How Often Should I Go to the Gym & Can I Workout Everyday?

Sometimes, you feel guilty for taking a rest day; the next week, you feel guilty for not taking a rest day. Exercising regularly has many benefits for our health and exercise performance, but as with most things, too much (or too little) of anything can have negative effects. So, how do you know you’re doing it right?

To understand how often you should go to the gym, it’s essential to know what’s right for your goals–whether that’s getting stronger, building muscle, or improving cardio fitness. You need to put together a schedule that fits around you and your goals, along with something that isn’t putting a strain on your health.

In this article, we’ll answer how often you should go to the gym, with expert advice from Gymshark Lifting Club Manager, Samantha Cubbins, who has a BSc in Sports Coaching Science and over 20 years industry experience. We’ll answer the impact of working out every day, if there’s any benefit to it, and the best approach to take if you do want to workout every day–because, let’s face it, for some of us, the term “rest day” just doesn’t fit our vocab..

 

How Often Should I Go to the Gym?

There isn’t a one-size-fits-all answer to how often you should go to the gym. Simply put, how often you go to the gym depends on your goals — gaining muscle, losing weight, keeping more often, on your health, and your lifestyle.

What The Guidelines Say:

The US Department of Health states that adults need 150 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity or 75 minutes of vigorous-intensity activity per week, along with at least 2 days of muscle-strengthening activities [1].

What Research Says: Strength Training

Research suggests a slightly higher frequency of training for building strength training, with a minimum of three days a week required for strength gains but five days being optimal.

• A 2023 study concluded that three days a week of strength training was superior to two days a week when measuring bicep strength [2]. The group that trained only two days a week for four weeks saw no significant strength changes. In contrast, the three-day-a-week group saw increased concentric and eccentric bicep strength, proving a higher training frequency was better for building strength.
• Previous research from the same researchers found that those exercising five days a week had greater strength improvements (by more than 10%) compared to the group that only trained 3 days a week [3].

What Research Says: Cardiovascular Fitness

• When it comes to cardio, there isn’t a set number of days you should work out, but some research concludes prolonged exercise sessions are better. Where long sessions aren’t possible, short bursts of exercise (or ‘exercise snacks’) are also effective [4,5].
• Research has also found that working out more than the recommended weekly total led to lower cases of cardiovascular disease and lower mortality [6].

In Summary:

How many days a week you workout will depend on your training split, ensuring you are still allowing enough time for muscle groups to rest and recovery between sessions. The optimal days a week to workout for strength training is anywhere between 3 to 5 days, but cardiovascular training can be done in short or long sessions, as long as you are meeting the recommended weekly minutes.

How Many Times a Week Should I Go to the Gym as a Beginner?

If you’re just starting off, 3 days a week of strength training and 150 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise might sound like a lot! Starting off with a smaller goal, however, such as heading to the gym around two days a week, can be a more realistic way to start.

A good balance is always key. Studies have shown that a combination of cardio and weight training can actually help you to live healthier and longer [7]. But determining your goals will help you decide how much time you need to commit:

For Muscle Building

As a beginner, you’ll likely want to focus on full body sessions, making sure you are ‘hitting all the major muscle groups, posterior chain and core’, says Samantha. Ideally, you want to do this at least twice a week, as studies prove this is the training frequency required to maximize muscle growth [9].

‘I usually focus a beginner program on key compound lifts such as the squat, deadlift, push up, pull ups and hollow holds to achieve this. Starting out, I would always prioritize bodyweight movements over weighted exercises, then equipment such as kettlebells and dumbbells to ensure the client is moving safely before moving to the barbell.

Even training twice a week, you should see progress thanks to a phenomenon called ‘newbie gains’, which refers to the rapid muscle growth that beginners experience when they first start going to the gym. Research supports this, with a study on male strength and non-strength athletes finding that untrained individuals gained over five times as much strength over a 21-week period in comparison to those with well-established training histories [8].

For Weight Loss

To lose weight, you need to expend more calories than you consume. Nutrition plays a big part in this, but increasing your daily activity will also help.

You might think that cardio is king when it comes to losing weight, but a combination of cardio and resistance training is best. Research has found HIIT more effective for weight loss than steady state, but alternating higher-intensity cardio days with longer, steady-state sessions (such as walking, jogging, or cycling) will help you burn calories while still allowing your body to recover.

Building muscle through weight training is also a great weight-loss tool because muscle burns more calories than fat. A study at Stanford Health supports this, concluding that having more lean muscle mass can elevate your resting metabolic rate, leading to the continuous burning of calories (even when resting) [10]. Building muscle also contributes to a leaner, more toned physique.

It’s important to remember that you’re advised to lose no more than 1 to 2 pounds of weight a week to stay as healthy as possible.

Is It Bad to Workout Everyday?

So what if you’re that person who wants to workout every day–Whether it’s through a love for training or an overwhelming desire to reach your goals? Well, whether this is realistic or not will largely depend on your discipline, program, training intensity, and ability to recover. ‘You’ll likely want to take note of how many reps you are doing each session, how heavy, or if you’re running, the distance covered. They will be a key indicator of whether you can workout every day or if you’re simply putting your body under too much stress.’

How To Workout Everyday

If you just can’t stay away from the gym, there are a few considerations to help you optimize your recovery and get the most out of your training.

Programming

Muscle takes time to recover (anywhere up to 72 hours in some cases!). Smart programming to limit muscle damage and spread out volume to allow trained muscles time to repair is essential. ‘Make sure you balance out your movements’, recommends Samantha. ‘You don’t want to be hinging everyday or squatting everyday. You should also be conscious of balancing your pressing and pulling movements–for example, aiming for every 1 pressing movement complete 2 pulling movements per week to ensure an even distribution of training between the posterior and anterior chains. The same goes for running: Be mindful of how many miles you are doing and how much impact you are putting through your knees. Balance your running with strength exercises to improve your running and avoid injury.’

‘A good tip,’ Samantha advises, ‘is to record each week how you feel mentally and physically to track whether you are overdoing certain exercises.’

Active Recovery

A rest day doesn’t have to mean sitting on your backside doing nothing. ‘Training simply means you are working towards a goal,’ says Samantha, ‘That doesn’t have to mean doing a workout in a gym; It could be going for a brisk walk or doing hatha yoga. If you do still want to be in the gym every day, you could do a high rep, light weight bodybuilding session, focusing on slow movements and establishing mind-muscle connection.’

Sleep

Sleep is essential to recovery and vital to repairing damaged muscle. A study looking at the relationship between sleep and strength in men concluded that individuals who slept for less than 6 hours had poorer muscle strength than individuals who slept 7+ hours each night [13].

So, if you want to get bigger and stronger, sleep should be taken seriously to optimize recovery and performance.

Nutrition

Training every day will result in a higher calorie expenditure, so to help avoid fatigue and aid recovery, you may need to increase your calorie intake as a result of exercising more frequently.

This study found that 1.6–2.2 g/kg/day of protein was the most effective amount for bodybuilders, and consuming more than this did not provide any additional benefits to muscle recovery and growth [14].

Prioritizing whole foods, lean protein sources and regular meals will help your muscles recover and provide your body with the fuel it needs for a more intense training schedule.

Alongside that, it’s also important to stay hydrated. Intense exercise can drain your body of electrolytes, which are lost through sweat. It’s important to replace these after exercise by rehydrating to aid muscle health and repair.