Training Frequency

[rmtt]

So just as the title explains.....how many days straight are you guys typically training before you take a rest day.

After reading the thread about the guy in the hospital, and then reading about Little Slice having the same condition.....it has me thinking.

At the moment I am in the gym 4 days on then 1 day off roughly....but have been known to go in on a day off and just do cardio.

But honestly I could be in the gym 7 days a week right now and be fine with it. My programs are setup with enough space between muscle groups for recovery....and my logbook is moving forward on a consistent basis....but I know the CNS system plays a big roll in things.

I have a heavy day, and a speed day where the weights are much lighter with explosive movements.

But I feel great, never tired throughout the day, and always looking forward to training.

Workouts last about an hour.

Now I was out of the gym completely for about 18 months, so that could be what's "stoked" my fire again.

But I would hate to be doing something detrimental to my body.

One other thing....maybe it's OCD, but I'm the type of person that always has to be doing something. I'm happiest when I have a full day of activities ahead of me to look forward to whether it's the gym, work, yard work, etc.

My wife says I don't know how to relax, but these things are actually relaxing to me as weird as it may seem.

But I want progess above all, and just wondered how some of you guys approach this.

Thanks!

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[goal245]

I train 4 days per week, Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday.

I've tried more and can't handle it, workouts go down hill. Can't do 3 days in a row either.

Rest days fall after legs and back, I can hardly move on those days

I feel like every other day would be even better for me but don't want to train on the weekends.

 

[rmtt]

I do the weekends as it gives my wife the chance to go to the gym with me. The rest of the week I'm usually at the gym by 4:00am.

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[rmtt]

Also I'm doing something of a powerlifting/bodybuilding hybrid system. So all my training is programmed for progression either by weight or volume. But there are deload weeks programmed in as well....usually every 6 weeks or so.

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[juggy38]

4 days a week Is what I do best on

I have done 2 on 1 off for a month or two, but I eventually like that extra rest

 

[nothuman]

I'm really making an effort to weight train less. Trying 3 days a week recently. Doing more cardiovascular and conditioning work should be far more of a priority for those of us not on an all out quest for muscle. So now it's full body training 3x per week with some form of intense cardio 3 days. I get sick when I overtrain and it serves no benefit to just lift weights every day.

 

[southoftheborder]

So just as the title explains.....how many days straight are you guys typically training before you take a rest day.

After reading the thread about the guy in the hospital, and then reading about Little Slice having the same condition.....it has me thinking.

At the moment I am in the gym 4 days on then 1 day off roughly....but have been known to go in on a day off and just do cardio.

But honestly I could be in the gym 7 days a week right now and be fine with it. My programs are setup with enough space between muscle groups for recovery....and my logbook is moving forward on a consistent basis....but I know the CNS system plays a big roll in things.

I have a heavy day, and a speed day where the weights are much lighter with explosive movements.

But I feel great, never tired throughout the day, and always looking forward to training.

Workouts last about an hour.

Now I was out of the gym completely for about 18 months, so that could be what's "stoked" my fire again.

But I would hate to be doing something detrimental to my body.

One other thing....maybe it's OCD, but I'm the type of person that always has to be doing something. I'm happiest when I have a full day of activities ahead of me to look forward to whether it's the gym, work, yard work, etc.

My wife says I don't know how to relax, but these things are actually relaxing to me as weird as it may seem.

But I want progess above all, and just wondered how some of you guys approach this.

Thanks!

Sent from my LG-H871 using Tapatalk

I think the right answer here is: It depends...

-type of training
-Goals
-Intensity of training sessions
-Recovery factors (age, hours of sleep, quality of diet, what type of job/daily activity outside the gym, if you are using PED, ect)

I have worked out three days a week for very long time in the past. I then found a sweet spot with 4 days per week and recently added some light cardio during my off days for health and recovery benefits.
I follow a variation of the 5-3-1 program where I have one heavy day (85%, 90% or 95% max) and the other days are more "high rep" hypertrophy work. I train like this year round. No injuries or overtraining issues and slow constant progress on the main lifts. It works for me..

In the future... I might change to 3 days of lifting, one day of MMA or some similar type of workout plus light cardio on the off days..

 

[BEASTZ6]

I train EOD, with each body part being worked twice a week.

 

[OutToLunch]

4 days. Mom/wed full body, Friday lower and Saturday upper.

 

[buck]

I have trained for years at a time working out 6 day a week. Training each part 1-2 times a week depending on how far I was in my years of training. And my off day would be hiking or skiing usually. Made good gains for years. I am older now and recovery takes longer. Just depends on your genetics, diet and sleep schedule.

 

[Beti ona]

I think the best thing is a day of training, a day of rest.

