New research time, and we’re going to talk about an ongoing debate that honestly probably would
be a non-existent issue if everyone just come to the conclusion that most
things do indeed boil down to, “it depends.” But we’re not gonna get there for another few
centuries, so let’s dive into to this new study that looks to provide an answer on: Will going to
the gym more often lead to more gains? Let’s get right into it.
The goal of this new 2022 study is to compare if there are indeed any differences in muscle
growth and strength between two training frequencies. Specifically,
they compared differences between training 2 days per week versus
4 days when training volume is equated. Training volume, in its most fundamental
definition, is the calculation of the amount of reps times sets times weight lifted.
So in this case, with equated volumes, regardless of whether subjects trained
2 or 4 days, all of them performed 32 total sets per week with similar rep schemes across 9 weeks.
There were a total of 21 subjects, 11 male and 10 female, and the subjects were described
as “moderately trained,” having performed at least 1 training session per week in the last 6 months.
Not sure about moderately. They were also given 20 grams of whey protein
after each session, with the lower frequency group consuming another 20 grams of whey protein the day
after to compensate for the fewer sessions. Now to the results, which frankly won’t take
long because, although both the 2-day and 4-day training groups showed progress across
all measured muscle and strength outcomes, which is great, there were no
significant differences between any of them In other words, training for 2 days lead to
the same gains as training for 4 days. This study actually doesn’t deviate
much from what we already know from previous research. And, that is when you do equal work,
you get equal results. Magic! But that’s also the problem: when
you equate volume for a study, it doesn’t always mimic what we actually see people do in real life.
Let’s take a closer look at the study’s program: For the 2-day group,
we can see that they performed 16 total training sets spread across 5 exercises, which isn’t too
far off from what people normally do. In the 4 days a week group, though,
each session had only 8 sets spread across the same 5 exercises,
resulting in only 2 or even 1 set per exercise. Most reasonable people would say that this group
could have done more if they wanted to. And if they did do more, would that
significantly change the results? Based on what we know about training volume,
where more, to a point, is usually better, the answer here is almost a guaranteed yes.
Now not all volume-equated studies has this problem though.
A previous study I covered on 3 versus 6 days did have the 6-day group perform
14 sets for each session and even took sets to failure. That’s quite a lot. The results
between the two frequencies, though, still were very similar. Again, equal work, equal results.
Which also means that the answer to, is it better to workout fewer or more days, is indeed…
it depends. It depends on having the proper balance of volume in your
training relative to your training frequency. Now, with that said though, it likely is that
having MORE training days would still be better. It gives you more days to spread out your work
volume, which makes it much more manageable. Especially if you split up your exercises to
a given day, like doing your push exercises on one day, then your pulls the next day,
and then continue to skip your leg days on another, this gives more time to recover
between muscle groups, and it also makes your sessions less boring by switching
things up. Which is awesome and very convenient! And of course by making things more convenient,
it can make it easier for you to stick to your training and develop a habit of going to the gym,
which means more consistent gains down the line! More training days, probably not 7 days a week
but perhaps 4 to 6 days, would definitely be my recommendation.
If you’re completely new to programming your training though, I’d recommend joining our
PictureFit community discord and the fine people there are more than happy to help you out.
But disclaimer: this is my personal take on the matter. It might not be the same as yours and
that’s okay. Kudos to the study for giving us more data though, and if there’s future studies
that play around a bit with changing volumes, I’ll be sure to let you wonderful people know.
For now, whether you decide to work out fewer or more days,
just remember that leg days still do not exist. If you enjoyed this video, please give it a
frequent thumbs up and share it with your leg-day loving friends. Subscribe for more.
As always, thank you for watching and don’t forget to get your protein!