Does Training a Muscle Once a Week Build Less Muscle Than Training It More Often?
Resistance training frequency and skeletal muscle hypertrophy: A review of available evidence.
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a healthcare professional. Terms
Practical Takeaways
Match your total weekly sets and reps regardless of how many days you split them across, as the review concludes frequency does not have a pronounced effect on muscle mass gains under volume-equated conditions.
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a healthcare professional. Terms
Practical Takeaways
Match your total weekly sets and reps regardless of how many days you split them across, as the review concludes frequency does not have a pronounced effect on muscle mass gains under volume-equated conditions.
Publication
Journal
Journal of science and medicine in sport
Year
2019
Authors
J. Grgic, B. Schoenfeld, C. Latella
Related Content
Claims (4)
If you do the same total amount of weightlifting work each week, doing it all in one session will build your muscles just as much as spreading those workouts across multiple days.
If you lift the same total amount of weight each week, it doesn't matter if you do it all in one day or spread it out over two or three days—you'll build the same amount of muscle. Your total weekly effort matters more than how you split it up.
If you do the same total amount of weightlifting each week, it doesn't matter if you split it up over several days or do it all at once—your muscles will grow the same amount. Objective measurements show that how often you train doesn't change the results as long as the total work stays the same.
Measuring your arm or leg size with a tape measure isn't a great way to tell if you're actually building muscle. Since the tape can't tell the difference between muscle, fat, and water, changes in size might just be from gaining fat or holding water instead of real muscle growth.