HOW MUCH STRENGTH TRAINING SHOULD I BE DOING PT 2.

The next factor to discuss:

Factor #2: Your Level +Frequency

A beginner (someone new to strength training or returning to strength training after more than a 3–6 month layoff) can do virtually anything and make plenty of progress.

Whether it’s low frequency (1–2 times per week) or high frequency (4–6 times per week), there are a lot of variabilities here.

Intermediaries (6 months-2 years of training experience) seeking muscle gain should do strength training 3–4 times per week.

Intermediaries going after different goals would have a different frequency.

Advancers (more than two years of training experience) seeking muscle gain should do strength training 2–4 times per week.

I know you did a double-take there.

“Advancers should have a lower frequency than intermediaries?”

The answer is yes because one’s recovery capability can only improve by 20–30%, whereas their strength can double or triple.

So they are tapping deeper into their maximal potential.

And again, these are advanced trainees seeking muscle gain.

Advancers seeking strength gain may need higher frequencies.

Then again, they may not.

So now let’s move on to frequency.

The higher the frequency, the lower the total volume per workout.

Someone training twice per day, 6 days per week can do less each workout.

Instead of doing 10 sets per exercise per workout, they may choose to do 6 sets but do that twice per day.

From a strength and skill acquisition perspective, frequency is more important than volume.

It’s better to do a little bit more frequently, than a lot infrequently. However, from a muscle gain perspective, the opposite is true.

But being realistic, people don’t have unlimited time to train.

So when it comes to the average person, there’s not much leeway about frequency.

So the lower the frequency, the higher the volume and intensity of each session.

If someone is strength training twice per week, they’ll be working pretty hard during those sessions.

On a 0–10 scale of difficulty, each session might be a 7–8.

For someone training with high frequency, a difficulty of 4–6 is adequate and more appropriate.