One of the questions I get asked frequently is how many times a week an individual needs to train. It is difficult to answer this right off the bat. It’s hard to know just how much exercise you should be doing to reach your fitness goals, be that weight loss or bulking up unless I’m your trainer or you give me sufficient information about where you are physically.
However, in a general sense, if you’re in your first or second year, depending on your level of commitment, three times a week is more than enough to keep your gains coming. I have to add that this is not the absolute optimal way to go, but at the end of the day, sustainability is the most important aspect of your lifting programme and three times a week seems to be the sweet spot.
Training four or five times a week is ideal, but most people find that unachievable due to time constraints, so in my opinion, it’s best to aim for three.
Training three times a week exposes your body to a large enough training stimulus throughout the week, which enables the body to adapt, get stronger, leaner and fitter.
That being said, the type of workouts you do ultimately depend on your ability, goals, likes and dislikes, the equipment available, injuries if any and how much time you have available.
Whilst there isn’t a one-size-fits-all approach, there are principles and guidelines that you can follow and apply to your training to ensure you have a balanced, effective, safe and enjoyable workout regime.
There’s a key concept you have to grasp, and that is progressive overload. You have to keep adding weight, sets, and reps. If you don’t challenge yourself, you don’t change yourself. Further, I would recommend giving yourself a rest day in between sessions to give the muscles adequate time to recover.
And don’t forget, that you need these key lifts in your programme: squats, deadlifts, bench presses, lunges, pull ups/chin ups and rows. Keep at it, consistency produces results.
