Heather Frey with Smashfit Fitness is always doing what she can to help people along their fitness journeys. She's answering some more of the questions you guys sent in to get you ready to start getting fit.
A question everyone has is do they really need to work out every day? Heather says you absolutely shouldn't be working out every day. You need to give your body time to rest and repair, especially if you're doing intense workouts. She suggests four or five days a week. Taking part in "active rest" on your day off, like light stretching or going for a walk, will keep you motivated, but give your body a much needed break.
How do you know how much weight you should be lifting? Whatever you're lifting should have you struggling in the last two or three reps. If you can easily knock out 10 reps, that's too light, but if you're struggling the second time you try to lift it, it's too heavy.
"By the time you get to nine or ten and it's a struggle and you might have to rest for a second or two to get those last two up, that's how heavy. You are going to be growing in that final push," she says.
Full body program or split program? You can do a full-body workout pretty quickly, but there isn't a lot of rest. A split program, where you do different parts of your body each day, can take a little longer but can offer you more time to heal or focus on specific spots. Ultimately it depends on your goals.
Doing small workouts throughout the day can definitely be effective, as long as you do it right. You can take 10 or 15 minutes multiple times a day to really focus on doing your workouts with intent. You can do three or four sets here and there, but if you do have a little more time, you can do a longer set as well.
