The Study
How many times per week should a muscle be trained to maximize muscle hypertrophy? A systematic review and meta-analysis of studies examining the effects of resistance training frequency
This study looked at lots of other studies and found that lifting weights more times a week doesn’t seem to make your muscles grow bigger than lifting less often — as long as you do the same total amount of work. But it can’t prove that more lifting causes more growth, because we don’t know how those original studies were done.
Analysis score
Maximum 100 for a systematic review with meta-analysis.
Where the score came from
If you do the same total amount of lifting each week, it doesn't matter if you train each muscle once or three times — you'll grow the same.
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 520 / 100
Quality score
The highest quality evidence. Systematic reviews and meta-analyses that pool randomized controlled trials, giving the most reliable summary of experimental evidence.
Key takeaways
Summary
Based on the study abstract and findings.
- 1Yes — you can pick your favorite workout schedule without worrying about missing out on muscle growth, as long as you do the same total work.
- 2No difference in muscle growth between 1 day/week and 3+ days/week when total lifting volume is the same.
- 3Slightly more growth with more frequent training only when total volume was higher.
Score breakdown, methodology, conflicts of interest, evidence analysis & raw study data
Publication
Journal
Journal of Sports Sciences
Year
2019
Authors
B. Schoenfeld, J. Grgic, J. Krieger
Related Content
Claims (7)
If you spread your workouts over more days each week but keep the total work the same, you'll get stronger—but your muscles won't necessarily grow bigger.
For the same total number of weekly sets, changing how those sets are spread across training days does not change muscle growth.
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.
Your muscles grow bigger not because of just one thing like lifting heavy weights or doing lots of reps, but because of how all the workout factors—like how hard you push, how often you train, and how well you recover—work together.
If you lift the same total amount of weight each week, it doesn’t matter whether you do it all in one day or spread it out over three or more days—you’ll gain about the same amount of muscle.
If you lift the same total amount of weight each week, it doesn’t matter whether you spread it out over one day or three+ days—you’ll still gain about the same amount of muscle, no matter if you’re experienced or if you’re training your arms or legs.
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional before making health decisions.