Can I Just Train Once a Week?

If the hectic lifestyle has become too much to handle it’s time to cut back. So what is it in your life that you would be willing to lose? Could you afford to cut down the amount you train and still expect to be in shape? 

The first thing you need to realise is that in shape is really a nothing term. If someone tells you they are trying to get in shape you’re always left wondering exactly what they mean.

If in shape to you is being able to do 50 push ups then once a week workouts will get you in shape. That doesn’t mean training once a week will get you in shape for running a marathon though.

While accepting that the definition then is clearly varied, generally if you train just once a week you will struggle to meet any typical sort of expectation.

If you’re already in good condition though and you’re just looking to cut back it is possible to maintain a good fitness level with reduced training time, but every other aspect of your life has to be spot on. You need to be eating the right food, sleeping enough and keeping those stress levels down.

Of course there is the other argument, and it brings with it a whole host of clichés. Our friends at Tesco have made the phrase ‘every little helps’ one that you can’t help but hear almost every day.

And it’s true. If you train once a week, that’s far better than never training at all. In fact, if you’re just starting out at the gym, going from doing nothing to training just once a week, you will start to slowly show improvements.

The good thing about people who only train once a week is, especially if they are beginners, that they’ve given themselves something to build on. Because realistically you aren’t going to reach truly high levels of achievement if you train once every seven days.

I accept people have busy lives, but you really do have to be very busy to have absolutely no time whatsoever to train. And even if you’re one of these people who just does an hour or so one night a week, just remember that it’s not always how much you do that’s important, but how often.

So rather than doing an hour or two on one day, you’d be far better off making that half an hour on four days! It’s not like you even have to get to a gym, there are some great bodyweight exercises you can do in your own home.

Really it comes down to your individual priorities. If your life really is too busy and you have to cut some stuff out, what is it that is too important to lose?

If the answer to that question is your body, fitness levels, physique etc., then forget excuses. I’m sure I could save half an hour in my day just by refreshing my Twitter feed a little less!

Cut out the time in your day spent doing absolutely pointless things if you really are that busy. When it comes to priorities, your health and fitness really should be number one!