Training Frequency

[suppdude]

Like others mentioned, all depends on total volume, intensity, and frequency a person is using. Obviously diet and sleep are huge factors as well.

3 on 1 off repeat is what I like but sometimes will do 3 on 1 off 2 on 1 off. Just listen to your body and if you feel you’re dragging, back off on volume per session or take another rest day when needed. Keep intensity high.


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[swim15]

My optimal frequency is probably 2 on, 1 off or even EOD maybe but I end up doing shit like 3 on, one off and then have to mitigate CNS fatigue

 

[Dens228]

I am currently doing a 3 way split but 2 on 1 off. I like the 3 on 1 off but little aches and pains tend to creep up sooner.

 

[ThinkTank]

I make it a point to train 5x weekly, never more than 3 days in a row and I listen to my body. Sometimes that means twice a day training, others it means skipping a day till I get a restful nights sleep.

 

[bmf6]

I do 2 on 1 off, 3 on 1 off and then take a full week off every 10 weeks.

 

[LK3]

i cant train more then 2 days on without feeling effects.

there are times ill train 4 in a row and i really dislike how i feel, though this also depends heavily on what im taking.

intensity n all that come heavily into play.

i do light cardio every day first thing in the morning and do walk for prob an hr min each day outside of that.

i dont think you can count light cardio or activity as training, even if you work up a sweat it isnt really impacting you in a bad way, prob more in a good way assiting recovery, blood flow, etc.

even yard work or physical stuff i generally consider light cardio.
i am trying to work in some sort of martial arts right now, jsut as a totally different sort of activity, focus more on speed and coordination.

that should also help with aging.

gotta keep learning! key part

also G knows this but studies have shown walking/running on uneven surfaces like cobblestones or trails to have better impact on cns.

idk where your weight is but in my efforts to age gracefully i am really not interested in hanging onto tons of mass, i see it as potentially detremental. i also add variables that most dont that influence this decision. lol

i think having anything cut off or out of you might not be the best idea... just my opinion though. lol

i keep trying to tone down intesity so that i can keep the marathon going, at this point, its survival!!!

glad your dowing well bro!

 

[Markosterone]

Always train 5 days a week, one muscle group a day. Never likes training same muscle 2x a week, i hit the muscles trained hard and heavy, and need the resting time, it starts hurting in ligaments and joints when i try to do it 2x a week.
Now when im cutting, i do the same, plus 30-40min cardio.
And on weekends i do cardio 40mins, and sometimes just hit som lightweight training to activate some bloodflow through the body and wake my body up. Some days just feels like the body is sleeping if i dont, so its a good way for my to start the day this way.
Also i usually have a cheatday and like the pumps i get from it . Makes me feel less guilty about me consuming other foods and suger also.

 

[TheOtherOne55]

I love this topic and love discussing how everybody responds.

Personally, I've trained as little as 3 and as many as 7. And this is wiiiith bp splits more than once or twice a week. I did Scott Stevensons Fortitude Training for almost 2 years. I reallllly like high frequency as well as a full body type lift. Your body just becomes a furnace those workout days....but even then, I miiiissssed being in the gym those other 3 days.
The only other programs I dabbled with during other times were MD programs by JM. Really like running the Sentinel right now which is 6 days a week. I dig it.

Biggest thing I pay attention to going more than 4 is intensity. Certain days I'm trying to destroy a muscle, other days I'm just filling it with blood. I've been a terrible "not listening to my body" guy with injuries and messing with several approaches has kinda changed my thinking.


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[southoftheborder]

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.

Something else I might add to this thread...

A philosophy that I have adopted regarding training is: "lift to train another day".

In my opinion, the main factor that will impede you from reaching your goals (strenght/muscle/physique) is a major injury.

Going for big PRs on a regular basis, pushing your body beyond the pain level to get 3-4 more reps in a work set every workout will, sooner or later, lead to injury. No matter what you do outside the gym.

