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Q&A

How many times a week should I workout?

Nikki said:

Hi again,
I have a few more questions, I go to the gym to workout and I try to go everyday and do about 30 mins of cardio and then I do my abs and then I use the different apex weight machines for legs arms and chest so I 've worked every muscle. Is that the wrong way to work out?? I'm confused about how many days a week I should be going to the gym and for how long I should do cardio/weights and what muscle groups I should be working out each day. Right now what I'm doing doesn't seem to be working because it takes a while and I don't have much time because I'm a full time university student. But getting in shape is one of my biggest priorities right now, especially trying to go down a couple breast sizes.
By the way, thanks for the advice so far!
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
Hi Nikki,
 
It's no trouble at all - I'm happy to help!
 
By the sounds of your email you are doing the same workout every single day of the week! Is this correct? This is way too much. In order to add muscle tone – and in turn speed up the resting metabolism to burn more calories and to lose weight – you need to allow the muscles you’ve just worked out about 48 hours of recovery time between workouts. That means if you work your abdominals out on Monday, you should be waiting until Wednesday to work them out again. The reason recovery time is so important is because muscle tissue isn’t built during the actual resistance training portion of your workout – it’s built during rest. When you resistance train, you are actually tearing the muscle fibers, in order for that toning to appear you need to let them repair and rest.

 

Also if you’re work the same muscles day after day - especially on every day of the week - you're overtraining them. You’re not seeing any progress with your workouts if you’re doing the exact same workout because your body has become used to it. Instead of working out your abdominals every day of the week – aim for 2 days a week (spaced apart at least 48 hours) and use heavier resistance when you’re doing crunches – for instances a medicine ball - or add an incline with a stability ball.

 

If you're body is challenged enough properly your abdominal muscles should feel too fatigued to be worked again the very next day. If you find that your ab muscles don’t feel slightly sore the following day – this is an indication that your body has accumulated to the exercises (number of sets and reps) that you’re currently doing, and so your not working out at a high-enough intensity to challenge your body.

 

I recommend that my clients never workout any muscle group more than twice per week. So keep your abdominal crunches to Mondays and Wednesdays – and do other resistance training exercises in between. You can do upper body and abs Mondays and Wednesdays and lower body and butt Tuesdays and Thursdays if you want. That will you’re your muscles adequate time to rest and build that all-important muscle tone. You can then do your 30 minute cardio sessions 3 to 4 times a week – or mix cardio into your weight training workouts with circuit training-style workouts - just don't do it every day!

 

I do recommend you take one day off of your workouts in order for your whole body to rest and rejuvenate. Or use that one day off to go for a walk and enjoy the outdoors. Remember recovery time is just as vital as workout time, because if you get hurt all of your hard work will be for naught. For that reason keep your workouts under an hour.

 

I hope this is helpful.

Published Tuesday, February 20, 2007 10:34 AM by Anna

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Comments

 

catherine said:

hi anna i absolutely love this site it is so believable you're doing a great job. i want to know if it is possible to lose cup size from my breasts even if I'm not overweight. I hope you wouldn't mind answering my question.
March 19, 2007 11:35 AM
 

Devika said:

Hello Anna,
This is Devika here from India. I was going through many sites and believe that you can help me to solve my problem.
Iam 19 years old girl.My breast size is 36C and my height is 5ft.
Can you personally suggest me here some exercises or diet plan I should go in for to reduce weight and reduce specifically my breast size.My weight is 54 kgs.

I will be really thankful to you if you can provide me a dietary plan of what I shoud consume more and what all I shoud be avoiding.

Thankyou
Devika
March 20, 2007 12:55 AM
 

Anna said:

Hi Catherine,

I'm always happy to answer your questions - thanks for sending it in :)

If you want to lose a cup size from your breasts - regardless of if you are overweight or not - you should concentrate first on total body workouts. Despite workout myths, the body does not shed weight in only one spot, and no where else. For instance you can't just focus the weight loss on your breasts. Instead focus on cardio to lose body fat - it makes sense that if you have excess fat only in your breasts the body would shed that area first - with cardio workouts such as running, elliptical, skipping and circuit training workouts (I have a good example of a circuit training workout on the site here).

You can also concentrate on toning the pectoral muscles, which are located under and support your breasts. If you lose the weight and then tone the muscles underneath your breasts will appear firmer, smaller - and perkier! You can try resistance exercises like push-ups and chest presses to tone the pectoral muscles.