On the rest day you can perform some low intensity aerobic work.

 

[Girth]

One other thing....maybe it's OCD, but I'm the type of person that always has to be doing something. I'm happiest when I have a full day of activities ahead of me to look forward to whether it's the gym, work, yard work, etc.

My wife says I don't know how to relax, but these things are actually relaxing to me as weird as it may seem.

Wow....brother from another mother. My outlook, sentiment, and wife's words exactly too! My MO is essentially, "Some live for the moment, some live with momentum". You are either moving forward daily or you aren't. And no matter what the endeavor, those who are successful make small steps forward DAILY!

That said, and as someone else pointed out, we ALL should "train" daily. Because EVERYTHING is training. Active recovery, cardio, strength, endurance, mitochondria building, speed, etc....What it boils down to in most cases is this. Most can only handle 2-3 HARD days per week. That's why you'll see most say that "4 Days/week" is too much.

I know what your training is rmtt, and like I said in your previous post, it's set up well to account for CNS and only has 3 really hard days. That's why you are still progressing. There's your answer....and emphasis on YOUR. If you've been in this game for a few years, and you are still making progress, don't change a thing nor listen to anyone else. You define your progress, and if it's there, you are golden.

 

[[email protected]]

I think you are talking about me with the guy in hosptial (rhabdo, but i am getting better, kidney function gets better)
my problem was me being stupid and training all out every day, weeks straight.
I got addicted to the gym..
I will learn from this experience, trust me..
- training will be tuesday, thursday and weekends
2x cardio on off days
1 complete off day
training sessions will be kept short. i am talking 65min max incl. warmup.
weeks leading to my condition i often trained 2 hours long..
I also made the mistake (in my opinion) that i included thai massages (heavy ones) AFTER my workouts and without time off the day after.
now they will fall on their own day and depending on my condition, i will take an extra day off after that day..
also, no more forced negatives. I imagine they did a whole lot damage..
just basic style heavy short sessions 4x a week and 2x cardio (1 HIIT; 1 LISS i thought)
ofc i will not jump into this right after being released from hospital

 

[rmtt]

I think you are talking about me with the guy in hosptial (rhabdo, but i am getting better, kidney function gets better)
my problem was me being stupid and training all out every day, weeks straight.
I got addicted to the gym..
I will learn from this experience, trust me..
- training will be tuesday, thursday and weekends
2x cardio on off days
1 complete off day
training sessions will be kept short. i am talking 65min max incl. warmup.
weeks leading to my condition i often trained 2 hours long..
I also made the mistake (in my opinion) that i included thai massages (heavy ones) AFTER my workouts and without time off the day after.
now they will fall on their own day and depending on my condition, i will take an extra day off after that day..
also, no more forced negatives. I imagine they did a whole lot damage..
just basic style heavy short sessions 4x a week and 2x cardio (1 HIIT; 1 LISS i thought)
ofc i will not jump into this right after being released from hospital

Yeah man....so sorry to read about everything you are going through. But people like you that put it out there for others to read really help everyone...as it can be a warning as to what not to do in some situations. We all learn from each other.

Speedy recovery to you bro!

 

[rmtt]

Wow....brother from another mother. My outlook, sentiment, and wife's words exactly too! My MO is essentially, "Some live for the moment, some live with momentum". You are either moving forward daily or you aren't. And no matter what the endeavor, those who are successful make small steps forward DAILY!

That said, and as someone else pointed out, we ALL should "train" daily. Because EVERYTHING is training. Active recovery, cardio, strength, endurance, mitochondria building, speed, etc....What it boils down to in most cases is this. Most can only handle 2-3 HARD days per week. That's why you'll see most say that "4 Days/week" is too much.

I know what your training is rmtt, and like I said in your previous post, it's set up well to account for CNS and only has 3 really hard days. That's why you are still progressing. There's your answer....and emphasis on YOUR. If you've been in this game for a few years, and you are still making progress, don't change a thing nor listen to anyone else. You define your progress, and if it's there, you are golden.

Thanks man. I have always been that way. Crazy thing is I'm a guy that only sleeps an average of 5 hours a night. It's been that way all through high school and college. Even when on vacation, I'm up by 5:00 AM and that is with going to bed around 11:00 pm or slightly later.

The thing is that when I sleep...I sleep well...and when I'm done...it's time to get up. I wake up almost 15 minutes before my alarm every morning...my wife asks why I even bother to set one.

My doctor who I have been with for so long has been with me through all of this. Sleep studies showed no issues, and he just told me that some people are wired differently and don't need as much. If I don't get up when I wake up first thing....and force myself to sleep more...I then start feeling bad.

