Frequency of mass training. Short and infrequent workouts: why they are effective and who is suitable for them
When you create a training program, first of all, you need to decide on the first important point - regularity of training. How many times a week should you exercise?
I understand... this is quite a broad question. And the terms “exercise regularity” and “exercise regularity” can have a lot of different meanings.
However, there are 3 values that are worth paying attention to:
- General training regularity: How often should you do certain exercises (strength training, cardio, etc.)?
- Regularity strength training: How many times a week should you do strength training?
- Regularity of exercises for individual muscle groups or body parts: How many times per week should you train each muscle group or body part?
The only thing we missed on this list is cardio training. This is a separate topic that we will talk about a little later.
Now let's look at the 3 most important aspects of regular training.
Regularity of training in general
The first thing to decide is how many times a week we will do the workouts. These may include strength training, cardio, and so on. All this relates to the regularity of classes in general.
This is one aspect that may vary depending on you and your goals (for example, an obese person with the initial goal of losing weight might do 4 cardio workouts a week, while a lean person with the initial goal of gaining muscle mass might not do cardio at all).
Therefore, it is impossible to say exactly how many times a week you need to exercise.
However, there is one thing general rule, which works for everyone.
And this is the rule: do least 1 day off from training.
It means that as a last resort You can exercise 6 times a week (and that includes power load, cardio and so on).
I am sure that among those reading this article there is no such person who needs to exercise 7 times a week and will derive any benefits from it.
I will say more: most people will accept 3-5 times a week as the norm, depending on their goals.
Why? Because daily training not only makes no sense to achieve your goals, on the contrary, it can lead to the opposite results.
Regularity of strength training
There are many individual characteristics that should be taken into account in the regularity of training in general. However, if we're talking about about strength training, it’s the other way around. I can accurately describe the regularity of strength training.
The regularity of strength training refers to how many times a week you need to do it.
Some people can do 5 workouts a week (although in most cases they are not necessary at all), some people can stop at two. However, for most people in most cases 3-4 strength training sessions per week is enough.
I base this on most well-designed training programs that target 3-4 workouts per week.
The same goes for the rule do not perform more than 2 workouts in a row.
Regularity of exercises for specific muscle groups or body parts
And the last thing is the regularity of exercises for individual muscle groups or parts of the body.
The optimal frequency of training per week is determined, first of all, by the main purpose of the visit. gym- starting from extension muscle mass for men, ending with workouts to burn fat and maintain good health physical fitness for women. It is the goal factor that determines how many days of proper rest the body will need to recover.
If long-term, but relatively light, cardio training for burning fat can be done 4-5 times a week, then strength training for the purpose of muscle growth will require more recovery time. That is why the most effective training frequency for muscle growth is 3-4 visits to the gym per week. We also talked about that.
On the other hand, the answer to the question of how many times a week you can train, in many cases, is related to your life schedule. In most cases, people find it more convenient to go to the gym 3 times a week - usually Monday, Wednesday and Friday. It is according to this schedule that three day split And .
How long does it take for muscles to recover?
Scientific research suggests that the time required for muscle recovery after exercise is on average 48 to 72 hours - or 2 to 3 days. In reality, this figure depends on both the level of experience of the athlete and his age (than older man, the longer the recovery lasts), and on which muscles were involved in the training.
Moreover, if small and medium muscle groups(for example, arms, shoulders and abs) require about 48 – 60 hours for regeneration, then for full recovery large muscles(primarily legs, chest, back), and especially the central nervous system, which also experiences serious loads when performing basic exercises, at least 72 hours are required (1) .
Recovery time for muscle groups
| Shoulders | 48 – 60 hours |
| Breast | up to 72 hours |
| Back | up to 72 hours |
| Press | 48 – 60 hours |
| Triceps | 48 – 60 hours |
| Biceps | 48 – 60 hours |
| Buttocks | up to 72 hours |
| Thigh muscles | up to 72 hours |
| Caviar | 48 – 60 hours |
It is traditionally believed that specific “pulling” pain in the muscles after playing sports is directly related to their growth. From a scientific point of view, this is not entirely true, and muscle growth can occur without pain at all - it all depends on the individual characteristics of a person’s metabolism. Let us also note that sports significantly reduce this pain.
