Answers to Your Most Common Questions About Workout Scheduling

Scheduling your workouts is one of the most difficult aspects of fitness. The best athletes have coaches and scientists who tell them how to schedule their workouts. Even though we may not be so fortunate, some basic guidance on workout scheduling can make a big difference.

These are the most common questions you might have about scheduling your workouts.

What days do you have to work out each week?

It all depends on your goals, fitness level and experience. An experienced athlete can work out every day and multiple times per day. Beginner athletes should consider having two to three days a week off and focusing on recovery. Here are the signs that it is time to take a recovery day.

It is strongly recommended that new runners take at least two days off per week from running. These days of recovery are crucial for your body's ability to heal from the injuries caused by running on the other days.

For strength-focused athletes, they might only exercise three times per week. This is to ensure that the body can adapt to the strength training stimuli effectively.

Your daily availability is the greatest limit on how many days you are able to work. Be realistic about your commitments and schedule. Rather than missing your workouts, you will be more successful.

When to workout/ best time to workout?

Morning workouts work best for most people. As commitments mount up, energy and motivation decreases. You will have a poor workout or skipping the activity if you lack motivation and are tired.

Daily morning workouts increase your energy. Although it may seem difficult to get out of bed at first, it will become much easier over time.

For endurance athletes, morning workouts are ideal. This group should do strength training in the morning, and cardio, if possible, in the evening. This schedule reduces the chance of cardio workouts interfering in strength training adaptations, as indicated by the European Journal of Applied Physiology.

You can also do lunch or afternoon workouts. It's a great way to get in a run at lunch. This could be a problem with your workout or recovery . You will need to eat lunch if you are running during lunch. This can make it more difficult to get your workout in.

Evening exercises can be very difficult. However, they can be very rewarding. Some people might dread the thought of having to exercise at the end the day. Others may enjoy working out in the evening, because it's a time they can de-stress from their day . It's also great to work out in the evening because you can get clean, eat nutritious food, and then go to bed for some rest.

Are you still unsure when is the best time to exercise? Learn more about when is the best time to run.

When should you exercise? Whatever works for you. However, you will have greater success if your workouts are done in the morning.

How to create a weekly plan for workout

It doesn't have to be difficult to create a weekly exercise plan. Follow these steps to create a weekly workout plan.

1. Determine how many days you can exercise in a week.
2. Determine how much time you will be working out each day.
3. Decide when you can reasonably and most often fit in those workouts (morning/afternoon/evening).
4. Your intensity days should be planned first. These days should be followed by a day of recovery. In most cases, cardio training or a day off should be followed by intensity days.
5. You should plan at least one to three days of recovery per week. Mondays and Fridays are common for most schedules.
6. For endurance sports like running, schedule your long runs for Saturday or Sunday.