For overall health maintenance, strength training is just as important as regular cardio, especially as you get older and start to lose muscle mass. This physical change is even more pronounced in women as they enter menopause. If you want to make strength training more of a priority for you, you might be curious about how often you need to do it for your body to change. Here's what TODAY contributor and Start TODAY trainer Stephanie Mansour has to say.
Trainer Tip of the Day: Strength Train At Least 3 Days a Week to See Results?
"As a personal trainer, I recommend strength training at least three times per week," Mansour said. "I like to include strength training every other day to see the most muscle gains without overdoing it. Adding a rest day in between each strength workout will allow your muscles to recover, rebuild and repair." While cardio can also build muscle, the benefits are mostly for your cardiovascular health, she added. Additionally, it is essential to allow time for recovery because strength training typically involves large muscle groups like your quads and glutes. To take some of the guesswork out of how often to exercise, the Start TODAY app, available to download, offers workout programs customized by best-in-class trainers to help you reach your fitness goals.
Why Does It Matter?
Depending on the type of strength training you're doing, it can increase muscle mass, improve muscle endurance and preserve lean muscle mass and burn fat. Research also shows strength training can decrease risk of cardiovascular disease, diabetes, lung cancer and death overall. It can also speed up your metabolism. Also, as was mentioned earlier, strength training is especially important for older people because as you get older, you lose muscle mass and strength, which can make you more likely to get hurt or have other health problems.
 An Explanation by a Personal Trainer
What's the First Step?
Mansour advised starting with a lower number and increasing it as you establish a routine if three days a week seems excessive. A sample workout schedule for three days a week is as follows:
Day 1: Upper-body strength plus cardio Day 2: Rest Day 3: cardio and lower-body strength training Day 4: Rest Day 5: Cardio and full-body strength Day 6: Sleep Day 7: Rest Bicep curls, tricep kickbacks, modified pushups, squats, wall sits, side kicks, lunges, and other beginner strength training exercises are some examples.