In the previous article, we discussed training volume – how many sets you should do each week for each muscle group. If you haven’t read that article, you can find it here.
In this article, I am going to talk about training frequency – how many times per week you should train each muscle group in order to optimize muscle growth. In other words, how you should break up your total training volume over the course of one week.
Some people choose to workout 5-6 days per week, while others opt for 3 days. Some people do full body workouts, whereas other people do an upper/lower split.
Which approach is more effective?
How Often Should You Train Each Muscle Group?
Now that you know how many sets to complete each week for large and small muscle groups, you are probably wondering how many times you should work out each muscle group each week in order to optimize muscle growth.
In order to find the answer, let’s review the research.
Dr. Brad Schoenfeld performed a meta-analysis of 10 studies to determine the effects of training frequency on muscle growth.
When they compared studies in which participants trained 1, 2, or 3 times per week, they found that participants who trained 2 times per week showed greater muscle gains compared to those who trained only one time per week, even when the number of sets were the same. No definitive conclusion was reached as to whether three times per week was more effective than two times per week.
So unless you are very advanced in lifting and need more volume in your routine, the current scientific literature suggests that for muscle growth, it is not necessary to train each muscle group more than twice per week.
Why Is Twice Per Week Superior?
The answer to this question can be explained from several different perspectives, two of which I will discuss here:
For one, training each muscle group twice or three times per week allows you to break up your total training volume over the course of multiple days which, as I will explain, allows you to make your sets more productive.
Let’s consider an example.
If you do 10 sets of chest each week and you do all 10 sets on one day, then as you get closer to the 10th set, the effectiveness of those sets will decline as you become more fatigued.
On the other hand, if you break up the 10 sets over the course of two days, you are only doing 5 sets each day. This allows you to have a higher intensity for those sets because your muscles aren’t as fatigued.
The second explanation is more scientific and relates to our understanding of muscle protein synthesis, which is the process your body goes through to produce proteins in order to repair your muscles.
The literature shows that following resistance training, muscle protein synthesis remains elevated for roughly 24 to 36 hours.
As a result, if you hit each muscle group too frequently (imagine, the semicircles above overlapping), you are not giving your body enough time to properly recover. On the other hand, if you only hit each muscle group once per week (left image), you are not optimizing muscle protein synthesis because it will be decreased for many days after your workout until you train the same muscle again.
So the natural process of muscle protein synthesis offers another understanding as to why training each muscle group 2-3 times each week is optimal.
Another factor that affects how often you should workout is your central nervous system’s ability to recover, but that is a topic for another day.
So now that you know you should train each muscle group 2-3 times each week, how can you split up your workouts into a specific routine?
When To Do What: What Workout Split Is Best?
While there is no specific workout split that works for everyone, you need to decide what works best for you, particularly considering what will allow you to be consistent.
Here are a few options for 3, 4, and 6 days each week:
3x/week: Full body workouts
For beginners or newly intermediate people who do not want to spend hours and hours in the gym every week, but still want an effective approach, I would recommend 3 full body workouts each week.
A full body workout is exactly what it sounds like. You are training all of the primary muscle groups during each workout, allowing you to optimize training frequency on just three workouts per week.
4x/week: Upper/Lower Split
This workout routine consists of two upper body and two lower body workouts each week. This is a great option for beginners, intermediates, and advanced lifters because it allows you to train each muscle group twice per week, while focusing on specific muscle groups during each workout. On the upper body day, you would focus on chest, back, shoulders, and arms. On the lower body day, you would focus on quads, hamstrings, glutes, and calves.
6x/week: Push/Pull/Legs
A push/pull/legs split consists of 6 workouts each week: 2 workouts focus on push muscles (chest, shoulders, triceps), 2 workouts focus on pull muscles (back and biceps), and 2 workouts focus on legs (quads, hamstrings, glutes, calves).
I would not recommend this option for beginners, and likely not for intermediate lifters as well, as it requires way more time spent in the gym than you need in order to reap the benefits of muscle growth.
This option should be left for advanced lifters who really want to maximize their potential and don’t mind spending 6 days per week in the gym.
To get a sense of how you would split up your training volume depending on the workout split you choose, I want to take you through a scenario of doing 10 sets of chest per week:
3x/week: Full body workouts
Monday: 3×8 bench press
Wednesday: 4×12 chest flyes
Friday: 3×10 incline DB bench press
4x/week: Upper/Lower Split
Monday: 3×8 bench press + 2×12 chest flyes
Thursday: 3×10 incline DB bench press + 2×15 cable crossovers
6x/week: Push/Pull/Legs
Monday: 3×8 bench press + 2×12 chest flyes
Thursday: 3×10 incline DB bench press + 2×15 cable crossovers
(Same as upper/lower split because you are also doing 2 chest workouts per week)
One Final Important Note
While the research on training frequency indicates that each of these workout splits can be effective, you need to decide what works best for you.
In other words, I am offering a caveat. There is no doubt that research provides valuable data that can guide us to structure workout routines; however, it is should not be the last word.
If you are having difficulty following a particular program suggested by the research, it might not be the best option for you. The best workout routine for you is the one you can do consistently.
For example, if you want to work out three days each week, but you hate doing full body workouts, then don’t do full body workouts.
You could work out 3 days per week and do 2 upper body days and 1 lower body day. If you aren’t concerned about “maximizing” the development of your legs, you can still make significant progress working them out just one day per week. This would allow you to focus on upper body twice per week.
In fact, it could allow you to hit upper body with more intensity if you do just one leg day each week.
The same is true if you want to focus on lower body. You could do 2 lower body workouts each week and just one upper body workout.
While the research I covered earlier does suggest you will get better results hitting each muscle group twice per week, you will still make significant strength and muscle gains working out a muscle group one day per week – even if you don’t “maximize” your gains.
In other words, while it is worthwhile to consider the research, find a routine that works best for you, one you can do consistently over the long run. That is the routine that will lead not only to measurable results, but to greater confidence as you move ahead in the direction of optimal health and fitness!
That’s all for today.
The first article in this series covered training volume and this one covered training frequency. In the next article (live now!), I will discuss training intensity – how many reps, with how much weight, you should do during each set.
I hope you enjoyed this post and that it helps you in some way. If you have any questions or comments about it or about your own training, feel free to leave them below. I’d be happy to help!