Training frequency is an important factor for organizing volume and intensity across the week. It describes how often a muscle or muscle group is trained per week. Distributing the training load sensibly across the week can improve the balance between load and recovery, so that no single session becomes too strenuous.
Why distribution matters
If you try to complete all your volume in one day, the quality of your exercises gets worse because you become tired over time – both physically and mentally (fatigue). The training stimulus decreases over the course of the workout, which can impair the efficiency of strength development and muscle growth.
At the other extreme, if you have six sets per week and do only one set per day, you have little opportunity to apply the necessary stimuli and to spot and correct mistakes. If you perform your only set poorly, you have no second or third set to correct it. Even if you perform it perfectly, you miss the chance to repeat and internalize it until at least a day later.
Frequency recommendations
MyFitCoach distributes your training volume across the days you choose and the time you have per session – whether you prefer fewer three-hour sessions or more frequent 45-minute sessions.
Typical range: 3–6 sessions/week for muscle growth and strength goals; 2/week can work great for people with limited time or beginners. This determines how often each muscle group/movement is trained.
Progress & adjustment
As your training level increases, you usually need more volume to keep making progress (progressive overload). This often requires more training days or longer sessions – MyFitCoach takes this into account when planning.
Number of training days
For maximum muscle growth (hypertrophy), there are some proven principles from training science that can help you choose your training days and frequency.
2–6 days/week cover most hypertrophy programs.
Beginners: 2–3 days are often enough for good progress.
Advanced lifters: often benefit from 5–6 days, mainly to fit in their higher volume.
For most people who don't want to be in the gym every day, 3 days are perfectly sufficient. There are now many splits for this, too, e.g., Push / Pull / Legs or the Arnold Split.
Benefits of a higher frequency
Better volume distribution: A higher frequency makes it easier to spread a higher weekly volume across several sessions. That way, no single session becomes too long or too fatiguing.
Improved motor skills: Training more often helps improve technique and coordination – especially for complex exercises. For strength, the latest meta-regression found greater gains with increasing frequency (Pelland et al. 2026); older meta-analyses found no significant effect in studies with equal volume (Grgic et al. 2018; Ralston et al. 2018).
Important: For muscle growth, meta-analyses show no relevant difference between lower and higher frequency at equal weekly volume (Schoenfeld et al. 2019; Pelland et al. 2026). The often-cited argument that training more often stimulates muscle protein synthesis more frequently and therefore leads to more muscle growth is not supported by these data.
These points help you structure your training week sensibly and balance load and recovery well.
How many days should you choose?
Rule of thumb: As many as you can manage consistently, week after week.
If you select 6 but actually train only 4–5, the split is probably not optimal.
Want to try a specific split? Go for it – as long as progressive overload works and recovery is fine, you can stick with it.
New to training? Start with 2–3 sessions/week and check your recovery. You can increase this in your training profile at any time.
2–3× per week per muscle is a practical rule of thumb (Schoenfeld et al. 2016), mainly to distribute a higher weekly volume well. Other frequencies can work just as well, though – try them out over several weeks (6–8-week cycle).
Note: Training a muscle once a week is also an equivalent option for muscle growth at equal weekly volume, based on current evidence (see above). That's why you can now also choose the Bodybuilding Split (Bro Split) → What splits are available in the app? More on the evidence: Can I create my own plan or split?
Questions about individual planning? We're happy to help: support@myfitcoach.de
References
Grgic J, Schoenfeld BJ, Davies TB, Lazinica B, Krieger JW, Pedisic Z. Effect of Resistance Training Frequency on Gains in Muscular Strength: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Sports Medicine. 2018;48(5):1207–1220.
Pelland JC, Remmert JF, Robinson ZP, Hinson SR, Zourdos MC. The Resistance Training Dose Response: Meta-Regressions Exploring the Effects of Weekly Volume and Frequency on Muscle Hypertrophy and Strength Gains. Sports Medicine. 2026;56(2):481–505.
Ralston GW, Kilgore L, Wyatt FB, Buchan D, Baker JS. Weekly Training Frequency Effects on Strength Gain: A Meta-Analysis. Sports Medicine – Open. 2018;4(1):36.
Schoenfeld BJ, Ogborn D, Krieger JW. Effects of Resistance Training Frequency on Measures of Muscle Hypertrophy: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Sports Medicine. 2016;46(11):1689–1697.
Schoenfeld BJ, Grgic J, Krieger J. How many times per week should a muscle be trained to maximize muscle hypertrophy? A systematic review and meta-analysis of studies examining the effects of resistance training frequency. Journal of Sports Sciences. 2019;37(11):1286–1295.