results.
As you can see, you do not need to be a slave to the gym to get great results from an exercise program. You absolutely do not need to spend tons of time exercising, nor should you. Keep your nutrition tight (80% of the time), be active where and when you can, and choose health promoting behaviours whenever possible.
JMG
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Jessie Mundell George 