Good luck, and please check back in with us.
March 21, 2007 10:37 AM
 

Anna said:

Hi Devika,

Thanks for your question. Again, the body does not, by nature, lose weight from one area and not others. There is absolutely no such thing as spot reduction - it's a total myth! This means you can't focus weight loss on one specific area of your body - like your breasts. That doesn't mean, though, that you can't reduce your cup size with cardio and resistance training workouts that focus on total body weight loss.

To do this, first you have to lose the weight and then you have to tone the muscles in this area. You can do this with regular cardio workouts (start with 30 minutes for 3 per week - and gradually move up to 5 days). Also mix in some resistance training. Lifting light weights will help you develop muscle tissue - which in turn speeds up your metabolism (and helps you burn calories and lose weight more quickly). I would suggest a total body resistance program - focused on upper and lower body - try circuit training for it's metabolism boosting effects. To specifically target the breasts, you have to work the muscles underneath - which are the pectorals. These muscles support the breast tissue. If you lose weight in this area, and then tone the pectorals your breasts will appear firmer, smaller and perkier - always a bonus!

As far as a diet plan, I am not a registered dietitian or nutritionist. This means, even though I know much about diet and how it affects the body, I am unable to perscribe nutrition advice to clients. To lose weight I can suggest that you avoid foods that are high in trans fats, sugars and empty calories - such as processed snack foods, sugary sodas and deep fried fast foods - however I am unfamilar with your particular medical history, and so I can't safely prescribe you a diet plan over the Internet. Please seek the advice of a registered dietitian or nutritionist. They will be able to provide a professional and effective diet to suit your individual fitness and health needs.

Good luck, and please keep us updated on how it's going.

March 21, 2007 10:48 AM
 

Lindsay said:

Hi Anna

I have been working out for  the past week i.e I run 10km a day but I  don't see any difference at all in my breasts size. could you please tell me approximately how long it normally takes to lose fat or see signs of your breasts shrinking. I weigh 47 am 5.5m tall and my breasts size is 36b. I fall into depression and I don't go out anywhere PLEASE HELP ME I BEG YOU! maybe I'll just have to give up my life if I cant get my breasts to 32B

April 1, 2007 10:54 AM
 

Anna Fan said:

Hi there

I just want to know how many inches you have to lose to reduce a cup size

April 3, 2007 2:56 PM
 

Anna said:

Hi there Anna Fan!

It's hard for me to say how many inches you need to lose in weight to reduce your breasts by a cup size. This is because we are all blessed different genetically - and because you're asking me this question over the Internet - I can't actually see you, and can't measure your body composition. You can see how this would pose a problem.

If you are interested in losing weight, please make an appointment with a personal trainer at your gym. Sit down with them and talk about your goals, get them to measure you're body composition and come up with a workout plan that will help you reach your specific goals. This might only take a few sessions with them, but believe me, it will put your goals in perspective and help you attain them safely and with your health in mind.

Best of luck, and please check back in with us to let us know how it's going.

April 9, 2007 9:52 AM
 

Karen said:

Hello, I have a question and I've been wondering about this for sometime. I work out, not regualarly, but when I can, maybe twice a week and I'm pretty top heavy, a C cup, and can I lose breast tissue if I work out too much?? I think I've noticed my breasts are a little smaller than usual...

May 15, 2007 1:22 PM
 

Anna said:

Hi Karen,

Thanks for your question. When the body loses weight it does so in a very symetrical way - from all over - not just from one spot over another. Mind you, if you have more fatty tissue in one area over another, your breasts, you may notice a difference as you lose weight all over. Check out my blog string on Exercise & Breast Size on this page - http://www.fitnessgear101.com/blogs/fitness_fleet_physique_post/archive/2006/04/28/95244.aspx - for more on this topic.

May 16, 2007 9:57 AM

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About Anna

I'm a certified personal trainer and professional writer, as well as the editor of Fitness Gear 101. I'm what I like to call a self-proclaimed "fitness geek", who basically eats, dreams and lives fitness. After spending this much time and energy on fitness, I figure I have to know a few useful tricks ;) I hope you enjoy the site, and learn a useful thing or two about your body, nutrition and health. Cheers, Anna