How many days a week should I run?

Three to four days a week is the right number for most runners. Beginners should start with three. That is enough to improve steadily and still leaves your legs time to adapt.

Your muscles recover faster than your tendons, bones and joints. That is why you can feel fine and still get hurt if you run too often too soon.

Three days

A good starting setup is Monday, Wednesday, Saturday, or anything with a day off in between. Two short easy runs and one longer one. This is enough to run a 5K and even a half marathon if you build up slowly.

Four days

Add a fourth run once three feels easy and you've been consistent for a couple of months. Keep it short and easy. Most of your gains from here come from a bit more weekly volume, not from running harder.

Five or more days

You can build up to this, but only if you want to. It makes sense if you're training for a longer race or you just love running. Keep most of those runs very easy, and keep at least one or two full rest days.

What to do on the other days

You don't have to sit still. Walking, cycling, swimming and strength work all help, and strength training twice a week makes running easier and lowers injury risk. The general health guideline is 150 minutes of moderate activity a week, and running covers that quickly.

Those other days can count too. A walk or ride synced from Apple Health counts toward your day in League of Fitness and is scored by heart rate zones, so the rest of the week stays part of the plan without adding another run.

My take

I think consistency beats frequency. Running three days a week for a year will take you much further than running six days a week for a month and then getting a sore shin. If you want to know whether daily running is a good idea, I wrote about that in is it bad to run every day.

If you get pain that is sharp, localized, or gets worse as you run, take time off, and see a doctor or physical therapist if it doesn't settle within a week or so.