Essentially, a specific “delayed” pain felt in the muscles of the body after performing heavy strength exercises, just means that the body is successfully repairing muscles and removing toxins formed after training (including). Typically, this pain begins 12 to 24 hours after exercise and ends completely within 24 to 72 hours.
Recovery after sports
Oddly enough, complete rest is not at all the optimal way for quick recovery body after training. Research shows that moderate physical exercise on days off from training in the gym, blood flow and the rate of removal of toxins are increased, thus significantly accelerating the processes of regeneration and growth muscle tissue.
In other words, light cardio done for 20-25 minutes on non-strength training days will not only speed up recovery, but will ultimately allow you to train more effectively for muscle growth and definition. A visit to the pool will also be useful - it’s no secret that swimming perfectly develops the body.
How many times a week should you pump your legs?
The legs are one of the largest muscle groups in the body, so it is recommended to train them no more than once every 72 hours - in other words, if you did heavy barbell squats on Monday, it is better to train your legs on Thursday or even Friday. However, if you trained exclusively calves or internal muscles hips, then the time is reduced.
At the same time, the final number of days required to restore leg muscles also depends on the person’s body type - they can train more often (and, ultimately, build muscle faster), while the body either requires an increased amount of time to replenish energy reserves.
How often can you train your abs?
For beginners in the first months strength training You can pump up your abdominal muscles 5 times a week - the presence of “delayed” pain will help you literally feel your abdominal muscles, which will dramatically increase the effectiveness of your abdominal training. However, we are talking about performing single exercises without additional load or simple training at home.
Complete sets of exercises for developing abdominal muscles will require about 48-60 hours for recovery. Let us separately note that more frequent training Abdominal muscles are completely incapable of removing belly fat faster (this requires only a diet). In fact, they will only cause overtraining and negatively affect overall progress.
How many times a week should girls train?
Speaking about training for fat burning, it is important to mention aerobic training for girls. In their case, daily training while reducing caloric intake can give the opposite effect to the desired one. Instead of speeding up metabolism and losing weight, the body can increase the level of the stress hormone cortisol, thus provoking not fat loss at all, but fat gain.
Losing weight should always begin with normalizing your diet and eliminating excessively high-calorie foods. Physical training for fat burning in this case are only a way to normalize metabolism and equalize blood sugar levels, and not at all a mechanism for getting rid of excess calories and directly “burning” fat.
***
Since the total time for muscle recovery is 48 hours for small muscle groups (arms, abs) and 72 hours for large ones (legs, chest), strength training for gaining mass is recommended 3-4 times a week. Training for weight loss can be done more frequently (up to 5 times a week), but without a sharp reduction in caloric intake.
Scientific sources:
- The Truth About Muscle Recovery Time,
How many times a week should you perform bench press, squats, deadlift or pump up your abs? This is an excellent question, vigorously discussed in the world of “iron sports”. In this article we will try to offer the most balanced point of view.
Frequency and intensity
When creating a training program, there are two main variables to consider: frequency and intensity. Frequency means either the total number of workouts or the number of specific exercises ( for example, bench press) completed in a week. In our article the first will be denoted by the term "common frequency", and the second – by the term “frequency of training for a specific muscle group”.Intensity– this is the difficulty level of the workout. To measure the intensity of a cardio workout, we would count your heart rate. But in the case of strength training, we will use the percentage of one repetition maximum (%1RM). This is, of course, a relative value. If your one rep max (1RM) on the bench press is 165 kg, and you will shake 142 kg, this will amount to 86% of 1RM, which can be considered either moderate or high intensity.
The fact is that you need to take into account another important point when determining the intensity of this set. You need to know how many repetitions were done. If you can squeeze 165 kg, and shook 142 kg only once, it's a very easy set. Three reps with a weight of 142 kg requires much more effort, therefore this set can be considered moderately intense.
