How Long Does It Take To Get Fit? Fitness Progress Timeline

Your fitness progress timeline depends on your goals and fitness level. Research has shown that the time it takes to lose weight and get muscle from working out is two to four weeks in previously inactive people. It might take as long as four months to see significant fat loss.

Remember that the scale does not determine your fitness level, and gaining weight after working out can be normal as you build muscle. There are many other ways to gauge your progress. Signs you are getting fitter include feeling more rested, having an improved mood, and thinking more clearly.

How Long Does It Take To See Results

It might take as long as three to four months to see significant results in cardio, muscle, and weight loss. Fitness progress typically depends on your goals and how fit you are.

Cardio improves aerobic capacity, or the maximum amount of oxygen available during exercise. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) advises 150 minutes of cardio per week. This can be 30 minutes per day, five days per week.

Resistance training can help build muscle mass and strength. You will likely make gains in strength more quickly if you are just starting out with exercise. The CDC advises at least two days of resistance training per week.

Muscle and Cardio

Your fitness progress timeline may depend on several factors, such as your activity level and goals. You can generally expect the following changes:

• Initial gains (2-4 weeks): Aerobic capacity and muscle gains can get better within this time, especially if you are new to exercise. You may notice that you have improved energy, mood, and sleep.
• Noticeable changes (2-4 months): More noticeable changes typically occur within several months, including weight loss and muscle tone. Your genetics, muscle fiber makeup, and the quality of your workouts affect your strength if you are well-conditioned.
• Continued progress (4-6 months): Your body continues to adapt during this time. You might be able to perform cardio exercises, like jogging or running, for longer periods. It might also be easier to increase the number of reps and weights you use during strength training.
• Maintenance: Keep a consistent workout regimen to maintain your progress. Make sure you are eating a balanced, nutrient-rich diet in addition to exercising.

Weight Loss

How long it takes to lose weight from working out depends on how often you exercise and your diet. You must burn more calories than you take in to lose weight.

Doing more than the minimum recommended 150 minutes per week can aid in weight loss. One study found that exercise alone resulted in about 7% weight loss after four months among overweight men and women. The participants performed seven to eight hours of endurance exercise per week.

Signs It's Working

The benefits of physical activity go beyond weight loss and muscle tone. You may feel more rested and have a better mood or clearer mind as your fitness improves. Your clothes may also fit differently as your body composition changes, even if the scale does not change.

1. You Can Think Clearly

Physical activity supports brain health and might prevent neurological diseases. Research has shown that many structural and chemical changes happen in the brain when you exercise.

Exercise can increase the volume of gray matter in your brain. Gray matter is tissue in your brain that helps control your emotions, memory, and movements.

With exercise also comes chemical changes that increase blood flow to your brain. Regular physical activity also allows for more glucose (sugar) to enter, which can improve cognitive function. Glucose is your brain's primary source of energy. Increased energy helps improve your focus and memory. It also prevents cognitive decline as you age.

2. You Feel More Rested

Research has found that exercise helps you get a better night's rest. Any type of exercise, from aerobic exercise to resistance training to tai chi and yoga, improves sleep quality.

Try using a sleep tracker device for a few weeks to measure your sleep quality. A sleep tracker can tell you how long it takes you to drift off and how long you spend in rapid-eye movement (REM) sleep. REM sleep is the deepest stage of sleep, which is necessary to feel well-rested.

Exercising too close to bedtime might keep you up at night. Schedule your workout so you are done at least three hours before your bedtime.

3. You Feel Stronger

Aerobic exercise strengthens your heart and lungs. Look at your resting heart rate (RHR) and heart rate recovery (HRR) to tell if your heart and lungs are getting stronger.

Your heart typically does not need to work as hard at rest. A normal RHR is 60-100 beats per minute. Your HRR is your peak heart rate during exercise minus your heart rate after you cool down.

People in better cardiovascular condition have lower heart rates during exercise. Your heart rate comes down more quickly to your RHR. Your heart can pump more blood out with each contraction as it gets stronger. It does not have to beat as quickly.

4. Your Clothes Fit Differently

Your body shape may change if you lose fat and gain muscle as your fitness improves. Focus on how your clothing feels instead of what the number says on the scale. Just keep in mind that clothing sizes often vary between brands.

Your pants may get looser in some areas, but you might fill them out in others. You might be losing fat in your abdominal area if your pants loosen up around your waist. High amounts of abdominal fat have been associated with higher disease risk.

One study found that exercise helps reduce both abdominal fat and waist circumference. The authors noted that boosting the amount or intensity of exercise can increase the amount of abdominal fat you burn.

5. Your Mood Improves

Regular physical activity can result in improved mental health outcomes. One review found that exercise protects against anxiety and depression. People with low or moderate fitness levels had a 47% and 23% greater risk of mental health concerns compared to highly fit people.

The authors noted that these benefits were dose-dependent, so they increased with more exercise. Both aerobic exercise and resistance training had positive impacts on mental health.

Tips for Using a Scale

The number on the scale is often not worth fixating on. This does not mean weighing yourself is a complete waste of time. Some evidence suggests that weighing yourself helps keep you on track toward weight loss.

Using the scale daily can be a bit over the top for many people. One study found that women who frequently weighed themselves had lower self-esteem, more concerns about their weight, and higher rates of depression than others.

Here are some tips for using a scale in a healthy way:

• Consider the pros and cons: Frequently stepping on a scale may negatively affect mood and promote disordered eating behaviors and thoughts. Do not weigh yourself often if it compromises your mental health. Focus on other aspects of your health.
• Know that the scale only tells part of the story: The scale does not show fat loss or muscle gains. Find other ways to gauge your progress, especially ones that make you feel good and motivate you.
• Only use it once per week: Any more than this can make you feel frustrated if you do not see any progress.

A Quick Review

How long it takes to see results from working out depends on your goals and fitness level. People new to working out may see cardio and muscle gain quicker than others.

There are several other immediate benefits of physical activity. You might notice you are more rested, can think more clearly, and have an improved mood. Your body composition might change, and your clothes may fit differently, even if the numbers on the scale do not change.