Many people believe you have to train five days a week, or even every day, to see results in the gym. You can, and you'll make some great gains. But what if I told you it takes a lot less than that?!
It Doesn’t Take Much
Muscle mass peaks in our mid-to-late 20s and declines as we get older. Research suggests that strength training about once every other week is enough to offset that loss… Which means it takes just a little more to actually build! To build muscle it takes as little as one hour a week can be enough. Isn’t that crazy!
For so Long even I thought it took WAY MORE to actually make a difference in my physique, but as I learned more and started training clients I quickly realized that I was doing too much and potentially not making as many gains as I could have.
Isn't More Better, Coach Mike?
While this is true often in life, in the strength, and health world there is a delicate balance between work and rest. Anyone who has ever done something so difficult and gotten burned out from it knows this in life too!
When it comes to losing weight and improving your health it is important to have this Goldilocks zone where you can push and build at the same time
Here's the Catch…
While this is true and I’ve seen it many many times. There’s a few things that are required of you.
Sleep - You need to aim for about 7-9 hours of sleep per night. Good quality rest!!
Nutrition - you need to hit around 1gram per pound of target body weight PER day! Don't miss this one!
Hydration - most people (including for myself) miss this one, but don't because hydration is paramount in your ability to recover and adapt, as well as making your workouts feel more effective
What About If I Want to Lose Weight?
If this is your goal then all of this applies to you even more! Here’s why: in order to lose weight you have to be in what’s called a calorie deficit and if you're in a caloric deficit you have less energy and usually less strength. On top of those two things you WILL lose muscle (which means your metabolism slows down) so you won’t be able to do as much anyway! So to prevent muscle loss we should prioritize the form of exercise that will help prevent muscle loss… you guessed it that's strength training, and since you have less energy it’ll be even more important that you aren’t strength training more than three days a week.
What I Recommend
One session a week works, especially if you're just starting out or in a calorie deficit. But for most people, I recommend two to three full-body workouts per week. It's frequent enough for amazing progress without taking over your schedule.
I see it with my clients. None of them train more than three times a week, and some train just once or twice. They all build strength and muscle and keep making progress.
You can too.
If you want a free two week training guide here’s the link below!
