How Many Days a Week Should You Train After 40?

You Don't Need to Train Every Day

A big mistake people make when they decide to get back into shape is trying to change everything at once.

They go from doing very little exercise to trying to train five or six days a week.

For a couple of weeks, motivation carries them through.

Then the aches start.

Sessions get missed.

Life gets in the way.

And before long, the whole routine disappears.

A training programme only works if you can actually stick to it.

For most busy adults over 40, three good sessions every week for the next year will achieve far more than six sessions a week that you abandon after a month.

Consistency beats intensity that you can't maintain.

Why Three Days a Week Works So Well

Three strength sessions per week gives you enough training to make meaningful progress while still leaving plenty of time for recovery.

A good programme can train your entire body across those three sessions.

You can build or maintain muscle.

You can become considerably stronger.

You can improve the way you move.

And if fat loss is your goal, those sessions can form the foundation of a programme that helps you become leaner while maintaining muscle.

Just as importantly, three sessions can fit around a normal life.

You don't need to live in the gym.

You don't need two-hour workouts.

And you don't need to organise your entire week around training.

For many of the people I work with, that's far more realistic.

Is Two Days a Week Enough?

Yes.

If you currently aren't strength training at all, two properly structured sessions per week can make a huge difference.

The NHS recommends strengthening activities involving all the major muscle groups on at least two days each week.

Two sessions can therefore be an excellent starting point, particularly if you're busy, returning to exercise or haven't trained consistently for some time.

The important thing is making those sessions count.

Rather than randomly choosing a few exercises each time you enter the gym, your programme should cover the major movement patterns and muscle groups and gradually progress over time.

Two well-designed sessions are far better than four random workouts.

And once two sessions have become a normal part of your week, you can always add a third.

What About Four Days a Week?

Four sessions can also work extremely well.

In fact, if you've been training consistently for a while and enjoy going to the gym, four days can allow you to spread your training volume across shorter sessions.

For example, you might train your upper and lower body on separate days rather than trying to fit everything into three full-body workouts.

But there's an important distinction:

You should add training because it helps your progress — not because you feel guilty for taking a day off.

If four sessions leave you permanently tired, your joints are constantly aching and your performance is getting worse, adding more exercise probably isn't the answer.

Recovery is part of training.

What Changes After 40?

Your body doesn't suddenly fall apart when you turn 40.

You can still build muscle.

You can still get stronger.

You can still improve your fitness.

And you may be capable of becoming considerably fitter in your 40s, 50s and beyond than you were in your 20s or 30s.

But you may need to pay more attention to the things you could previously ignore.

• Sleep matters.
• Nutrition matters.
• Exercise selection matters.
• How you manage training volume matters.

And repeatedly pushing every workout as hard as physically possible isn't necessary.

Training should provide enough stimulus to force your body to adapt, while still allowing you to recover before you train again.

That's the balance we're looking for.

Don't Confuse Training With Movement

This is another important point.

Having three strength-training days doesn't mean you should sit down for the other four.

Your structured gym sessions and your general daily activity are two different things.

Walking is one of the simplest ways to increase your overall activity without adding much recovery demand.

So a typical week might include three strength sessions while still keeping active on the days between them.

You don't have to turn every day into a workout.

Sometimes going for a good walk is exactly what you need.

A Simple Weekly Training Schedule

For someone training three times per week, it could be as straightforward as:

Monday

Full-body strength training

Tuesday

Walking / general activity

Wednesday

Full-body strength training

Thursday

Walking / general activity

Friday

Full-body strength training

Saturday

Walking, hobbies or optional cardio

Sunday

Rest / light activity

There is nothing magical about those particular days.

The important part is that the strength sessions are spread through the week and fit realistically around your work, family and other commitments.

More Training Isn't Always More Progress

It's easy to assume that if three workouts are good, six must be twice as good.

That's not how it works.

Training creates the stimulus.

Recovery allows your body to adapt to that stimulus.

If you're constantly adding more sessions, more exercises and more sets without giving yourself enough time to recover, eventually the quality of your training can suffer.

This is especially important if you have a stressful job, young children, poor sleep or a physically demanding lifestyle.

Your body doesn't separate training stress from the rest of your life.

It all contributes to the overall load you're trying to recover from.

That's why the “perfect” programme on paper isn't necessarily the perfect programme for you.

So, How Many Days Should You Train After 40?

For most people:

Two days per week

A very good starting point and enough to make meaningful progress with the right programme.

Three days per week

Probably the sweet spot for most people looking to become stronger, fitter and leaner.

Four days per week

A great option for more experienced trainees who enjoy training and recover well.

Five or more days per week

Possible, but rarely necessary for the average person simply trying to look, feel and perform better.

Your goal shouldn't be to train as often as possible.

Your goal should be to do the minimum amount of training required to produce the maximum sustainable result.

And then keep doing it.

Because after 40, the best training programme isn't the hardest programme.

It's the one that allows you to consistently get stronger, stay healthy and keep progressing for years.

Need Help Working Out What You Should Be Doing?

If you're over 40 and you're unsure how often you should train, what exercises you should be doing or how hard you should be pushing yourself, that's exactly where having a properly structured programme can help.

At Wolverine Personal Training, training is built around you — your starting point, your goals, your lifestyle and what you can realistically maintain.

You don't need to spend your life in the gym.

You just need the right plan.

Ready to get started? Get in touch with Wolverine Personal Training and let's build a training programme that works for you.