Consistency is the most important component of exercise and training.  It doesn’t matter what you do – walk, run, swim, cycle, lift weights, zumba, etc – if there is no consistency, it’s not worth the initial effort.  “How much is enough?” – this is a question that I (and I’m sure every other health and fitness professional) gets asked several times per day.  I like to explain it as follows…

• one session per week is 100% better than none at all
• two sessions per week is another 100% better than once per week
• three sessions per week is another 33% better than twice per week
• four times per week is another 25% better than three times per week
• five times per week is another 20% better than four times per week
• and so on

It’s a sliding scale of % benefit and the total number of sessions per week. In my opinion the critical/minimum point of “how many times per week” is reached at five training/exercise sessions per week.  Anything less than this and you would struggle to meet the stress demand that your body requires in order to become well conditioned.  Anything more than five sessions per week, you are probably looking for that extra 10-15% strength and fitness that you require to compete/participate in a chosen event/race.

Things to consider…

• enjoy the journey – if you don’t love the exercise/training that you’ve chosen to do, try something else.  There are plenty of exercise options – e.g. martial arts, aerobics, spinning, adult gymnastics, dancing classes, running, swimming, cycling, etc.
• consistency before intensity – make sure that you have been consistently training/exercising for a period of up to 12 weeks before considering to “up the ante” and ramp up the intensity.
• 2 is better than 1 – find a friend to train/exercise with.  I do most of my training with friends, which makes the journey a whole lot more fun and makes me more accountable as I am expected to turn up to train. BTW… you can buy friends – Personal Trainers will make you accountable and motivate you.
• no excuses – I’ve heard them all and I can tell you they are not worth the effort required to vocalize them. If you have an excuse, say it to yourself, acknowledge it and then make a plan to eliminate that excuse.  I.e. Just do it (it was raining on Tuesday morning, which makes the roads unsafe for cycling.  No problem… the excuse is it’s raining and not safe.  This was acknowledged.  Excuse eliminated by cycling indoors by hooking my bike onto a wind-trainer.  had an awesome training session).