How often should you train each muscle?

Hello everyone

Before we begin, happy 80th birthday to my uncle Wolfgang:)

The question on how to set up a weekly workout is a very good one and there is no straight answer since there are too many variables at play.
But I shall do my best to be somewhat helpful.
Here are some basic corner stones that should be taken into consideration when setting up your weekly routine.

1. You should train each muscle at least twice a week. That in itself is pretty self-explanatory; it also means that if you can only get twice a week to the gym you should do two whole body workouts. If you can commit to more days, you can split the workouts differently such as upper/lower body or push/pull.

2. Weak muscles are to be trained three to four times a week. Obviously, there is an inverse relationship between volume and frequency, so if you train the muscle more often, you must cut down  the volume per session, so think 6 to 9 sets at most.

3. Use enough volume to fully fatigue the target muscle, but do not create garbage volume. For most trainees, 6 to 9 well-executed sets is all the quality volume they can and need to produce in order to create change in the muscle. Simply adding more sets for the sake of doing more work will not mean greater progress, but more stress on your recovery systems. Maintain focus, get in, get out, and enjoy life outside the gym.

4. Train as often as you can recover from. While I understand that this is a rather vague statement, it basically means that  you can train a muscle again within 72 hours, assuming you control the volume.

5. Execution is everything, This maybe the most important point of them all. All the exercises, weights, and sets will not do much if you cannot master the individual rep. You can refer to the older videos for that one. By the same token, if you fail to execute properly meaning you start recruiting other muscles in order to finish the repetition, then the muscle might be worked enough and it is time to move on.

It will take a few trials in order to figure what is best for you but the above guidelines should help
For the more visual inclined , here is the video

Maik

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