The Study
One, two, or three times a week? examining the optimal frequency for strength and muscle growth in accentuated eccentric exercise
This study watched a small group of strong athletes train different amounts and saw what happened to their muscles. It didn't randomly assign who trained how much, so we can't say one way definitely caused better results — just that all ways helped a bit.
Analysis score
Maximum 90 for a randomized controlled trial.
Where the score came from
Three groups of strong athletes did the same total amount of heavy squatting each week — some did it once, some twice, some three times — to see if doing it more often made them stronger or bigger.
Where does this study sit?
Reviews of RCTs (Meta-analyses)
Max 100Randomized Trials
Max 90Reviews of Cohort Studies
Max 85Cohort Studies
Max 72Reviews of Case-Control Studies
Max 63Case-Control Studies
Max 58Cross-Sectional & Case Series
Max 50Expert Opinion
Max 545 / 100
Quality score
Participants are randomly assigned to treatment or control groups, minimizing bias. The gold standard for testing whether an intervention causes an effect.
Key takeaways
Summary
Based on the study abstract and findings.
- 1The tiny difference between 1x and 3x per week means training more often doesn’t meaningfully improve strength or muscle growth if you do the same total work.
- 2Everyone got stronger: eccentric strength up 14%, concentric up 9.3%, quadriceps muscle 3.6% bigger.
- 3Those who trained 3x/week were only 3.2% stronger in concentric lifts than those who trained 1x/week.
Score breakdown, methodology, conflicts of interest, evidence analysis & raw study data
Publication
Journal
European Journal of Applied Physiology
Year
2025
Authors
P. Refsnes, Jon Ingulf Medbø, Vidar E Jakobsen, Arne Vilberg, Harald Vikne
Related Content
Claims (7)
When the total amount of exercise is kept the same, increasing workouts from once to twice per week does not result in a meaningful difference in muscle growth.
When the total amount of weight training per week is the same, changing how often you train—such as once a week versus five times a week—does not change the amount of muscle growth.
Resistance-trained athletes who performed 12 weeks of squat training with extra emphasis on the lowering phase showed a 28.6% increase in strength endurance, a 7.3% increase in squat jump power, and a 4.4% increase in countermovement jump power.
Resistance-trained athletes who performed 12 weeks of squat training emphasizing the lowering phase showed a 14.0% gain in eccentric strength and a 9.3% gain in concentric strength.
Resistance-trained athletes who perform accentuated eccentric loading squats one, two, or three times per week for 12 weeks experience measurable increases in multiple strength and power metrics and muscle size, with only a minor additional benefit in concentric strength when training three times per week instead of once.
For athletes who regularly lift weights, performing accentuated eccentric squats once, twice, or three times per week with the same total weekly workload leads to nearly identical gains in strength, power, and muscle size, with only a minor and practically unimportant difference in concentric strength favoring three sessions per week.
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional before making health decisions.