Can training less often still make muscles bigger?
Effects of equal-volume resistance training with different training frequencies in muscle size and strength in trained men
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a healthcare professional. Terms
Two groups of experienced lifters trained the same total amount but one group trained once a week and the other twice a week — both for 10 weeks.
No biological mechanisms were identified in this study. This may be an epidemiological, observational, or survey-based study that reports associations rather than proposing causal biological pathways.
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Participants are randomly assigned to treatment or control groups, minimizing bias. Considered the gold standard for testing whether an intervention causes an effect.
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a healthcare professional. Terms
Two groups of experienced lifters trained the same total amount but one group trained once a week and the other twice a week — both for 10 weeks.
No biological mechanisms were identified in this study. This may be an epidemiological, observational, or survey-based study that reports associations rather than proposing causal biological pathways.
Systematic Reviews & Meta-Analyses
Max 100Randomized Controlled Trials
Max 90Cohort Studies
Max 72Case-Control Studies
Max 58Cross-Sectional Studies
Max 44Case Reports & Case Series
Max 30Expert Opinion & Narrative Reviews
Max 546 / 90
Evidence Score
Participants are randomly assigned to treatment or control groups, minimizing bias. Considered the gold standard for testing whether an intervention causes an effect.
Publication
Authors
Gentil P, Fisher J, Steele J, Campos MH, Silva MH, Paoli A, Giessing J, Bottaro M
Related Content
Claims (6)
For men who are already trained, doing resistance training once or twice a week with the same total workload does not lead to measurable increases in elbow strength, suggesting that further strength gains may not occur even with different training frequencies.
In trained young men, performing resistance training once or twice a week for 10 weeks with a fixed volume leads to little increase in muscle size and no improvement in strength, indicating that further progress may require a change in training approach.
For men who already train regularly, doing resistance workouts once or twice a week with the same total workload as more frequent sessions results in similar gains in muscle size and strength.
Among trained young men doing the same total amount of weight training, switching from working out twice a week to once a week was linked to a small increase in bicep muscle thickness, but no change in strength. This suggests that changing the schedule, not the total workload, might have triggered minor muscle growth by introducing a new stimulus.
Changing from training twice a week to once a week might trigger small muscle growth in experienced lifters, even if the total amount of work stays the same, suggesting that changing how the training is structured, rather than how often it occurs, could help overcome plateaus.