It seems as if success is contingent on some type of routine. Whether that involves a morning smoothie, meditating, journaling, or other infinite possibilities, successful people often follow schedules. But what about exercise routines? Do they also boost physical success or well-being? And are some routines better than others?

To find out what the American workout routine looks like these days, we asked nearly 1,000 people who worked out at least once per week about their approaches to exercise. Continue reading to see which workouts left people the most satisfied.

Time and Place

Let’s start with days of the week. Although working Americans arguably have more free time on the weekend, these days saw a sharp decline in workout frequency. Workdays equaled workout days: Monday, Wednesday, and Friday were particularly popular, chosen by 84%, 80%, and 70% of respondents as exercise days, respectively.

Each day of the week, however, played an important role in determining what participants worked out specifically. When people did manage to exercise on Sunday, 3 in 4 people chose cardio, perhaps demonstrating a tendency to burn off any weekend indulgences. Monday was the most popular day for chest, cardio, triceps, and shoulders, while Tuesday saw continued work on most of these and some additional abs and biceps exercises. As the week pushed on, glutes and back muscles got their turn mostly on Wednesday. And right before the weekend, many respondents attempted to get some leg work done on Friday.

Top 5 Most Popular Workouts, by Day of the Week

Sunday	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday
1. Cardio 75%	1. Cardio 84%	1. Cardio 75%	1. Cardio 78%
2. Biceps/Abs (Tied) 13%	2. Chest 20%	2. Biceps 21%	2. Biceps/Abs (Tied) 19%
3. Glutes 12%	3. Abs 19%	3. Chest/Abs (Tied) 20%	3. Chest 18%
4. Quadriceps/Back (Tied) 11%	4. Biceps 18%	4. Triceps 16%	4. Triceps 16%
5. Triceps/Shoulders (Tied) 10%	5. Triceps 16%	5. Shoulders 15%	5. Quadriceps 15%
Thursday	Friday	Saturday
1. Cardio 77%	1. Cardio 74%	1. Cardio 76%
2. Abs 19%	2. Abs 20%	2. Abs 19%
3. Chest 17%	3. Biceps 17%	3. Biceps/Chest (Tied) 17%
4. Triceps/Biceps (Tied) 15%	4. Quadriceps 16%	4. Triceps/Shoulders (Tied) 15%
5. Shoulders 14%	5. Shoulders/Chest/Triceps (Tied) 15%	5. Back 13%

 

Cardio truly dominated the workout scene every day of the week, with an additional muscle focus added here and there. For any given day of the week that respondents chose to work out, 75% or more included cardio in their routine. If you fall into this category, be mindful of fatigue or constantly sore muscles, which could indicate that your workout routine is too cardio-heavy.

While cardio might be a good starting point, our data revealed great value in variety. Those who changed their workout routines exercised about one day more every week compared to those who did not. In other words, workout variety corresponded with an average of 52 more workouts per year.

Having a Plan

Experts consistently remind us how important it is to pick a plan and stick to it. And our data backs it up: Respondents who had a workout plan were 30 percentage points more likely to be motivated, as well as 17 percentage points more likely to feel challenged by their workouts.

Frequency also improved with planning: Those who had a workout plan were twice as likely to exercise consistently than those who had no plan at all, and were more likely to be satisfied with their mental clarity, energy level, stress level, fat loss, and muscle gain.

Exercise Excitement

Specific motivators pushed men and women to work out. Men were most likely to want to increase their energy levels. Women, on the other hand, expressed an interest in gaining muscle. Losing fat was not a great motivator for any gender. In fact, those who worked out to lose fat were most likely to exercise just to get it over with.

Location, Location, Location

As it turns out, the place may be just as influential as the plan. People were almost twice as likely to work out at home than a fitness studio or gym. However, depending on the equipment or studio, both options can be pricey. But a home gym is very convenient, likely causing an increase in at-home workouts. Moreover, the at-home fitness model is its own business trend. In-house equipment, like the Peloton, Mirror, or even YouTube videos, can provide access to the world’s greatest trainers and classes, often costing less over time than gym memberships.

That said, specific workout locations were more successful than others in motivating their members. Eighty-five percent of fitness studiogoers reported looking forward to their workouts. This number was higher than the 79% who looked forward to working out at their local gym or community center, and the 76% who were excited to exercise at a larger chain. Lastly, only 62% of respondents working out at home said they looked forward to their workouts.

Studio, residential, or chain, it was ultimately the community that influenced the way participants felt while exercising. If there was a sense of community, respondents reported a substantially higher likelihood of workout motivation, a sense of challenge when exercising, and even looked forward to their next workout. The workout community might just be a step above a workout buddy.

Planning Ahead

Fortunately, the data shows that your workout plan doesn’t have to be complicated or even popular. Just pick a plan that works for you, stay consistent, and focus on your goals when you need additional motivation. Even finding an encouraging community can work wonders on your exercise regimen.

If part of your plan is an exercise bike, then make your first stop at ExerciseBike.net. Even without a brand or model in mind, ExerciseBike can help you sort through expert reviews and give guidance on the perfect fit for you. So, stop by today and let us bring the gym to you.

Methodology and Limitations

We used Amazon’s Mechanical Turk to survey 978 people who worked out at least once a week. For respondents to be included in our data, they were required to complete the entire survey and pass an attention-check question in the middle of each survey. Participants who failed to do either of these were excluded from the study. In the first visualization, we only analyzed respondents who said they had a consistent workout schedule they followed each week.

Of all respondents, 54% were women, and 46% were men. Forty-six percent of respondents were millennials (born 1981 to 1997); 36% were from Generation X (born 1965 to 1980); and 17% were baby boomers (born 1946 to 1964). Generation Z (born 1998 to 2017), the silent generation (born 1928 to 1945), and the greatest generation (born 1927 or earlier) were excluded from the study. The average age of respondents was 41, with a standard deviation of 12 years. The data had a 5% margin of error for millennials and Generation X and an 8% margin of error for baby boomers.

The data we’re presenting rely on self-reporting. There are many issues with self-reported data. These issues include but are not limited to: selective memory, telescoping, attribution, and exaggeration. In finding averages of quantitative values, we removed outliers so that the data were not exaggerated.

Fair Use Statement

Knowledge is power, and that power can be brought to more workouts if you’re willing to share the data. You are certainly welcome to share this article for noncommercial purposes if you just link back to this page.