There are countless opinions on exercise frequency and session volume. No opinion is necessarily right or wrong. Indeed, exercise programming is quite individual. Certainly, recoverability is the major concern. I have written before on the concept of “Maximal Recoverable Volume” (MRV; I would refer the reader to How Much Should I Train? By Drs. Mike Israetel and James Hoffman). Essentially recovery is one’s ability to exercise and return to complete the subsequent exercise session. Recovery (i.e., performance) includes the muscle (glycogen stores, fiber repair, etc.), but also the central nervous system. It depends on numerous factors, such as age, training state, nutrition, sleep, emotional state, and non-specific physical activity—among other genetic and individual factors.
So, one—especially the beginner or aging exerciser—has to ask him/herself: “How much?” Personally, I think it is more about personal preference than anything else, but the answer is still a bit nuanced.
In weight training, frequency (per body part) can range from one time per week to multiple times per day. The former prefers to “annihilate” a body part—think of those who curse the dreaded “leg day”. The latter emphasizes the need to “stimulate” growth. There are challenges with both. With the one-day-a-week (annihilate) approach, it is quite possible that the physiologically the muscle may be ready for additional stimulus after a few days, but the athlete is not recovered psychologically. As such, there may be some opportunity to stimulate growth waiting for the next training session. Likewise, the high-frequency “stimulate” approach is vulnerable to over-training (exceeding MRV). Athletes have demonstrated success with both approaches, so the better question to ask is: “How much is best for me?” For the average exerciser, it is probably somewhere in the middle. Unless one has accumulated strength and hypertrophy approaching one’s “genetic ceiling, more frequent training will have benefit. Most of us don’t have hours to spend at the gym each day. Two- to three-hour “annihilate” sessions 4 or 5 times a week is out of the question. On the other hand, 3 one-hour sessions are probably not quite sufficient. As such more effective volumes can be managed with shorter, more frequent, split sessions (e.g., push/pull days or upper-body/lower-body days). In effect, one does “less” per training session but accumulates “more” over the span of the week. Effectively, one recovers faster from the more frequent stimuli and thus increases the overall volume for greater growth.
With a “stimulate” approach the debilitating effects of a workout are minimized, and we average exerciser can go about our lives. Planned “annihilation” sessions can also have benefits—especially prior to a planned deload or extended recovery opportunity.
Begin with your willingness to commit to training. Be honest. Plan to be consistent. Block off as much daily exercise time as possible and plan how you will use it. An advantage of high-frequency scheduling is that they is room for life to happen—i.e., for sessions to be missed without significantly impacting progress. Thirty-minute sessions can be effective if frequent and well-planned. Personally, I schedule 11 sessions per week. Each session lasts between 30 minutes and an hour (or more), as time permits. (Not commuting during this pandemic has freed up quite a bit of time.) These include 6 weight-training sessions, 2-3 cardio sessions, and 2-3 HIIRT sessions per week. The weight-training sessions emphasize the ‘basic 5’ (squat, deadlift, bench, row, and press) variations and the HIIRT session allow for a bit more accessory emphasis (abdominals, calves, traps, arms, etc.—smaller ‘aesthetic’ muscles that can recover rather quickly). If I should miss a session or day, I can adjust accordingly. At 56 years, I recover more effectively this way than I do from annihilation of body parts. I also find this much more enjoyable, which is very important. We are more likely to be consistent with an exercise program we enjoy.
Be your best today; be better tomorrow. (How ever that works for you.)
Carpe momento!