Six reps with 142kg can be considered a high-intensity set, as it can be as difficult to perform as doing 165kg bench presses once.
We offer such an indicator as "overall intensity", which depends on the weight of the apparatus, expressed as a percentage of one-rep max (%1RM), and the number of repetitions performed with that weight. To find out the “total intensity”, you can use the following universal table:
This chart shows how many repetitions you should be able to do when lifting a certain weight. This way you can calculate the total intensity. Simply select the % of 1RM you lift and count how many additional reps were done for that set.
Additional reps is the number of repetitions performed after the first repetition. Once you have counted the number of additional repetitions, move up the table by the same number of rows ( each repetition equals one row in the table) to find out the overall intensity.
Here are some examples:
1RM: 165 kg
Set completed: 142 kg x 3 reps
Additional reps: 3 – 1 = 2
142/165 = 86% intensity ( )
Overall intensity (go up two rows): 91.2%
1RM: 165 kg
Set completed: 142 kg x 1 rep
Additional reps: 1 – 1 = 0
142/165 = 86% intensity ( estimated six rep max)
Overall intensity (stay in the same table row): 86%
1RM: 165 kg
Set completed: 142 kg x 6 reps
Additional reps: 6 – 1 = 5
142/165 = 86% intensity ( estimated six rep max)
Overall intensity (go up 5 rows): 100%
Why should you care?
You're probably wondering how this could affect your training. The point is this.The frequency and intensity of exercise should be balanced. If your training frequency is low, your muscles are rarely stimulated to grow, resulting in low training effect. Too low an intensity is also a waste of time. Excessive training frequency increases the likelihood of injury or chronic overtraining. If the intensity is too high, the risk of injury also increases.
It's easier for beginners. They can train 2-3 times a week with moderate intensity. Untrained muscles respond well to almost any load. But as the weights increase and the intensity of the training increases, you can no longer recover as quickly as before.
You need more volume and intensity of training to keep your muscles growing. Increasing intensity requires increasing recovery time and reducing the frequency of training for each muscle group. But the story doesn't end there.
Optimal frequency and intensity
An illustration is sometimes clearer than a verbal explanation. Below is a graph that shows what the optimal overall training frequency, training frequency for each muscle group and overall training intensity may be throughout the athlete’s entire “career”. Following the graph is an explanation of its key points.(Click to enlarge)
The scale on the left is the number of workouts per week. The scale on the right is intensity in %1PM. Below – bodybuilding experience ( 3 months, 6 months, 1-10 years)
Red line with gray shading ( central section) shows the expected frequency of training sessions per week. Please note that this curve continues to rise over the years.
Dark blue line with blue shading ( lower section) displays the estimated frequency of training each muscle group per week. Notice that it goes down for the first few years and then goes up again.
Dark green line with light green shading shows the expected intensity at which the athlete should exercise in each workout. Please note that it grows for several years, reaches its peak, and then gradually decreases, while remaining at a fairly high level.
What does the graph tell you?
#1 . A beginner should train 2-3 times a week, working each muscle group 2-3 times a week (thus, each workout works the muscles of the whole body). The overall intensity should be low (#2 . After one to two years, when you have achieved a decent level of strength development, the overall training frequency should remain the same or should increase. The frequency of training each muscle group decreases, but the overall intensity should continue to increase.
#3 . After a few years, the total frequency of training can be increased to 4-5 per week. The frequency of training for each muscle group can be left the same or increased. The overall intensity reaches its maximum.
#4 . After many years of training, the overall frequency of training will likely continue to increase (if the athlete wants to achieve even greater success). The frequency of training each muscle group will also increase. And the overall intensity will decrease slightly so that the body can adapt to the high frequency of exercise.
Let's consider the training of the “average”. According to the schedule, he should train intensively 3-5 times a week using a split program. We can say with confidence that at least part of a training career should be just that, since such training allows you to increase muscle mass and teaches the athlete to use muscle fibers type 2B.
