Title: Strength Training: How Many Days Per Week? – Healthy.net
Headings: Strength Training: How Many Days Per Week?
Strength Training: How Many Days Per Week?
Content: The first study involved 33 college-age subjects and examined strength gains using the bench press exercise. As shown in Table 1, the trainees who performed two workouts per week increased their bench press strength by 17 percent, and the trainees who performed three workouts per week increased their bench press strength by 24 percent. Although both training groups made significant improvements, the rate of strength-development for the two-workouts-a-week program was about 70 percent of that of the three-workouts-a-week program. The second study included 48 middle-aged, mostly male subjects and examined lean (muscle) weight gains using a 12-station Nautilus circuit. As presented in Table 1, the trainees who performed two workouts a week increased their lean weight by 3.0 pounds, and the trainees who performed three workouts a week increased their lean weight by 3.9 pounds. Although both training groups made significant improvements, the rate of muscle development for the two-workouts-a-week program was almost 80 percent that of the three-workouts-a-week program. We recently analyzed body composition data on more than 1,100 men and women who completed our eight-week Keeping Fit program during the past five years. The 716 subjects who strength trained three days per week gained 2.5 pounds of lean weight and lost 4.6 pounds of fat weight. The 416 subjects who strength trained two days per week gained 2.2 pounds of lean weight and lost 4.0 pounds of fat weight. On a comparative basis, the twice-a-week trainees added about 85 percent as much lean weight and lost about 85 percent as much fat weight as the three-times-a-week trainees.