11 Jun How much should I train?
This is the question we hear most often as personal trainers. There is no single answer—it largely depends on your training goals.
The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends an optimal amount of 2–3 strength training sessions per week. Since muscle mass requires regular mechanical load to be maintained or built, and the training stimulus lasts about 72–96 hours, 2–3 workouts per week is a solid “gold standard”: it does not take too much time away from other activities, yet provides enough stimulus for muscle development.
Of course, there is a big difference between going to the gym and actually training. If you spend more time on your phone than under the bar, then even five gym visits per week may not lead to progress. That’s why it makes sense to track sets, repetitions, and training volume (total kilograms lifted).
For muscle growth, a muscle needs a minimum of about 10 sets per week, with an optimal range around 20 sets. For example, three sets of squats and three sets of leg press give you six quality sets for the legs in one workout. In your next session, adding three sets of lunges and three sets of leg extensions brings your weekly total to twelve sets.
The main driver of muscle development is mechanical tension created by effort, where the muscle must contract strongly to move the load. This is where personal trainers can help—by selecting the right loads and improving exercise execution, making training more effective than doing it alone. This can also reduce the time needed in the gym without compromising results.
Our experience as trainers shows that even one training session per week can produce satisfying results for clients, but consistency becomes especially important in that case. With one weekly strength session, we recommend focusing on compound exercises (squats, deadlifts, presses, etc.) and a high level of effort, since recovery time between sessions will be over 160 hours.
We wish you consistent strength training!