Super-intense training to failure, which leaves muscles sore for days, improves neuromuscular coordination, completely depletes muscles and stimulates their growth, and develops mental and physical toughness. Training programs, compiled according to this scheme, allow the powerlifter to devote more time to general preparatory exercises, and the bodybuilder to develop lagging muscle groups.
However, as an athlete becomes more experienced, training to the limit is no longer optimal. At the very least, this type of training should not be done on a regular basis, especially if your goal is to develop strength.
An experienced athlete can easily go beyond the recovery capabilities of his body. This athlete will probably get more impressive results if he lowers the intensity a little and increases the training frequency significantly to compensate for the reduced intensity.
For example, a powerlifter who trains more often will be able to continue to improve his technique, and will also have more time for the specific preparatory exercises needed to further improve his already impressive results. At this stage, conditioning exercises usually play a secondary role and are used to make the training more balanced and reduce the likelihood of injury, and not to improve the level of general physical fitness athlete.
For example, our athlete can do 6 reps on the bench press with a barbell weighing 142 kg, but he can only do this once a week, since this one set will completely deplete his strength. It would be better if he performed 3-4 repetitions with this weight, but did it two, three or even four times a week.
However, this approach will not work for a weaker athlete who can do 6 reps with a 200-pound weight but instead performs sets of 2-3 reps several times a week. Such a bodybuilder needs to perform high-intensity sets to maximize muscle fiber activation.
Finally
All athletes have their own unique characteristics, and each exercise has its own nuances. Therefore, experienced bodybuilders do not advise beginners to train according to their programs or perform, for example, bench press and deadlift with the same frequency.It is necessary to take a long-term approach to developing a training program and consider the athlete's capabilities, not just his goals. Without taking any significant factor into account, the athlete may ultimately fail to reach his or her full potential.
You spend several hours every day in the gym, know all the equipment inside and out, and feel at home among tons of hardware. But do you know how often you really need it? The answer may surprise you! Find out your optimal training frequency to make new gains.
You probably already guessed that main mistake– this is with the wrong frequency. The most common training schedule is “three days a week”: you train on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. If this is your case, there is good news: You can do much, much better!
Even if everything goes fine for you - the number of repetitions and approaches, optimal weight, resting between sets, and proper exercise execution can all be of no use if you don't train at the correct frequency.
Correct Frequency of Strength Training
Here little secret successful. A fixed training schedule, such as three days a week, is absurd. It may fail you in the long run. Here's why: as you progress, your workouts will become more strenuous and require more recovery time.
Recovery after physical activity demands a lot from most of the body's organs, such as the liver, kidneys and pancreas. If you are doing light workout, it is unlikely to have any effect on you. Your recovery will be rapid. But when you do grueling workouts with heavy weights and overload high intensity, then complete recovery may take several days.
The essential key to improving your strength training performance is to find a way to train properly. This will increase the intensity of each workout, giving your body more time to recover.
The effectiveness of split training
Why won't split training help avoid overtraining? There is a practice of “dividing” workouts, for example: Monday - top part bodies, environment - Bottom part bodies. While this is a reliable tactic, it won't alone solve the problem of a fixed training schedule. The reason is that every day is kidney day.
It doesn’t matter whether you’re working on your chest, arms, or chest today, it doesn’t make the slightest difference to your kidneys. They still need to filter out all the metabolic waste coming from the blood so you can fully recover. And remember - until your body has fully recovered, you will not grow new muscles. This is a law of physiology. In this way, division reduces the amount of work that the kidneys and other organs have to do, but as you get stronger and lift more heavy weight, the kidneys will take even longer to do their job.
The most correct training frequency
Once you truly understand how often you need to train, your results will improve. Here is an example from life.
After the coach and bodybuilder discussed training and the lack of progress - in particular, the decision was made to take a break from training for three weeks. The bodybuilder said he couldn’t stop going to the gym for such a long period of time. This is a common problem among all serious bodybuilders. Psychologically, if you want to make progress, it is very difficult to do what seems like “doing nothing.” After all, if you don’t train, it’s like you’re admitting defeat. But in reality, your body needs time to recover. And this is the most perfect time to think about how often to train next and create a new training plan. Time away from training is not wasted time; it is critical to the growth process. It took a lot of convincing to convince him, and he took a three-week break.
