A friend recently asked me some questions about his training. Among these was a question about how often he was (should be) training. This is a hard question to answer. It is also an easy question to answer.
Many might disagree with me, but many will also agree. The reality is that there is no hard and fast answer to the question.
A number of years ago, I was introduced to “Bulgarian training”. I use quotations (like I do with “Tabata” training) because it was rather far from what an expert might consider Bulgarian training methods. The major similarity was in the high-frequency of training. Prescribed workout plans ranged from 4 to 12 exercise sessions per week. I particularly liked the cycles where I worked the same muscle groups daily. I saw good results with the program.
The idea of high-frequency training was rather new to me. I began my weight training experience with Nautilus training (per Arthur Jones)—three sessions per week, 8-12 exercises, one set to failure. The American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) recommended 48-72 hours recovery between resistance training sessions. I did some research, however, and found a reasonable amount of evidence to the contrary.
During this time of exploration (somewhere in the late ‘90s), I intentionally attended an ACSM tutorial on resistance training at the Annual Meeting specifically to hear the basis for their recommendations. The presenter actually cited the research I had been reading but nevertheless concluded: “but we still suggest 48-72 hours rest” (something to that effect).
I have continued my interest in training frequency over the years and have concluded from experience and the literature that volume and recoverability are the determining factors. In other words, high- v. low-frequency is much more a matter of preference and opportunity. The best recommendation I can give is: “Train as often as opportunity and recovery permits”.
What one does in any particular workout plan will depend on goals. For most of us (i.e., those of us over the age of 40-50 with no specific performance goals who are only looking to have some healthy strength and a less embarrassing body composition), we are not lifting large volumes that severely tax one’s recovery nor are we trying to increase muscle mass to the extent we are trying to lose fat. Thus, a 4-day-a-week full-body circuit repeat (what I would likely label as “HIIRT”) is certainly not “too frequent”. As the intensity and volume goes up, the individual exercises should become less frequent, but training sessions need not be reduced. This is because volume is increased by increasing sets (as well as weight). More sets require more training time. As well, heavier working sets might also require more warm-up sets. As one progresses in strength and maximum recoverable volume (MRV), one will likely require more time for recovery.
There are two choices with exercise volume: 1) more in fewer sessions or 2) more spread over more sessions. In other words, one can pile a lot into fewer sessions (e.g., 10 sets in one session per week) or a lot into fewer sessions (e.g., 5 sets per session, twice a week).
Bottom line? Exercise. Be specific to your goals. Do as much as you can and need to do to accomplish your goals. If you are not accomplishing your goals, you need to adjust. If you are accomplishing your goals? Guess what? Your program is working!