Are you doing enough? Are you doing too little? Is there any point in starting if you can’t do that Instagram models routine of 5am workout followed by a podcast, followed by an ice bath, followed by a half marathon, followed by deep meditation, then head off to work at 6am?
There’s so much fluff around this topic about what you should be doing and shouldn’t, how to split your workouts out blah blah blah. Spoiler, working out once a week is better than zero times a week - don’t forget that!
So we’re going to split this out into the number of workouts per week and what you can expect to achieve from them. Not just from a strength gaining perspective, but from a life perspective.
Training 1 - 2 times a week
What’s the point right? Right…? No one on Instagram with the before and after selfies has done this small, measly effort so why even bother? Well firstly we don’t all have to be working out to get a six pack or a big bum. It’s about the purpose of your training and how that fits into your lifestyle. If your purpose is to stay active and be stronger then working out 1 - 2 times a week can be great - as long as you’re aware you’re not going to be having massive hypertrophy, it is a good idea to train 1 - 2 times a week.
Consider your lifestyle as well. People are busy and have other things to do so if you can fit 1 - 2 sessions a week and not any more than that’s what works for you and that’s good. Just understand your priorities.
In terms of a training programme, we’d suggest a more rounded approach. So don’t cycle through a leg session, back session, cardio session each time you go. But incorporate a bit of everything each session ensuring you raise your heart rate too to get your blood pumping round your body.
Training 3 - 5 times a week
This is where a lot of people sit. Here you can expect to see hypertrophy of your muscles and you need to be on top of your diet to allow your muscles to recover with the correct nutrients to grow and not cause strain on them, resulting in injury.
You’d probably still want to mix up your workout sessions and devote maybe an upper body day, then lower, then upper etc. whilst including cardio in most sessions. Stretching will be crucial here to allow for recovery again and reduce the strain your muscles go through during this period.
If you’re looking to build strength, this is the area you need to be looking at to see consistent progress week on week.
Training 6 - 7 times a week
This is a lot, and we don’t have time to be going into all the details. Most people within this bracket will know a hell of a lot and should probably have multiple 1-2-1 conversations with personal trainers and other experienced athletes to build their muscles adequately. The principles of eat well, train well, recover well stay true here but are even more important.
The main thing here is lifestyle. If you’re wanting to train this much, your life becomes strength training - diet is more important, lifting is more important, educating yourself is more important. If you want to do that then great, but if you want to balance your life with going for a couple of pints, eating an ice cream, and having a lie in, then don’t set your expectations here.
Or, should you be training for strength? Read our blog here on who should be strength training.
How to find the time to train more?
Time… the most valuable asset as we can’t change it. Even Bill Gates is famous for saying something like this, so how do we create more time for ourselves to workout? A few ways, choosing a gym that’s close to you is a big one. Genuinely talk to lots of people who consistently go to a gym and you’ll often find the gym will be the closest one. After all, location, location, location (thanks Phil and Kirsty for this dull estate agent phrase).
Bring the gym to you. Sounds like something you could put on a t-shirt, but it’s true. Maybe you’re in that 1 - 2 times a week category and want to move into the next category. You could still have a gym membership, or have a home gym, or a bit of both - have a gym membership and purchase some smaller gym equipment that (ok it may not do everything you can do in a commercial gym) allows you to top your workout up, saving you that journey to and back from the gym - something like the Unitree PUMP is where it gets a lot of its use here. Not replacing the gym, but being that prop that helps you go from someone who is training to be more active and fit to someone who can train for hypertrophy.