Strength Training - 3 Times Per Week

We get this question a lot - "How often should I lift weights and for how long?" The answer is simple. Three times a week and make sure you work all of your major muscle groups each session. You can combine your strength training program with or without high-intensity cardio intervals. Either way, your strength training session should take you less than an hour per workout.

Lifting two times per week will offer some benefits, and one is better than nothing but isn't going to do much good. On the other hand, more than three is not likely to give you enough time to recover in between workouts, which is when the strengthening of your muscles is happening.

(Government recommendations for heart health include 30 minutes of the equivalent of brisk walking most days, so you might want to add a few days of that to your routine—it's not going to interfere with recovery from the weights.)