Two months later, he called the coach and told him about the results, which shocked everyone. His strength increased in all parts of his body and his shoulder power increased. The first workout after the break became his personal record. Now he trains once every nine days: 9 days pass between training the same body part. This schedule is used when dividing workouts for the upper/lower body. Before this adjustment in training frequency, the bodybuilder trained only four times in nine days. Look at the numbers, they clearly illustrate the example.
The bodybuilder did not include the time it takes him to press, so his factor or power index is not known, but total weight the bench went from 6,940 kg per workout to 11,460 kg after doing nothing for three weeks. When was the last time you had such a productive three-week break?
Think about it. Three weeks without training at all! Our hero has only been sitting at home for three weeks, but his progress is ahead of everyone he trained with! His partners couldn't believe their eyes. The same person who found 20 reps with a 180kg weight "very difficult" now lifts 230kg for 16 reps - after doing the exercise with 200kg for 20 reps! The next time he bench presses 270 kg in the gym. And don't let his goofball buddies worry that he's "missed" his last 20 workouts! Something to think about, isn't it? Maybe it's time to reconsider your training frequency?
How to exercise correctly and often to lose weight
The frequency of training when burning fat mass is subject to a slightly different law than the frequency for muscle growth. To lose fat and exercise every day, the main thing is to prevent the development of overtraining. High frequency of training dictates the need to use anti-catabolic drugs to protect muscle tissue from destruction. In this case, bodybuilders are advised to reduce the number of strength training sessions to 2 per week, and devote the rest of the time to aerobic training.
How to Avoid Overtraining
To avoid overtraining and find your optimal training frequency, you need to closely monitor the progress you make with each exercise in the program. Look for any signs of slowing or stalling progress. Lack of change in one exercise is a warning sign. And the lack of progress in two or more exercises is a danger signal, which means you need to take some rest.
3 signs of overtraining and how to solve them
- The weight used in each exercise does not increase
- Strength training is primarily about progressive overload. This means you should return to the gym fully recovered and lift slightly heavier weights than you lifted during your last workout.
- The number of repetitions or static hold time in each exercise does not increase
If your exercise weight has not increased (see above), then the number of repetitions or static hold time should increase. Recent research shows that increasing the duration of a static hold to 12 seconds produces less benefit than increasing the weight by more than 12 seconds. short time retention.
This technique will help you increase your strength sports supplements- creatine, arginine, intraworkout, bcaa amino acids and pre-workout complexes. These sports nutrition products are specifically formulated to improve performance in sports and fitness for men and women. Just add it to your diet and go ahead to conquer new heights!
Supplements for proper training
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Base
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MAXLER | Vitamen?
3 tablets per day
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MAXLER | Mega Gainer?
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BSN | N.O.- XPLODE 2.0 ADVANCED STRENGTH ?
On days free from training, consume 1 serving once a day on an empty stomach.
stomach.
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BSN | Cellmass 2.0 ?
Post-workout complexes
Mix one measuring spoon with 120-170 ml of cold water or any drink.
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BSN | TRUE-MASS 1200 ?
Take 2-4 times a day, one serving immediately after training! The rest -
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Mix 3 scoops (145 g) of product with 400 ml of cold water or
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BSN | Nitrix 2.0?
NO (nitric oxide) boosters
The product is taken 1 serving (three tablets) three times a day for 30-45 minutes
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It took you longer to complete the same workout.
Progress is determined by the intensity of muscle output. Intensity is a function of time. So, even if you do the same workout today as you did three days ago, if you managed to do it in less time, your intensity has increased. But the opposite is also true, so keep an eye on the additional time it takes to complete the same workout. Low intensity will not help form new muscles, keep this factor in mind when deciding how often and correctly to train.
Try this at your next workout.
When performing each exercise, multiply the number of repetitions by the weight with which you perform these repetitions. For example, if you lift 80kg 12 times, you will end up with a number of 960. The next time you bench press, see if that number has increased. If not, then you have not fully recovered, which means you need longer rest between workouts.
