Train - how many days per week, and why?

[Livewire]

I'm a 205 pound kid.  probably 10% bodyfat year roudn.  I want big muscles.

How often should I train?  I see most good guys at my gym go at least 5 times per week.  Dorian only trained THREE days a week to build his base. 

I'm confused.  thanks!

[NoCalBbEr]

if your just starting out. start with  3 days a week and move up, when you feel your body can handle it. You can just start out with 5 days because you'll  run your body to the groud.  rocovery is more important then  training and so is eating.

[theworm]

4 days

1. chest and abs
2. back & bis
3. rest/cardio
4. shoulders/tris
5. legs
6. off
7. off

[Bluto]

as often as possible.

[Hedgehog]

I'm a 205 pound kid.  probably 10% bodyfat year roudn.  I want big muscles.

How often should I train?  I see most good guys at my gym go at least 5 times per week.  Dorian only trained THREE days a week to build his base. 

I'm confused.  thanks!

I think three times a week is close to optimal.

Study shows that training twice every other day is more effective than training every day.

So if given a choice, three times a week.

[slaveboy1980]

if your just starting out. start with  3 days a week and move up, when you feel your body can handle it. You can just start out with 5 days because you'll  run your body to the groud.  rocovery is more important then  training and so is eating.

to be honest most guys who workout more than 3-4 times a week (when training for bigger muscles, not sport specific training) do it mostly because they are obsessed not necessarily because it gives you better results. For the majority of people , 3-4 hard workout sessions per week is as much they can mentally and physically cope with in the long run.

[powerpack]

4 times a week Monday Teusday, Thursday, Friday.
Sometimes with work I can only train on the week end.
Then I train Saturday morning and afternoon, Sunday morning and afternoon.
So bassically four sessions.

[TroubleReady39]

3 days a week for mass gains is usually enough.

[webcake]

Everyone is different. I started doing 3 times a week, then 4 times a week then moved onto 5 times a week. Probably not the most effective but i just loved being in the gym. I'm about to start HST soon, 3 sessions a week, each session is a full body workout.

[slaveboy1980]

Everyone is different. I started doing 3 times a week, then 4 times a week then moved onto 5 times a week. Probably not the most effective but i just loved being in the gym. I'm about to start HST soon, 3 sessions a week, each session is a full body workout.

lifting weights 5 times per week is not the best strategy if you wanna grow. most guys who train that many times per week are just obsessed and are only limiting their gains .i used to go in 5 days a week too, i got some results..but i have gotten alot better with 3..max 4 sessions per week...the same thing with everyone i have trained+talked too

[Charlys69]

I don`t train by the "week". I`m doing 3 workouts in 5 or 6 days. If i only train every bodypart 1 time a week the progress is not better than on a 5-6 days schedule. So over the long run i can do more productive workouts. If my workout schedule where "shorter" i suffered overtraining earlier, and injuries and imflamation of the joints/Tendoms came also earlier.
But it also depends on how hard and how much you are training, and how much you`re Body can take....

So, for me that schedule works !!

[kh300]

to be honest most guys who workout more than 3-4 times a week (when training for bigger muscles, not sport specific training) do it mostly because they are obsessed not necessarily because it gives you better results. For the majority of people , 3-4 hard workout sessions per week is as much they can mentally and physically cope with in the long run.

i agree.. if you had all the evidence in the world that all you have to do is A 3x's a week and anything else will slow down your gains.. 90% of everyone will add in B,C,and D and do it 5x's a week

[thewickedtruth]

4 on and two off lately..

[triple_pickle]

3-4 days a week does the trick for me

[flexingtonsteele]

mon, tues, thurs, fri ........works well

Gives u enough time to properly recover.

[tomgreynolds]

I am on a training split that I made for myself and it works great

Day 1: Chest, Shoulders, Tris

Day 2: OFF

Day 3: Back, Bis

Day 4: OFF

----REPEAT----



I don't train legs right now because they are already over-developed

[webcake]

I am on a training split that I made for myself and it works great

Day 1: Chest, Shoulders, Tris

Day 2: OFF

Day 3: Back, Bis

Day 4: OFF

----REPEAT----



I don't train legs right now because they are already over-developed

You should still train them. Unless they are WAY out of proportion with your upperbody, keep training them.

[lilwoday09smb]

day 1
bench
squats
chins
curls
db rows
calf raises

day 2
off

day 3
deadlifts
dips
military press
lat raises
skull crushers
leg raises

day 4
off

day 5
incline bench
front squats
pull ups
t-bar rows
db curls
standing calf raises

day 6
off

day 7
rack deads
cling and press
close grip bench
upright rows
leg raises
lunges

repeat

[CalvinH]

Right now I do 4 days a week.I wanna get back to 5 days a week with taking the weekends off.I hardly ever see the inside of the gym on a weekend.

[candidizzle]

to be honest most guys who workout more than 3-4 times a week (when training for bigger muscles, not sport specific training) do it mostly because they are obsessed not necessarily because it gives you better results. For the majority of people , 3-4 hard workout sessions per week is as much they can mentally and physically cope with in the long run.

thanks for your analysis, Sigmund.

[Cold]

3 days a week. that's a fucking joke.

gimme a break.  i don't know anybody builder (with serious development) who train 3 days a week. DOrian yates BS'ed. He didn't train 3 days a week.

[slaveboy1980]

thanks for your analysis, Sigmund.

yw, miss pumpfelstrapf

[slaveboy1980]

3 days a week. that's a fucking joke.

gimme a break.  i don't know anybody builder (with serious development) who train 3 days a week. DOrian yates BS'ed. He didn't train 3 days a week.

dorian did train 3 days a week his first few years...(did more workout per week after 86 tho)

dexter trained 3 days a week for years

i know several guys who weight over 120kg who train 3 days a week.

but thats not the point. guys who go in 6 days a week are just obsessed (in many cases) and would get alot better results by working out 3-4 days a week. (bodybuilders)

[Rydawg]

Its a trial and error process to figure out what will work best. I used to train with a guy and he responded best to lifting 6 days a week, hitting each body part twice a week. I've tried everthing: the push/pull routines, high volume routines, three days a week, four days a week. For me, I've found that I respond best to five days a week on a High Intensity Training routine. My days are divided into: Chest, Back, Legs, Shoulders/Traps, and Bi's/Tri's/Forearms, with abs four times a week.

[nuyork143]

I do a 5 day workout, only because I dont like to spend forever in the gym.

Looks something like this:

Chest
Back
Shoulders
Off
Legs
Bi's/Tri's
Off

Repeat

Works for me.