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Typically when someone starts coaching with us their motivation is sky high. 

It’s pretty common to hear things like:

“Nick, I am ready to train every single day if that’s what it takes”.

I’ll let you in on a little secret…

Training every single day sucks.

It’s not going to get you results, either.

It’s also wildly inflexible. What happens when one of your kids get sick and you need to stay home? What happens when you get invited for a weekend away with your mates? Are you going to say no? Leave your kid at home by itself just to catch a pump?

The truth is…

You’re in the gym to build muscle. Losing fat is cool, but that’s done in the kitchen not the gym.

The driver of muscle growth is mechanical tension.

Not - How many days per week you go to the gym.

To maximise mechanical tension per set:

You need to make sure every set you do is challenging.

Not “get a sweat on” or “feel a little tingle” challenging…

But challenging to the point where - if your life depended on it - you could only have got one or two more reps (or none at all) no matter how hard you tried.

Let’s be honest. Most people need to train harder, not more. 

So rather than thinking:

“What’s the maximum number of workouts I can do each week?”

Instead think:

“How many sessions can I realistically commit to, AND recover from, so that I can apply progressive overload and get a little bit stronger or better each and every week?

If you’re a student with no job and it’s not exam season, you might be looking at 4 to 5 days per week.

If you’re a mum with 7 kids and 12 jobs, hitting the gym 2 or 3 times per week is MAD. Respect.

If you’re a gym rat with crippling insecurity like me I know I’m not going to be able to talk you out of 6 days per week…

Personally, I like 4-5 days per week in the gym.

But we have plenty of clients who make great progress on 3 days per week… Provided they are consistent and apply progressive overload.

What if I’m not a beginner anymore?

As you get more advanced, your threshold to see more progress is higher. So you might need to train more, to keep seeing progress.

But on the other hand you’re using heavier and heavier weights which take a toll on the muscles (good) and the connective tissue, too (not so good). So whilst you might need to train more, you have to ask yourself whether you truly can.

This is why we can’t just keep building muscle forever! We all max out at some point.

The good news is most people aren’t truly advanced lifters, and they’re nowhere near their max yet. So chances are you don’t have to worry about this, and you can make amazing progress training 3 or 4 days per week… Or 5 if you absolutely love the gym.

Just don’t forget: Quality > quantity. Train hard.

The thing about a 6 or 7 day workout routine is…

We would fill up the start of every workout with the most bang for your buck exercises which contribute the most. 

Then we fill the rest with other exercises that are beneficial, but their return on investment is lower.

But if 3 days per week suits you better, we simply take all of the most bang for your buck exercises across that 6 day plan, and condense them into 3 days.

So you get the biggest return out of your investment.

I know what you’re thinking…

“But that pro bodybuilder trains every day and looks like The Hulk, so why shouldn’t I do that, too?”

Well… Not only does that pro bodybuilder have a decent dose of ‘chemical assistance’ helping with recovery and muscle protein synthesis… They also have their life set up around training. It’s literally their job.

I’m going to assume you’re probably not taking a bunch of chemicals…

And have a job and life outside of the gym and the kitchen.

So don’t stress about it. 3, 4 or 5 sessions in the gym each week is plenty.

Focus on quality over quantity and make those sessions count.

If you’re in need of a training programme that works with you not against you to make sure you’re progressing every single week…

You’ll find our FREE programmes within our Private Community: Fat Loss Hacks For Frustrated Dieters.

Just download The SHRED Method in the Guides section and head to the training chapter.

Did I mention it’s all free?


See you in there!