Optimal frequency

[magnetrude]

What have you guys found to be the optimal frequency for hitting body parts? I know it's all relative to the intensity if the session, but what is the frequency that you guys have gotten the best results from?

 

[supermanjow]

Every 3-5 days with moderate to low volume.

 

[magnetrude]

But how is your intensity? Cuz depending on what lifts i do, even low volume seems to take a while to recover from if it is high intensity. Just looking to see how well high frequency works for people. The majority of the training I have done the past 1-2 years has been pretty low frequency.

 

[supermanjow]

How are you monitoring recovery? If you're using soreness, you're not being accurate. My intensity is high. My weights are heavy. My muscles are fried. Think Doggcrapp style training in terms of frequency and intensity.

 

[magnetrude]

I guess I use doms as my indicator of recovery. For the past year or so I've been hitting each body part about once a week, hitting lagging body parts twice a week.

 

[Montego1]

Six days on. One off. Rotate.

 

[magnetrude]

Six days on. One off. Rotate.

Is that hitting everything twice a week?

 

[goodvibes]

Personally I can't go more than 5 days in a week. Body parts I can hit twice a week with no problems are back and shoulders. My volume is high 5-6 sets per exercise and approximately 5-8 exercise per bodypart. If I pin one day or take PHs I think I'll do compounds only twice a week per body part. I'm expecting a faster recovery with better gears

 

[supermanjow]

Personally I can't go more than 5 days in a week. Body parts I can hit twice a week with no problems are back and shoulders. My volume is high 5-6 sets per exercise and approximately 5-8 exercise per bodypart. If I pin one day or take PHs I think I'll do compounds only twice a week per body part. I'm expecting a faster recovery with better gears

That's quite a bit of volume though so that's definitely understandable. I wouldn't be able to do more often than that either. But I don't grow as well.

 

[hewhoisripped]

I think frequency follows volume. The goal is to increase volume with time. You get to the point where it isn't practical to add more volume into one session, and you're forced to spread it out. Also depends on practicality. I know that with the volume I do I would benefit from doing 3 leg days @ 20 sets per day (instead of 2x30) but I don't have the time to warm up, load equipment, stretch, etc.

 

[hewhoisripped]

Personally I can't go more than 5 days in a week. Body parts I can hit twice a week with no problems are back and shoulders. My volume is high 5-6 sets per exercise and approximately 5-8 exercise per bodypart. If I pin one day or take PHs I think I'll do compounds only twice a week per body part. I'm expecting a faster recovery with better gears

So you're doing over 25 sets for every group, multiple times per week?

 

[goodvibes]

That's quite a bit of volume though so that's definitely understandable. I wouldn't be able to do more often than that either. But I don't grow as well.

So you're doing over 25 sets for every group, multiple times per week?

Probably more. I've come to a point where I bang out 1.5-2 hrs. When I started the follidrone and osta stack I doubled in volume. My only issue now is my shoulder problem so my ches workout will be on hold for the next month.

 

[kisaj]

Highly dependent on my routine. Right now I am running a rest pause routine and I am on 4 days with a separate day just for deads, hitting each group once a week.

 

[PaulBlack]

In general I did pretty well with...
Hips, legs, back 2x per week alternating intensity to one hard one med or light. (this way i get volume and WC without CNS overload.
BP's OHP's x2 sometimes x3 times per week set up same as above
Grip and any small muscles x2-3x per ...

 

[Quads_of_Stee]

Hitting squat and bench every other day(MWF) and deads 2x a week(WF) with little to no accessory work at fairly high loads, low volume (5x5,6x3 80+%)

 

[AlberTOP]

It's a case to case basis. On my end, I lift every other day maintaining the same intensity. I also jog at least twice a day in between lift days.

 

[JeremyNG25]

People can train much more frequently when they're using steroids or other drugs. They can train twice a day 7 days a week in some cases. As a natural doing full body HIT I lift every 4th or 5th day. At first I was able to lift a few days and progress with only 72 hrs of rest but as the weight goes up the only way that I've been able to break through plateaus is to rest more. Increasing frequency had me plateauing much more quickly and I knew the muscles weren't fully recovered. DOMS may not be an indicator of full recovery but it can reduce motivation in the gym therefore making it much harder to progress. Just try trial and error. Increase frequency and see if it works for you. If you plateau quickly then back off and take more rest the following week. Naturals will take longer to recover. If you aren't a teenager and you're natural you need to train smarter

 

[kenpoengineer]

It's a case to case basis. On my end, I lift every other day maintaining the same intensity. I also jog at least twice a day in between lift days.

This post is curious to me. Not being a jerk here but you weigh 115 lbs at 5'7" and you jog twice a day on days between lifting. Are you trying to gain muscle mass? Or training for marathon? My apologies if weight is in kg.

 

[AlberTOP]

This post is curious to me. Not being a jerk here but you weigh 115 lbs at 5'7" and you jog twice a day on days between lifting. Are you trying to gain muscle mass? Or training for marathon? My apologies if weight is in kg.

I'm trying to gain mass mate but at the same time I don't want to lose my speed and agility because I play football (soccer). I'm trying to balance things right now really. My coach want me to bulk up a little because I'm really thin.

 

[Oscar]

Try sprints instead of jogging, jogging eats muscles or just cut the cardio for a while if anything putting on some muscle will make you faster. Squat, squat and squat some more. I'm an inch taller than you and 205 but can still run under a 6min mile so don't worry about losing speed

 

[AlberTOP]

Try sprints instead of jogging, jogging eats muscles or just cut the cardio for a while if anything putting on some muscle will make you faster. Squat, squat and squat some more. I'm an inch taller than you and 205 but can still run under a 6min mile so don't worry about losing speed

Thanks! Any advise on how to work on my calves? I know squats are more for the quads. I wan't to work more on my calves because that will be more useful in my sport.

 

[Oscar]

Standing calf raises, seated calf raises, heavy calf presses on a leg press machine, honestly I'm not the best guy to ask about calf training as mine grow like weeds I train them once in awhile for ****s and giggles but if I devote any real time or intensity to them they'd over power my quads and hammies they sit nicely at 20" training them once a month or so.

 

[asooneyeonig]

optimal frequency changes due to volume and intensity. it also changes due to stress, sleep patterns, eating habits, and i find event at varying times of the year.

i have also had success with as little as 1 full body workout a week and up to lifting 6 days a week with body parts every 2-3 days. trying to worry over a minor detail is just that, a minor detail. worry about bigger things like, are you training hard enough, are you sleeping hard enough, are you eating hard enough. dont get those right and optimal frequency means nothing.

its that reasoning that makes me recommend that you just get on a proven program. there is a reason why they are proven, they work. find one that fits your goals. narrow it down by one that you believe in. do it for a minimum of 6 months and re-evaluate.

 

[herderdude]

Thanks! Any advise on how to work on my calves? I know squats are more for the quads. I wan't to work more on my calves because that will be more useful in my sport.

Squats will benefit your sport FAR more than calf work. Squats hit quads, hams, hips, flutes, and core, aka your speed muscles. Squats, sprints, and jumps should be the foundation of your training, not calves. Hitting up some low intensity (light, not easy) calf work once a week won't cut into your recovery, so knock yourself out. But don't major in the minors by worrying about calves.

Check out DeFranco's WS4SB and you'll be better off for it.