Training Frequency Explained
There are multiple different variables you can modify with your training. One of those, is the frequency of your training. Some believe that you need to train your muscles intensely once per week and others will say that you need to train them multiple times a week with less volume per session. Well, what does the research say?
Before we keep going, we should get one definition out of the way. There are two ways to look at your training frequency. One way is how frequently you have your workouts in general. Another, is how frequently each one of your muscles is trained. For the purpose of this article, we will be talking about the second way: how frequently each muscle is trained per week.
In addition to the previous disclaimer, we are looking at training frequency for the purpose of hypertrophy (muscle growth) and strength, but not necessarily power, endurance, or another variable.
Now, let’s talk about what the research says.
1x/week vs 2x/week
For this, let’s look at a study done by Brigatto et al. [1]. They had their 20 subjects split into two groups. One group trained each muscle group one time a week for a total of 16 sets per session. The other group trained their muscles two times a week for a total of 8 sets per session. Therefore, the total volume per week was the same and the only different variable was the frequency.
What they found was that the strength and size differences were similar between the two groups. There was a slight advantage for the higher frequency group. However, there wasn’t any statistically significant difference and both showed marked improvements.
One thought that I had when looking at this study is if that small difference would become a big difference if the study lasted longer. This study was done over a period of 8 weeks (2 months). Would the difference become bigger if the study was done over a period of 16 or 24 weeks? I would guess this would be the case.
Although, it’s hard to do anything but speculate about that without a longer study to confirm that. I don’t believe one will come out, though, because in general people don’t want to be subjects of a study for that long.
So, the bottom line here is this. Training a muscle group twice per week has a slight advantage of once per week. However, they still produce similar results and your overall weekly volume seems to be the more important variable.
More than 2x/week
Alright, so we have an idea of what 1x per week will do compared to 2x per week, but what if we up the frequency even more?
Schoenfeld et al. [2] conducted a systematic review that compared training 1x/week, 2x/week, and 3x/week. Similar to the study previously mentioned, the overall training volume was equated. Their results showed an advantage to training 2x/week as opposed to 1x/week and 3x/week, although the differences were not significant. This seems to add evidence to the hypothesis we discussed in the previous section: the overall weekly volume of training is the more pertinent variable.
More on training volume
As you can see, when your weekly training volume is equated, it does not matter too much how frequently you train your muscles. Colquhoun et al. [3] ran a study looking to confirm this. They found that regardless of the frequency of the training, subjects who had more volume done per week made more progress in both hypertrophy (muscle growth) and strength.
Does this mean you shouldn’t worry about your training frequency? Well, I wouldn’t say so. I would argue that training your muscles 2-3x per week will likely allow you to get more volume in per week than 1x per week. If this is the case, the higher frequency has the advantage; not directly because you are training more frequently, but because your volume is higher.
Further, if you can achieve similar results with different training frequencies, then you can alter your training routine to fit your schedule. If you lead a busy life or have an irregular schedule, this can be a big help.
References
Effect of Resistance Training Frequency on Neuromuscular Performance and Muscle Morphology After 8 Weeks in Trained Men
PubMed ID: 29528962
Effects of Resistance Training Frequency on Measures of Muscle Hypertrophy: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
PubMed ID: 27102172
Training Volume, Not Frequency, Indicative of Maximal Strength Adaptations to Resistance Training
PubMed ID: 29324578
