Edward Phillips, associate professor at Harvard Medical School, recommends working all major muscle groups twice a week for 30 minutes — or shorter daily sessions. The benefits are gradual — and once a week is better than nothing.
Training right is better than training too much
The most common mistake people make when starting out is thinking that the longer they spend in the gym, the better. Science, however, shows the opposite: the secret lies in the balance between stimulus and recovery.
According to the American College of Sports Medicinefive weekly sessions of 30 minutes of moderate exercise are enough to ensure well-being and ward off diseases such as heart attack and stroke. If training is more intense, three days a week are sufficient.
In the case of bodybuilding, the ideal is to combine strength training with light aerobic activities, such as running, walking or cycling.
Those who prefer to train hard can follow a schedule of two to four weight training sessions per week, alternating muscle groups (for example, legs on one day and arms on the next). This gives the body time to regenerate — it is during rest that the muscle grows and strength is consolidated.