Great strenght, great physiques (and great wealth as well) is build in years of consistently doing the work (a decade perhaps). It does not happen in 6 months. In other words, you need to stay in the game and not get sidelined because of an injury...

Take care.

 

[Honu]

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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I was doing some research on CNS fatigue and came across this awesome thread. I feel the same way as you as far as wanting to be in the gym 7 days a week, lol.
Anyways, here is an interesting article about CNS fatigue that may be worth reading and was surprising and wanted some input, especially the end that stated how fast our CNS recovers.

https://bayesianbodybuilding.com/cns-fatigue/

I've been into bodybuilding (never got on stage tho) since I was 16y/o and I'm in my late 40's now. Based on my nutrition, ergogenics, rest, economics, and occupational stress, I have tried anywhere from EOD, to 3 on/1 off and at the most I went 5 on/ 2 off.
My training routine for the past ten years have been pretty much EOD with some fluctuations in-between based on social obligations. I make it a point to train each bodypart once per cycle
Back
Chest
Quads/calves
Shoulders
Arms
Hamstrings

I am lucky to say that my mind-muscle connection as well as my exercise choice has allowed me to primarily stimulate the intended muscle group such that "peripheral fatigue" is not a factor. Also, I only spend about 45 minutes in the gym, which includes the warm-ups but not the cool down (due to time-constraints) so with that little time my workouts are pretty high-intensity.

Sorry for the long post but here's my question...My occupational stress and limited access to nutrition pretty much forced me to train EOD. However, for the past couple of years I transferred to a Monday-Friday "desk" job that is about 95% stress-free and allows me to eat pretty much every 2-3 hours. I also get 7-8 hours of sleep nightly and coupled with being on prescribed TRT (also take the usual supps that most people use like a multi, creatine, fish oil,etc),
I was thinking about increasing my training to 4-5 days on/ 1 off with everything else status quo. Based on the opinion that CNS recovery occurs quicker than previously thought and that my bodypart split allows for specific muscle recovery, I'm hoping it could work?

 

[Equalizer]

I was doing some research on CNS fatigue and came across this awesome thread. I feel the same way as you as far as wanting to be in the gym 7 days a week, lol.
Anyways, here is an interesting article about CNS fatigue that may be worth reading and was surprising and wanted some input, especially the end that stated how fast our CNS recovers.

https://bayesianbodybuilding.com/cns-fatigue/

I've been into bodybuilding (never got on stage tho) since I was 16y/o and I'm in my late 40's now. Based on my nutrition, ergogenics, rest, economics, and occupational stress, I have tried anywhere from EOD, to 3 on/1 off and at the most I went 5 on/ 2 off.
My training routine for the past ten years have been pretty much EOD with some fluctuations in-between based on social obligations. I make it a point to train each bodypart once per cycle
Back
Chest
Quads/calves
Shoulders
Arms
Hamstrings

I am lucky to say that my mind-muscle connection as well as my exercise choice has allowed me to primarily stimulate the intended muscle group such that "peripheral fatigue" is not a factor. Also, I only spend about 45 minutes in the gym, which includes the warm-ups but not the cool down (due to time-constraints) so with that little time my workouts are pretty high-intensity.

Sorry for the long post but here's my question...My occupational stress and limited access to nutrition pretty much forced me to train EOD. However, for the past couple of years I transferred to a Monday-Friday "desk" job that is about 95% stress-free and allows me to eat pretty much every 2-3 hours. I also get 7-8 hours of sleep nightly and coupled with being on prescribed TRT (also take the usual supps that most people use like a multi, creatine, fish oil,etc),
I was thinking about increasing my training to 4-5 days on/ 1 off with everything else status quo. Based on the opinion that CNS recovery occurs quicker than previously thought and that my bodypart split allows for specific muscle recovery, I'm hoping it could work?

