Health experts reveal the ‘magic number’ of days you should exercise per week to see fast results
- Health scientists have revealed how many days a week you should exercise
- Short bouts of exercise every day are more beneficial than a two-hour session per week
Health experts have revealed how many days a week you need to exercise to see ‘almost instant’ results.
Professor Ken Nosakaby Edith Cowan University (ECU) in Western Australia, said adults should exercise “at least three times” a week if they want to increase their muscle strength.
The physiotherapist claimed that while he recommends short bouts of exercise daily, three to five days of concentrated activity will produce results in just four weeks.
“Personally, I think it’s best to get a little exercise every day — even if it’s just 20 minutes of Pilates or cardio — to stay active and healthy,” he told FEMAIL.
“Muscles need rest from strenuous exercise, but spending half an hour at about the same time every day gives your body 24 hours to rest.”
Professors at Edith Cowan University (ECU) in Western Australia shared the ‘tipping point’ when you start to see meaningful benefits from exercise
Professor Nosaka endorses the World Health Organization’s recommendation to exercise at least 150 minutes a week.
‘However, exercising for two hours once a week is less effective than exercising for twenty minutes every day.
‘If it is not possible to move for 20 minutes a day, even five minutes a day makes a difference to fitness and health.’
The professor revealed that – based on a study he conducted at ECU – exercising just two days a week makes almost no difference to a person’s muscle strength.
“It’s important to listen to your body — if you do Pilates for an hour and you feel sore the next day, you need to rest,” he advised.
“But if you wake up feeling refreshed and energized, I’d recommend another session at the gym.”
Professor Nosaka also emphasized that training every day is not sustainable and does not work for a long time, because muscle adaptations take place when the body is at rest.
A study in the European Journal of Applied Physiology recently examined an increase in muscle mass after performing a three-second arm contraction.
The study tested two groups of people — one performed a three-second arm contraction twice a week and the other repeated it three times.
The “arm contraction” resembled slowly lowering a heavy barbell from a bent arm to an extended arm.
Research found that for this particular exercise, repetition two days a week produced no significant changes, but the three-day group saw small but significant increases in concentric strength (2.5 percent) and eccentric strength (3.9 percent).