How Much Should I Workout?

Finding a "Minimal Effective Dose"

If you’ve ever found yourself staring at a gym membership, wondering if you need to live there to see results, you aren’t alone. It is a common question for anyone on a weight loss or general wellness journey: "How much should the average person actually workout?"

Is there a magic number? At what point does exercise stop being healthy and start hurting you?

Physical therapist Dr. Sean Hiller, PT, DPT, CSCS, BFR-L2, USAW-L1, recently explained this for us, and we are diving into the science to back up his recommendations. Whether you are a fitness veteran or someone who has never touched a dumbbell, the answer lies in finding your "minimal effective dose."

The Magic Number: 3 Days a Week

In general, the minimal effective dose for seeing aesthetic changes in the human body is three days a week.

Dr. Hiller recommends a Monday-Wednesday-Friday or Tuesday-Thursday-Saturday schedule for most people. This frequency allows for consistency without overwhelming your schedule.

The Science Backing It: Research supports this approach. Studies on "minimal effective dose" training have found that performing resistance training just 2–3 times per week is sufficient to significantly increase strength and muscle mass in the general population.

In fact, a systematic review published in Sports Medicine suggests that even lower frequencies can maintain strength, but 2–3 days is the "sweet spot" for progress without burnout.

The Sedentary Factor: Why "Rest" Days Might Need Movement

While three days of working out is the baseline, what you do on your "off" days matters - especially if you have a desk job.

If your lifestyle is sedentary (e.g., sitting at a computer all day), your non-gym days shouldn't be spent entirely on the couch. Dr. Hiller advises using these days for Active Recovery. This means you are still moving - perhaps a brisk walk, hiking, or light mobility work - but the intensity is lower than a workout day.

The Science of Active Recovery: Why move on rest days? A study in the Journal of Sports Sciences found that active recovery (light movement) clears blood lactate significantly faster than passive recovery (sitting still). Furthermore, keeping blood flowing to muscles can reduce Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness (DOMS), getting you ready for your next workout faster.

The Secret Weapon: RPE (Rating of Perceived Exertion)

How do you know if you are working hard enough? GobyMeds programming relies on a "beautiful standard" known as the RPE Scale (Rating of Perceived Exertion).

The RPE scale asks a simple question: On a scale of 1 to 10, how hard are you working right now?.

1: Sitting on the couch.

10: Absolute maximum effort, cannot do another rep.

This method is "objectively subjective" - it is based entirely on your current fitness level. This makes it safe for beginners (who might hit an RPE 8 with bodyweight squats) and effective for athletes (who might need heavy weights to hit that same RPE).

The Science Backing It: Research confirms RPE is a valid tool for regulating training intensity. A study in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research showed that using RPE allows lifters to autoregulate their training, reducing the risk of injury on days when they feel fatigued, while still ensuring they work hard enough to stimulate muscle growth.
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Plateauing? Change Intensity or Volume

Eventually, doing the same workout three days a week will stop yielding results. You will hit a plateau. When this happens, Dr. Hiller suggests tweaking two specific variables:

1. Increase Intensity (RPE) You can keep working out three days a week, but you need to go harder. If you were stopping at an RPE of 7, maybe you push to an RPE of 8 or 9. This increases your heart rate and caloric burn without adding more days to your schedule.

Warning: Don’t dive into maximum intensity immediately. Ramping up too fast is a primary cause of injury.

2. Increase Volume If intensity is maxed out, you can add more work. This could mean adding a fourth workout day, or turning one of your "Active Recovery" walks into a more challenging ruck or jog.

The Science of Progressive Overload: This concept is known in exercise science as Progressive Overload. The body adapts to stress; once it has adapted, you must increase the stress (via load, intensity, or volume) to force further adaptation.
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The Danger Zone: Overtraining vs. Undertraining

There is a fine line between healthy exercise and detrimental overwork.

1. Undertraining: If you work out only once a week, or your intensity is so low it doesn't challenge you, you are likely maintaining rather than progressing. (Though, Dr. Hiller notes that 1 day/week is great for maintenance while on vacation!).
2. Overtraining: Even high-level athletes cannot go 100% every single day without rest. Without recovery, you enter "overtraining syndrome," where injury rates skyrocket, and symptoms like depression and anxiety can increase.
   

The Science of Overtraining: Overtraining Syndrome (OTS) is a real medical condition. Research highlights that OTS affects not just muscles, but the neuroendocrine system, leading to fatigue, sleep disturbances, and mood instability. Recovery isn't just "lazy time" - it is biological necessity.
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The GobyMeds Takeaway

You don't need to live in the gym to look better and feel healthier. A solid routine of three focused days a week, combined with active movement on your off days, is the scientifically supported sweet spot for most people.

Next Steps: Are you ready to start a program that is built for your lifestyle? Our GobyFit programming (coming soon!) is designed to be "no equipment, no problem," using your body and the RPE scale to get you results safely.
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Works Cited:

1. External Research 1: Androulakis-Korakakis, P., et al. (2020). "The Minimum Effective Training Dose Required to Increase 1RM Strength in Powerlifters." Frontiers in Sports and Active Living.
2. External Research 2: Helms, E. R., et al. (2016). "Application of the Rating of Perceived Exertion Scale to Resistance Training." Strength & Conditioning Journal.
3. External Research 3: Mika, A., et al. (2016). "Comparison of the effect of active and passive recovery on muscle oxygenation..." Journal of Sports Medicine and Physical Fitness.
4. External Research 4: Kreher, J. B., & Schwartz, J. B. (2012). "Overtraining syndrome: a practical guide." Sports Health.

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