With your EOD training and using a 5 way split, It looks like each bodypart has been getting worked on a frequency of less than once per week. Is that correct?

 

[LATS]

i cant train more then 2 days on without feeling effects.

there are times ill train 4 in a row and i really dislike how i feel, though this also depends heavily on what im taking.

intensity n all that come heavily into play.

i do light cardio every day first thing in the morning and do walk for prob an hr min each day outside of that.

i dont think you can count light cardio or activity as training, even if you work up a sweat it isnt really impacting you in a bad way, prob more in a good way assiting recovery, blood flow, etc.

even yard work or physical stuff i generally consider light cardio.
i am trying to work in some sort of martial arts right now, jsut as a totally different sort of activity, focus more on speed and coordination.

that should also help with aging.

gotta keep learning! key part

also G knows this but studies have shown walking/running on uneven surfaces like cobblestones or trails to have better impact on cns.

idk where your weight is but in my efforts to age gracefully i am really not interested in hanging onto tons of mass, i see it as potentially detremental. i also add variables that most dont that influence this decision. lol

i think having anything cut off or out of you might not be the best idea... just my opinion though. lol

i keep trying to tone down intesity so that i can keep the marathon going, at this point, its survival!!!

glad your dowing well bro!

Same here.. I train mainly eod... Two days in a row zaps me.. I train to failure... Tried reigning it in a bit but I can't lol.. So Eod suits me... I have always felt the EOD day routines were the best.. Most of us lead busy lives and we can't always eat every three hours..mor get 8 hours of sleep or sit long periods.. So your training should be geared towards your life.. Even when I get enough rest I still feel " beat up" a bit the next day..

Id say if the eod training worked well under stressful situations it will be even better under these more ideal situations.. Don't train more.. Recuperate better...

 

[Honu]

With your EOD training and using a 5 way split, It looks like each bodypart has been getting worked on a frequency of less than once per week. Is that correct?

Yes. I know another option is to combine bodyparts like maybe chest/triceps and back/biceps...or chest/back and shoulders/arms but I only have 45 minutes to train and believe in multi-angular training. For example, if I was to do chest/biceps, I wouldn't be able to do flat/ incline/dips for chest and then do supinated/hammer curls in a 45 minute span, lol. But if I was to do a 3-5 on/ 1 off I would theoretically be able to restart the training cycle on my 7th or 8th day?

 

[Honu]

Same here.. I train mainly eod... Two days in a row zaps me.. I train to failure... Tried reigning it in a bit but I can't lol.. So Eod suits me... I have always felt the EOD day routines were the best.. Most of us lead busy lives and we can't always eat every three hours..mor get 8 hours of sleep or sit long periods.. So your training should be geared towards your life.. Even when I get enough rest I still feel " beat up" a bit the next day..

Id say if the eod training worked well under stressful situations it will be even better under these more ideal situations.. Don't train more.. Recuperate better...

Im kind of at a crossroads..my "silhouette" hasnt really changed that much the past 5-6 years despite the fact that I vary my exercises. The only variable that I havent changed is my frequency so Im wondering if that type of stimulus/change is what I need

 

[Ruileee]

it becomes a habit for me, i do it as long as i have time.

 

[juggy38]

I want to try this wendler 5/3/1 routine

Bench+Bicep+ laterals
Front squat+Hams*Horizontal row
OHP+ Triceps
Deadlift+Pull-ups
Close grip Bench+ Laterals
Back squat
Off

 

[astrosfan123]

2x a week body part. If u have DC/fortitude training mindset and do 4-8 working sets per week there is absolutely no way you would want to be in the gym 7 days a week. Thats insane. I will never go back to the high volume garbage. Just my opinion.

 

[jeroendebleser]

Everyday alternating A-B workouts, taking a day of when I need it. A Big Beyond Belief variant.

Just like the Big Beyond Belief book states, I feel overtraining is overrated and doesn't happen nearly as much as people think it does.