Exactly How Often to Workout to Gain Muscle 

How often to workout to gain muscle is an important decision in designing your training program. If you ask me, the simple answer is 5 days per week, 1 hour per session, 1 session per day. That’s what led me to finally pack on mass as a skinny guy and gain muscle. There are reasons behind that, and you might find that what works best for you, differs slightly. I don’t think it will differ much.

Let your splits guide your workout frequency

It’s important to have a plan for your workouts. You need to know what you intend to accomplish with your lifts. Too many skinny people start of deciding their workout frequency by picking a number of days per week at random and then figuring out how to fill that time. That’s not focused enough to help you gain muscle mass. Take a look at my posts about choosing the best muscles to target and which muscles to train together. This will ensure that you find a training split that works best for you, and let that guide how often you work out.

How often to workout per week

As mentioned in the intro, I think the best frequency is 5 days per week, 1 hour per session, 1 session per day. This is based on the information in the post about muscles to train together. That post lays out a 4 day plan to split the major muscle groups of the body. I like to add 1 to 2 days on top of that to do some lighter work, hit muscles that have recovered fully, and clean up any workouts from the week.

Don’t ever give away intensity and volume for added frequency. Working out more often per week doesn’t trump getting in great training sessions. Never have the mentality that you’ll save some energy for the next work out. That’s how you’ll end up on a workout treadmill with no progress or gaining muscle. In fact, studies have shows that the number of times you workout per week mattered less than the intensity and volume of your workout.

Remember your life!

This is one of those moments where the science and the grind mentality wants to scream, WORK OUT EVERY DAY AND GET AFTER IT! However, you have to balance your goals with the reality of your life when you decide how often to workout to gain muscle. If you’re reading this blog, you’re probably not a professional athlete or bodybuilder. You’re likely a skinny person with a regular life that doesn’t revolve around fitness or working out 8 hours a day.

It’s ok to be realistic about what will work with your daily life. Fidelity is important. This means, your ability to commit to gaining mass and actually follow through with the plans you lay out. For example, let’s say you are eager to build muscle, so you lay out a program to train 7 days per week. What happens when you have to travel out of town? Kid’s soccer game? Work late a few evenings? Study for a major exam? Does that throw everything out of the window, and suddenly you’re talking about how you’ll get back on track next week?

I’m not saying it’s impossible to workout every day. I’m saying it’s more likely that by planning some flex time, or break days, you’ll be more likely to stick to your workout program and follow through consistently without having to rethink everything whenever there is an interruption.

Working out daily to gain muscle

Right above, I advised you not to work out 7 days per week. I have done it before and enjoyed it thoroughly. Sometimes, you just have the extra energy and time on your hands. The point above was to give yourself some flexibility for the reality of life. However, you can absolutely workout daily.

The word overtraining is frankly overused when the topic of how often to workout to gain muscle comes up. It’s very difficult to actually get to a state of overtraining for your body. Here’s an article that discusses the myth of overtraining. If you’re feeling tired and unable to keep going, I found that it’s more likely you haven’t figured out the fuel and recovery part of building muscle mass. Basically, go to sleep earlier.

Your body doesn’t know it’s in a very luxurious and manufactured world. Our bodies change and adapt as if we are still living in the natural world, competing for resources, and needing to change to survive. Working out daily just shows your body that you’ll have to adapt more quickly and grow, because there will be stressors frequently that you have to overcome.

Don’t go from 0 to 100 in workouts

Just like warming up before you actually lift, be realistic about where you are now compared to where you want to go. Someone who lifts 4 days per week will have a much easier time increasing to 6 days per week, than someone who doesn’t lift at all today suddenly training 4 days per week. That approach will likely lead you to early fatigue and loss of motivation. Also, that sudden increase in load on your body can lead to injuries like tendonitis that will have you on the sidelines for a while.

Stick to proper form, listen to your body, and start off slower before you accelerate into the frequency you want. In the long run, this will lead to gaining more muscle.

Thoughts or questions? Let me know in the comments!