Many people assume that they should exercise every day. But that isn’t the case, and in many cases, that isn’t even desirable for long term gains. 

It’s pretty easy to go overboard at the start with exercise.  You don’t know your level, and you don’t know how intensive an exercise will feel during or after it on your body.  Plenty of people push too hard too early, and push themselves into fatigue.  That causes them to produce a sequence of poor sessions as a result, where they gain little and feel guilty about not putting the effort in they think they should. 

Less is more, particularly when you start out.  To begin with, I would aim for exercising no more than once or twice a week.

Having said that, to achieve long term results, aiming for an average of two to three sessions a week is a good base point.  Two to three sessions a week gives you the basis to see progress and make changes.  And if you feel good with three but want more, you could do four, five or even six days a week of exercise, as long as you feel it is adding to your results, and not diminishing from them and exhausting you.

And this is a key point; exercise should make you feel good.  You should want to do it and feel enlivened by your sessions.  Yes they should be hard and challenging, but they shouldn’t leave you crumpled on a heap and unable to move for days afterwards, especially in the early stages of starting training. 

The answer, then, is to exercise as often as you feel is sustainable for you, and makes you feel good. 

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