» By: Virgil Aponte

A common question I get from many people is: How many times a week am I supposed to workout? The truth is that nothing is written in stone. It’s like asking me how many times I should brush my teeth or how many times should I take a shower. It’s going to be different for everyone because we all have different situations. Try telling someone who has a full time job, goes to school and has children that the right amount of time for them to work out is 6 times a week for an hour and a half. With that in mind let’s take a look at working out once a week to working out everyday.

It may sound funny but I’ve actually recommended that some people workout out only once a week. I’ve done this with people that truly believe they really have no time to exercise. I first let them know that I can appreciate them being really busy and having little time to exercise. Then I explain that 1 workout a week can make a big difference. Of course they look at me and say that’s ridiculous. I then explain that over the course of a year working out once a week comes to 52 workouts versus no workouts if you don’t workout at all. Don’t you think 52 workouts will make a difference? Another reason I’ve recommended just starting with 1 workout a week is because it builds positive momentum. For the person who is doing nothing this can mean a lot. This positive step can lead them to possibly working out shall we say it 2 times a week and so forth. Another recommendation I give people with little time is to do calisthenics for 5-15 minutes as soon as they get up in the morning. Try this everyday when you wake up:

10-50 strength endurance squats
5-20 pushups
20-30 reverse arm circles

It will get your day started, you’ll feel great and you won’t need any coffee to wake you up. This has proved to be very valuable as it really gets people in the habit of starting each day on a positive note. I myself wake up every morning to a set of squats, lunges, sit-ups, push-ups and back bridging. It takes me around 15-30 minutes and it makes me feel great. This way if I skip my gym workout at least I’ve done something.

At the other end of the spectrum is working out everyday? The first thing people usually say is: Isn’t that too much? It all depends on what you do. I’m a big believer in exercising at least 6 days a week. I believe the body was made to exercise. If you look at animals in the wild they don’t have the luxury of saying maybe I won’t exercise today. Exercise is how they survive. We on the other hand have a choice of whether or not to do any exercise. Of course there is a heavy price to pay for not exercising: Obesity and a number of chronic diseases can result from LOE (Lack of Exercise).

I myself workout 3 to 7 days a week and feel my best when I workout everyday. The key of course is listening to your body and not overdoing it. Here’s a sample of what a work-out week can look for me.

Day 1: Morning Calisthenics 15-30 minutes Running Workout: Hill Sprints: 30 minutes

Day 2: Morning Calisthenics 15-30 minutes Staircase Workout: 30 minutes

Day3: Morning Calisthenics 15-30 minutes Weight Training Workout: 45 minutes

Day 4: Morning Calisthenics 15-30 minutes Basketball Workout: 60 minutes

Day 5: Morning Calisthenics 15-30 minutes

Day 6: Morning Calisthenics 15-30 minutes

Day 7: Day off

Also keep in mind that I make it a point to always find time to walk by parking my car far from my destinations and using the stairs instead of the elevator at work.

To sum it all up: From 5 minutes a day to 1 day a week all the way to 7 days a week you can incorporate exercise into your daily life. Your particular situation will dictate what can and will be done. I’ll leave you with this. Eugene Sandow once said,” Life is movement.” Once you stop moving you’re are dead. Choose life. And as we all know, when you don’t use it you lose it.

I hope this motivates you to at least do 5 minutes of exercise each and everyday.

For over 12 years Virgil has helped numerous people from all walks of life reach their strength & health related goals. His career highlights include working as a strength & conditioning/baseball coach for the New York Mets Instructional Baseball Academy, serving as an assistant with the WNBA New York Liberty's strength & conditioning staff and creating the Ultimate Stair Exercises DVD set http://www.StairExercises.com which has sold in 6 countries. Currently Virgil continues to teach, train clients and is releasing a new DVD series entitled GetFit Anywhere http://www.GetFitAnywhere.net Subscribe to his free health & fitness journal at: http://www.GivStrength.com