Read time: 3 minutes

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It was August 2020 in Melbourne, Australia.

Not a great time in the world, to be honest.

Like most things, gyms were off-limits.

I was lucky enough to have some gym equipment at home…so I tried a little experiment.

How better to break up some quality lockdown time with a little strength training spread across the day?

Any exercise science textbook will not recommend this approach.

But I quickly found two things:

• I was MORE motivated to train
• AND I got stronger

Since then, the idea of exercise frequency has fascinated me.

But not for the reason most people think about it.

It can be a powerful tool for building good exercise habits.

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Frequency isn’t the main driver of the benefits of exercise. BUT this doesn’t mean it isn’t important…

Think of exercise like a medicine.

You need a certain “dose” to get a benefit.

There is a minimum effective dose, and an “optimal” dose beyond which there is no further benefit.

With exercise, the total “dose” is the sum of:

• How often
• How much, and
• How hard

An important question is whether the “how often” part is important.

In other words, does it make a difference if the same exercise “dose” is given at different frequencies?

From an outcome (or adaptation) standpoint, the answer mostly seems to be no.

For example, when the total “dose” of exercise is the same, the following outcomes are similar across different training frequencies:

• ​Muscle growth with resistance training
• General health benefits of exercise (like improvements in aerobic fitness or blood pressure)

But this doesn’t mean higher exercise frequencies don’t have advantages.

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Higher frequencies are linked to habit formation

So far we’ve covered what everyone talks about:

The "best" way to get the long-term benefits of SUSTAINED physical activity.

The things that matter if we manage to stick to exercise.

But guess what.

Most people struggle to get started with exercise. Let alone keep going for long enough to see these benefits.

That’s where the real benefits of exercise frequency comes in.

The more frequent a behaviour, the more likely it’ll become a habit.

A study of more than 23,000 gym-goers found each additional workout performed per week over 4-6 weeks increased the likelihood they’d exercise in each the next 8 weeks…by 3-fold.

In other words, exercising more often makes it MUCH more likely you’ll keep doing it for longer.

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Higher frequencies of a given exercise “dose” aren’t a bad thing, either.

In some ways, spreading out exercise over more (shorter) sessions can be helpful.

How often have you planned to exercise, but thought:

“What’s the point if I can’t fit in a full session?”

It’s important to know that breaking up exercise into shorter sessions doesn't change the benefits compared to longer, continuous sessions.

In other words, it doesn’t matter how the exercise “dose” is accumulated.

Knowing this might help shift someone from doing something, rather than nothing.

Plus, there’s another key upside to a higher-frequency approach.

More frequent exercise sessions disrupt periods of sedentary behaviour (sitting, reclining, or lying during waking hours).

We know sedentary behaviour is an independent driver of chronic disease.

So increased activity PLUS reduced sitting with more frequent exercise = a great combo for health benefits.

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Wait...you’re telling me to do MORE exercise?

I hear you…

But that’s NOT what I’m saying.

Doing something more frequently doesn’t mean it must be harder.

That’s why I’m so big on making exercise easier.

Because that way, higher frequencies are more achieveable.

If you struggle with sticking to exercise, it can help to define what you could do most of the time (even when you didn’t feel like it).

I’ve called this a “minimum viable” exercise session. Others call it a “floor” or “baseline” routine.

Focusing on doing at least this “dose” of exercise frequently (rather than very hard/long sessions LESS often, which is what most people do) may help you stay on track.

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The role of frequency in exercise is a prime example of how we often get mixed up between:

• What “works” in a perfect world for a specific outcome, versus
• What actually helps people stick to exercise

At the end of the day, many exercise approaches “work”…

But ONLY if we can stick to them long-term.

And that’s why it’s important to look at anything to do with exercise through that lens.

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Thanks for reading!

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Until next week,

Jackson

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If you've got a moment, I'd love to hear your thoughts on this edition of The Weekly Exerciser.

Send me a quick message or email - I'll reply to every one!

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IMPORTANT:

The information contained herein is of general nature only and does not constitute personal advice. You should not act on any information without considering your personal needs, circumstances, and objectives. Any exercise program may result in injury. We recommend you obtain advice specific to your circumstances from an appropriate health professional before starting any exercise program.