The Final Answer on Training Frequency

video here: https://www.instagram.com/p/Bu5_TAUDhhV/

Tom Platz, whose leg development and overall lower body training ability has yet to be matched, tells us that as intensity peaks the appropriate training frequency is once per two weeks.

Lee Haney, possibly the greatest but surely one of the greatest Mr. Olympias of all time, tells us we’re crazy if we train something less than three days a week (in the full video he recommends a laggard like calves be trained 6 days per week; but then you have Dorian Yates who added 6 inches to his calf circumference with once weekly training). Here’s the crazy part: they’re both right. Both are abiding by a progressive overload concept, albeit differently executed.

Here’s the crazier part: they’re both wrong. Whatever you WILL do is the right frequency. In rigorous studies, ON AVERAGE, twice weekly is better at size and strength increase than once (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/m/pubmed/27102172/). Average doesn’t tell us optimal. Beyond that, it becomes less clear, given whether we’re measuring skill adaptations, muscular, or connective tissue changes. I’d even argue that what movements constitute a specific muscle group is therefore up for debate and stricter definition. 

The bigger lesson is this: the highest level experts have an inherent bias toward the method they personally liked and found helpful for their unique circumstances and physical factors. 

For the average person who wants to develop strength, frequency is distraction. For competitors, there is a case to be made for different approaches. You have to test the model and see how you respond. I have clients who progress on very infrequent lifting schedules and ones who progress on high frequency. Test. Don’t just listen to someone tell you about their fav.