Workout for a predetermined number of minutes or days a week
I don't know this for sure, but it probably started in the late 70's early 80's where we started to gather together to do aerobics. It's probably Jane Fonda's fault.
But in all seriousness, I can not find ANYWHERE, any study that says you need to workout for a predetermined amount of time for a certain number of days a week
Yet, we get asked that all the time - "hey so how many days a week should I train" and the real answer is...HOW MUCH ARE YOU TRAINING NOW?
Guess what, if you are not working out at all, you're PR for exercise is 10 mins/week!
So it's relative.
Now what seems to be backed up more by research is the duration of training before you actually see results. What this means is it would be more beneficial for you to water down your exercise but never miss a single day then it would be to go from zero to 1000 only to need a 4 day weekend.
Periworkout Nutrition
When I first started training I was told, researched and believed in my very core that 30-40 grams of a whey isolate within 25-26.5 minutes post workout was PARAMOUNT to delivering an anabolic window to my hypertrophic goals.
And look, I'm not saying that it's not important, but there is research that shows pre, that shows post, that shows different timing and different foods...what this means is, I THINK, is you should eat. Something. at some point.
Now, if you are so busy that you can not cook and prepare real food, you are working out for multiple sessions, back to back per day, then a protein supplement is probably a good idea. For the rest of us mere mortals, it's nice to know that as long as we DO EAT after exercise, we are probably covered.
What everyone else is doing
I get it, we are social creatures, you and I both love to have people around while we train. We love to be pushed, inspired, motivated and why not throw a little competition in there.
BUT...to get a response from a workout exactly like someone you saw on instagram is to say you are exactly like that person. That your life is there life, your genetics is there genetics...you ARE them.
Now if you are not actually them, then...you are not actually them. That means you need to go through your own trial and error to come up with what works for you.
I'll link a couple of articles but the research is pretty buttoned up...when you factor in lifestyle, background, goals, limitations not to mention personality, behavioral regulation and more - you are an individual
So why are you training like that? You appreciate a level of customization when you shop on amazon? Order from favor? Why is it that you are still doing some generic online class and wondering why you are not really getting individualized results?
The good news is that it's not that hard, but you have to have some insights into what works for you. We've been tinkering and tweaking this data collection and we've now done it about 1000 times. While we typically charge $99 for this, we want to offer it to you for free. We'll go through the assessment and from there, we'll tell you exactly how you should train.
RESOURCES
Aragon, A. A., & Schoenfeld, B. J. (2013). Nutrient timing revisited: is there a post-exercise anabolic window?. Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition, 10(1), 5. https://doi.org/10.1186/1550-2783-10-5
Box, A. G., Feito, Y., Brown, C., & Petruzzello, S. J. (2019). Individual differences influence exercise behavior: how personality, motivation, and behavioral regulation vary among exercise mode preferences. Heliyon, 5(4), e01459. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2019.e01459
Clark J. E. (2016). The impact of duration on effectiveness of exercise, the implication for periodization of training and goal setting for individuals who are overfat, a meta-analysis. Biology of sport, 33(4), 309–333. https://doi.org/10.5604/20831862.1212974
Huppertz, C., Bartels, M., de Zeeuw, E.L. et al. Individual Differences in Exercise Behavior: Stability and Change in Genetic and Environmental Determinants From Age 7 to 18. Behav Genet 46, 665–679 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10519-016-9799-x
Schoenfeld, B. J., Aragon, A., Wilborn, C., Urbina, S. L., Hayward, S. E., & Krieger, J. (2017). Pre- versus post-exercise protein intake has similar effects on muscular adaptations. PeerJ, 5, e2825. https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.2825