How Often Should I Workout?

I can’t really answer this for everyone because not everyone has the same goals. What I can do is let you know how much I workout based on my goals. I am not training to be an elite athlete or professional body builder. For the most part I train to stay fit so everything I do in life is easier and more enjoyable. I think this is the reason most people exercise.  

I typically do a workout at Eupraxia 3-5 times per week. Every time I workout I push myself as hard as I can. Just as important as the number of workouts you do is the effort you give during each workout. I never try and shave seconds or use a lesser weight than I can handle. I always, always push myself to the max to get the most out of my time while training.

Outside of Eupraxia I like to try and get in at least one run workout per week, weather permitting. When I run I don’t do the slow steady state jogging that you typically see. My runs are rarely more than 20 minutes long. Like any workout, I always do a quick warm up just like we do at Eupraxia to get the blood pumping and the muscles loosened up. It seems the older I get the longer the warm up takes!  Here are a few running examples;

·       Pick a distance from 60-200 yards and run that far as fast as you can. Walk back to the start line and do it again. Do that 8-10 times and you’re done.

·       Go to a track at one of the schools. Sprint the straightaways and walk the corners. Do that for 4-6 laps

·       Run 1-3 miles as fast as you can

·       Run a lap around a track as fast as you can then rest 2 min. Do that 4-5 times.

·       There are many more examples in the member’s portal

Outside of the 4-5 structured workouts I do each week I like to live an active lifestyle. Those 4-5 workouts per week make everything else easier and more enjoyable. I am an avid outdoorsman and spend a few hours each week hunting, hiking, fishing, and playing softball. These activities are a lot of fun and each is great exercise. It is the workouts at Eupraxia that allow me to hike for hours on end with relative ease. I never want to come to a hill and not be fit enough to climb it. I never want to come to a point where I think that’s too hard and miss out on something.  Sometimes I even do a lot of outdoor exercise and cut back on the Eupraxia workouts a bit.

Each year I go on mountain hunting trips, which are brutally hard work. To get ready for that I’ll train twice per day for a few weeks. I think it’s great to have reasons like that to train harder.  You could sign up for a tough mudder, class reunion, warrior dash, beach vacation, etc. There are always ways to give yourself a little extra motivation to go extra hard. I’ve literally had close to this same routine for about 20 years now. It can be maintained for a lifetime.

I hope this helps. Exercise is a blessing and quite fun if you have the right mind set.

To yours in good health,
Dr. Czys