How many times a week should we lift?

How many times a week should we lift weights to get stronger? The more the better?

Gladly this is a well studied topic, and we have great research that helps clarify that (1, 2, 3).

So let’s start with good news: even if you do resistance training only 1x/week, you still get stronger. For example, after 3 months of strength training, the participants of one study (4) increased the amount of weight they could lift by 12-34%, depending on the exercise (squat, bench press, etc).

That being said, the results of their colleagues who trained 3x/wk were about 38% better. Interestingly, the volume (total sets per week) performed by both groups were the same, so it seems that there are additional benefits of increased frequency, with 3x/wk being way better than 1x/wk.

After 3x/wk though, the benefits may start to diminish, or completely stop, as we can see in this study (2) that compared strength and hypertrophy of participants who lifted weights 3x or 6x a week, for 3 months. The increased frequency didn’t lead to additional strength gains.

That being said, we need to keep in mind that those studies used similar volumes for both groups, and in our day-to-day, odds are that if we train more days a week (frequency), we’ll end up doing more volume (total sets) and therefore potentially get even stronger. Additionally, training more frequently may increase our tolerance for discomfort, allowing us to push more. And of course, we get all the other benefits exercise gives us such as, more energy, better sleep, less body fat, etc.

So what do we recommend? Well, that’s up to you. Consider how important strengthening is for you, and how much time is viable for you to dedicate to training. Keep in mind that long term adhesion is key to sustained results. You don’t want to train for weeks or months, but for decades.

So if the maximum amount of strength training you can do right now is once a week, don’t let it stop you from beginning, you’ll get stronger and increase your muscle mass. 2-3x/wk is great and is what most of our clients do. 4-5 may be even better. 6-7x/wk probably too much.

Good training!

Willian Alba

1. PMID: 29470825

2. PMID: 29324578

3. PMID: 34125411

4. https://tinyurl.com/yx7n2v9y