Here's a crazy perspective for you....if I have a choice between working for the day or taking a vacation day (that has nothing planned / wife not there)...then I would rather work.

As for the training...I love it. Your right it is only 3 hard days a week...sometimes only two a week over a period of about 3 weeks..then a reset and start over. Anything after those main lifts are just accessory work and I do as many or as little as I feel I need to do. Only the main lifts are programmed...the rest by feel. Wish I had found this a lot earlier in life.

But I appreciate the advice! I sometimes get caught up in the details...and don't look at the bigger picture until something "pokes" me. That's when it's nice to have a place like this and people like you that can share their perspective from an outside view.

 

[rmtt]

I think the right answer here is: It depends...

-type of training
-Goals
-Intensity of training sessions
-Recovery factors (age, hours of sleep, quality of diet, what type of job/daily activity outside the gym, if you are using PED, ect)

I have worked out three days a week for very long time in the past. I then found a sweet spot with 4 days per week and recently added some light cardio during my off days for health and recovery benefits.
I follow a variation of the 5-3-1 program where I have one heavy day (85%, 90% or 95% max) and the other days are more "high rep" hypertrophy work. I train like this year round. No injuries or overtraining issues and slow constant progress on the main lifts. It works for me..

In the future... I might change to 3 days of lifting, one day of MMA or some similar type of workout plus light cardio on the off days..

Same type of training here....a variation of Wendler that is spread out over a 3 week period. Main lifts are programmed....and anything after the fact is nothing but accessory work that I do as I feel I need it. Some days the supporting muscle could be hit pretty hard....some days it's just about getting blood into the area and letting active recovery take place.

Most of my cardio comes between my sets as I don't just sit there waiting on my next set. If I bench...then between those sets I am doing some type of band/resistance work for the antagonistic muscle group....mainly rear delt upper back to balance things out.

But I always have my heart rate up.

At my age my goals are to put back on maybe half of the 30lbs that I lost during my layoff at a slow pace while staying as lean as possible. This layoff was the first time I have ever had an injury....and it wasn't a significant one at that. I just had doctors trying to justify taking out my gall bladder when I just had some muscle strains around my ribcage.

In the grand scheme of things I guess it was a good thing (aside from the costs) that I had everything from liver to kidneys to pancreas checked over through ultrasound and cat scans....even though I told them that nothing I ate affected my pain and I felt it muscular in nature. But everything came back in great shape....and guess what...they still wanted to take my gall bladder out. An easy way to make another $5K I guess.

But at the moment....I train completely pain free....no joint pains, no little nagging spots, and I took the time I had off to do a lot of research into diet and get mine in check and see what worked for me. I also am really into the mechanics of an exercise now....how I should be setup, what to look for, and what to discard if it isn't working.

I feel the best I have felt in a long time....but was still curious as to others approach. My training probably isn't considered very intense compared to some of you guys. But I think that is fine for me if I am still progressing each time I go to the gym.

 

[[email protected]]

Yeah man....so sorry to read about everything you are going through. But people like you that put it out there for others to read really help everyone...as it can be a warning as to what not to do in some situations. We all learn from each other.

Speedy recovery to you bro!

thanks dude
good thing:
doc came that i def wont need dialysis. infusions are enough with diureticas and some drink to make the blood more alkaline (is that the english word?^^)
have to piss all the time and its annoying with the infusion rack xD

 

[rmtt]

thanks dude
good thing:
doc came that i def wont need dialysis. infusions are enough with diureticas and some drink to make the blood more alkaline (is that the english word?^^)
have to piss all the time and its annoying with the infusion rack xD

Just keep focusing on yourself man and do whatever necessary to heal. You know the underlying issues that caused it....and you went through a lot of stress in a very short period of time from what I have read.

When things in life hit you all at once.. it can be overwhelming. So take it one day at a time and just remember to try and relax. Use this time to get focused on what your plans are for the future and develop a plan to get as healthy as you can be!

 

[[email protected]]

Just keep focusing on yourself man and do whatever necessary to heal. You know the underlying issues that caused it....and you went through a lot of stress in a very short period of time from what I have read.

When things in life hit you all at once.. it can be overwhelming. So take it one day at a time and just remember to try and relax. Use this time to get focused on what your plans are for the future and develop a plan to get as healthy as you can be!

very kind words, thanks alot man..
I will do exactly what you said.
I just underestimated the whole recovery concept.
I bet i can even better training 4 times a week and focus on nutrition and cardio

 

[malcom young]

I train EOD, with each body part being worked twice a week.

That’s pretty old school, pretty close to what I and everyone else was knocking off in the 80’s. Tuesday Wednesday, then repeat Thursday Friday.


Pretty sure I couldn’t handle each body part twice a week now.