How long have you been exercising at the same frequency? Look for warning signs that indicate your training frequency is not optimal. Add in some extra , and you can turn stale and boring workouts into fantastic gains in mass and bursts of strength.
The program was provided by Alexey Hernandez Ortega, an instructor at the Ant gym. (World champion in powerlifting among youth 2005, European and World champion 2006, Russian champion among men 2008)
How often should you train if you are looking for maximum muscle growth? This complex issue, since all people differ in their recovery capabilities. You should not train a muscle group that has not yet recovered from the previous workout.
Despite the obviousness of this rule, many bodybuilders train according to a schedule without paying attention to their well-being. This quickly leads to overtraining and stalled progress.
How do you know if you have fully recovered? Signals of complete recovery are much more subtle compared to signs of overtraining. One of the ways to determine your own readiness for training is your mental state. If you dread the thought of your next workout, it may be a sign that you're not recovering enough. The real problem is how to separate real mental fatigue from simple laziness.
A more accurate way to determine the degree of recovery is how you respond to training the same muscle group. Did you become weaker in the same exercise? Does fatigue set in quickly? True, such symptoms may indicate not only stress. but also insufficient nutrition, for example. Maybe you didn't eat well between workouts and didn't give your muscles the conditions to recover adequately. Or maybe you ate well, but rested too long between workouts, so fatigue results from low blood glucose levels.
It is also possible that you have not ensured that the bodybuilder's main source of energy is replenished - glycogen, which requires approximately 48 hours. If you start training before the process is complete, fatigue will set in faster and your strength and number of repetitions per set will decrease. You will also notice a lack of muscle pumping as it depends on the levels of stored muscle glycogen.
Although lack of sleep may be an obvious cause of early fatigue, scientists have found surprisingly little effect on strength. This is especially interesting due to the fact that Growth hormone production peaks during sleep e. Sleep helps the body break down stress hormones such as cortisol. Lack of sleep can lower testosterone levels by 40%. but at the same time it will not have a significant impact on the training, unless, of course, the lack of sleep lasted for several days.
The science behind training frequency is counterintuitive, since much of beginners' progress comes from neuromuscular adaptations rather than actual muscle growth, so the recommendation for them is two to three workouts per week with one day of rest in between. After a year, you can already switch to a split, in which you will train different muscle groups in different days. The point is to avoid training the same body part two days in a row.
One study published several years ago indicated that a person exercising four times a week required one to three days of recovery, depending on individual recuperative abilities. That is, some people take longer to recover than others. This is especially true for steroid users, which stimulates recovery processes, including muscle glycogen resectesis.
Arthur Jones and his followers such as Mike Mcntzer talked a lot about recovery after training, but the vast majority of sports scientists perceived this as heresy. Jones, who invented the Nautilus exercise machines and for a long time collaborated with IRONMAN, believed that as training experience increases, a person should train less. People with more training experience, according to Jones, are increasingly encroaching on their own recovery capabilities. The lack of constant growth is a clear sign of overtraining , which can be overcome by simply reducing the frequency and volume of training.
One study seemed to confirm Jones' theory. It was discovered that an elite athlete training once or twice a day required a full 23 days to fully recover! The more often and more rigorously intensification techniques are used, the more rest the athlete needs between workouts. In another study, researchers observed subjects eccentrically training their forearms. It turned out that for full recovery they require two weeks of rest between training sessions. Eccentric muscle contractions, also known as negatives, cause greatest damage fibers and intense soreness.
In one recent study, six men increased their training frequency from three times a week to five. Under this regime they showed a significant slowdown muscle growth. The disadvantage of this experiment is that all its participants were untrained people. The scientists acknowledged that the results of their research may not apply to more experienced athletes.
So what is optimal frequency training? Only you can answer this question yourself. If you do not notice any gains in muscle size and strength despite changes you make to your program (such as changing exercises), then you may want to try reducing your training frequency or take a closer look at your diet and then make adjustments accordingly.
