How Often Should You Train to Create Results?

​A common question — but the answer isn’t just about frequency. In reality, how often you hit the gym isn’t the most critical factor for muscle and strength building. You can train 2-7 days per week and make great progress, or you might see very little. It all depends on what you do during your sessions!

The key factors that influence muscle growth and strength gains are training intensity, volume, and recovery. These will actually dictate how often you should train.

In this post, I’ll break down each factor and explain how to create a training plan that delivers real results.

Training Intensity
Training intensity refers to how close to failure you get in each set. To maximize muscle growth, you need to push near failure—leaving only 2-3 reps in the tank per set. You can increase intensity by:
​

• Lifting heavier weights
• Performing higher repetitions (up to 20-25 reps; beyond that becomes less effective)
• Slowing down the tempo of each rep to add difficulty

For building strength (different from muscle hypertrophy), you don’t need to push as close to failure. But that's a topic for another post!

Training Volume
​Your training volume is the number of hard working sets per muscle, per week. A general rule of thumb is to aim for 10-20 sets per muscle each week, but this number will vary based on how conditioned you are (your previous experience of strength training) as well as from muscle to muscle (some muscles are more resistant to fatigue than others & so may require more stimulus to be; challenged). 

Recovery
To train at your peak intensity, recovery is crucial. Muscles need at least 48 hours of rest before you train them again. You also need full rest days for your nervous system to recover, as strength training is not just physically taxing but neurologically demanding as well.

Progression
If you’re new to strength training, you won't need as much stimulus to see increases in muscle strength & size as a more experienced trainee. However, over time, it will become necessary to increase the frequency, volume and/or intensity of your training to continue to see progression in terms of muscle strength & size.

How to Schedule Your Training
Now that you've got an understanding of training intensity, volume, & recovery, the next step is to create a schedule for your training that works for you. There's a ton of various different ways of training, but here are a few training splits you could consider based on the number of days you think it would be possible for you to train:

Summary
​

• Train each major muscle group with ±10-20 sets per week.
• Push close to failure - leave just 1-3 reps in the tank at most
• Allow for at least 48-hours rest between training sessions.
• Progress your training by increasing the intensity & volume over time

Ultimately your individual goals, lifestyle, training history, & more will all dictate the ideal frequency for you.⁣ ​I typically start most of my clients off with 3 full-body sessions per week. It’s not too time-demanding and it ensures they train all of the main muscle groups at least twice even if they miss a session that week.⁣ The main thing is to build a routine that you enjoy, to push yourself, & to stay consistent with your efforts!