Have you ever been told that if you don't do your weight training three times a week you might as well not do it? Well, that theory was proved wrong some time ago. We've known for a long time that two workouts a week can give you good gains. But what about once a week?
In a recent study in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, experienced weight trainees worked out either one day a week with three sets per exercise to failure, or three days of one set to failure, both for 12 weeks. The one-day group achieved 62 percent of the strength gains of the three-day group. The three-day group also achieved better gains in lean body mass, so three days was clearly more effective, even with similar volume. But the one-day group also made progress, so for those times you can't get to the gym two or three times a week, it's still a good idea to go once, as you can maintain or even increase strength with one intense workout per week, at least for a while.
This study involved experienced weight trainees, not beginners. I think it's important for beginners to work out two or three times a week because they need to learn the exercises and activate the neural pathways.
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