How Many Minutes Should you Workout Every Day
Sitting at home and spending copious amount of time indoors during the pandemic has almost left us begging for a workout or any kind of physical activity. Whether it is the idea of not being advised to go outdoors or it’s because we have realized how little we paid attention to our health, whatever the reason may be we find ourselves craving to be more active in the day. We are tired of only searching for and purchasing good quality sportswear and we demand more activity from ourselves.
However we can’t deny the fact that just because we are motivated today won’t mean that we will be just as motivated tomorrow. And we don’t want to start a habit of exercising if it doesn’t mean that we won’t be doing it every day. So we figured it would be best to know how many minutes on average should be spent working out everyday rather than indulging ourselves in a hardcore workout today and then not having the energy of following up tomorrow!
The answer however to this question is not an easy one. There are many factors that determine exactly how much time a person should spend working out in a day. Exercising is a very subjective activity and it depends solely on the individual and their purpose of working out. Some of these key reasons can be
The Purpose
Although it is advised unanimously that every person should try to be as active as they can, usually the motivation behind joining the gym varies from person to person. If your purpose of training is to simply try and be active then anytime between 20 to 30 minutes a day can be sufficient for you to exercise.
However if your purpose is to build your stamina or if you are preparing for a sports competition, training to build your body mass then basically your main aim is to challenge yourself to try and improve. For such reasons there aren’t just a certain number of minutes that you should train per day. You should try and actually increase the time you spend working out every day, only that way will you keep progressing.
The Type of Exercise
The time a person can spend doing floor exercises such as aerobics and yoga is vastly different from how much a person should spend doing a hardcore cardio workout. Despite both being excellent forms of physical activity, they have a different strenuous effect on an individual. Yoga and other forms of floor exercises can perform the same duties as a cardio workout, however the former allows a person to relax and work on other mental formations such as anxiety, controlling stress and so on. For this a person can easily take out a couple of hours and devote themselves solely into these meditating forms of exercise. This does not mean that cardio workouts do not provide the same level of stress relief of mentally peace, however it does prove to quite exhausting physically and it is not advised to divulge in high intensity workouts for more than 60 minutes a day and that too with proper intervals.
Age
If you are a young, healthy individual in the prime of your life then your body is a fresh vessel that can be trained into doing strenuous activities for longer periods of time in a day. However if you are past that prime age, and in fact are quiet aged then remember that other health complications also come with that age and they can be huge contributors in deciding how much time you should spend exercising and also the kind of exercises you should be doing.
Although there are no rules and we have seen many elderly people in amazing shape who try to be active every day, it is always advisable to consult a doctor or a proper trainer for workout before taking up any new physical activities.
Physical Health
Age does not matter if you are not well physically, then the latter becomes your main priority. If you are a person who has health complications such as asthma, diabetes or suffer from obesity, then you should always consult a doctor or a trainer who can guide you with exactly how you much time you should spend exercising in a day. Of course if you are a beginner then you will improve gradually, and that means if the first day you are starting with just 15 minutes of exercise, then after a month your time might be extended to 30 minutes a day.
Level of Training
Where you are at with your level of training is again another factor. A newbie cannot train as rigorously or as long as a trained professional. The times suggested for both will definitely vary. It’s not just because of the stamina but also because of the kind trauma you can or should put your body through in the first couple of weeks. You don’t want to train for hours on your first day because not only will your muscles become sore and you will get discouraged but also because you are risking a possible injury or accident.
Before heading out to the gym or following a workout online, determine where you stand, consider all the factors and then decide what time suits you the best!
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