More leg days won't make you much stronger after 60
A meta-regression of the effects of resistance training frequency on muscular strength and hypertrophy in adults over 60 years of age
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a healthcare professional. Terms
Surprising Findings
Increasing training frequency improved strength slightly but had zero significant effect on muscle growth.
Common fitness advice says more frequent training builds more muscle — but here, even with more sessions, muscles didn’t grow at all.
Practical Takeaways
Older adults aiming to maintain strength can stick to 2 resistance training days per week without sacrificing results.
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a healthcare professional. Terms
Surprising Findings
Increasing training frequency improved strength slightly but had zero significant effect on muscle growth.
Common fitness advice says more frequent training builds more muscle — but here, even with more sessions, muscles didn’t grow at all.
Practical Takeaways
Older adults aiming to maintain strength can stick to 2 resistance training days per week without sacrificing results.
Publication
Journal
Journal of Sports Sciences
Year
2020
Authors
Z. Kneffel, Z. Murlasits, J. Reed, J. Krieger
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Claims (3)
Lifting weights more often each week helps you build bigger muscles and get stronger, but after a certain point, you don’t gain much extra strength—though your muscles can still grow. If you keep the same total amount of lifting, doing it in more frequent, lighter sessions helps strength more than muscle size.
For people over 60, adding one extra day of weight training each week might help them get a little stronger, but it won’t make their muscles noticeably bigger.
If you're over 60 and lifting weights, doing it more than twice a week probably won't make you any stronger or give you bigger muscles than doing it just twice a week.