How many times a week should an individual exercise?
As Wendy said, it depends on the goals. As a general rule of thumb I recommend the following to most clients:
3-5 days of cardio
2-3 days of weight training
1-2 days of stretching
Stretching can be incorporated into each and every workout, and does not have to be designated to just 1 or 2 days of the week. Remember the workouts can be combined to have elements of all three types of workouts. As always, work smarter, not harder. There is a fine line between working out in a safe/healthy manner and over training.
That depends on the person and their goals. You can do cardio every day of the week if you really want to, but you should give your body a day or two to rest. Also, you should not do strength training with the same muscle groups on back to back days.
All that being said, be sure to give your body adequate food fuel and avoid overtraining by taking 1 or 2 days off per week.
Daily. Most of us go up and down stairs, walk to the market, play with our kids. Why not just jump on your bike and go for a vigorous ride? Activity (not just ‘exercise’) is something, if we’re so blessed, we do everyday. Clearly intensity, duration and type of activity need to be considered. Recovery and proper nutrition are essential following vigorous, exhaustive exercise. But I think that being as active as possible every day is important.
Take care.