Doing your workouts more often per week doesn’t seem to help you build more muscle, as long as the total amount of lifting stays the same.
Scientific Claim
Higher resistance training frequency is not consistently associated with muscle hypertrophy in young, trained individuals, with evidence suggesting negligible or minimal effects.
Original Statement
“The posterior probability of the marginal slope exceeding zero for frequency’s effect on hypertrophy was less than 100%, indicating compatibility with negligible effects.”
Evidence Quality Assessment
Claim Status
overstated
Study Design Support
Design supports claim
Appropriate Language Strength
association
Can only show association/correlation
Assessment Explanation
The abstract states 'mixed evidence exists' and the results show 'compatibility with negligible effects,' but the conclusion implies a definitive absence of effect, which is overstated.
Evidence from Studies
Supporting (1)
The Resistance Training Dose Response: Meta-Regressions Exploring the Effects of Weekly Volume and Frequency on Muscle Hypertrophy and Strength Gains.
This study found that doing resistance training more often doesn’t reliably make muscles bigger in trained people, even though it does help you get stronger.