Time between two strength training sessions

For most ordinary strength training enthusiasts, the optimal benchmark between two training sessions for the same target muscle group is 48-72 hours, while the interval for full-body differentiated training can be compressed to 24-48 hours. There is no absolutely unified standard answer. All time planning must follow your physical condition and training goals.

When I first entered the fitness industry, I believed in the wild idea that "abdominal muscles need to be exercised every day to get big". I did 200 crunches and hanging leg raises every day for a week before going to bed. On the fifth day, I bent down to pick up a dropped parcel. My abdomen was so painful that I couldn't stand up. Finally, I rested for almost half a month before I dared to do core training. The core reason for stepping into this trap was that I regarded other people's training frequency as a bible, without considering my own endurance.

The debate about training intervals in the fitness circle has never stopped. The traditional bodybuilding school trains the chest, back, shoulders, arms and legs once a week, and the same muscle group is separated by 7 days, which does not delay people's development of big dimensions; the popular high-frequency training school now uses two cycles of push and pull legs, touching the same muscle group once every 3-4 days, and the progress is faster; even many powerlifters practice compound movements such as squats and deadlifts three times a week, with an interval of only 48 hours, and their strength increases faster than anyone else. Who do you think is right and who is wrong? In fact, they are both correct, but the people and goals they are suitable for are different.

Back to the baseline of 48-72 hours, it is essentially the average time it takes for ordinary people to repair muscle fibers - when you practice, you tear out tiny damage to the muscle fibers, and the body has to rely on rest and nutrition to make them thicker. This process generally takes more than 2 days. But if you hit the 1RM limit in training last time, neurological fatigue is much more serious than muscle fatigue, so even 72 hours of rest may not be enough. Last month, I finished a 140kg deadlift PR, and the next day I felt my legs were shaky even when I drove the car and stepped on the accelerator. I took a 5-day break before trying to deadlift, and my condition was much better than when I was stuck practicing for 3 days.

But if you only did light weight volume sets last time, and then stopped once you felt the pump, you could even recover in 36 hours. Many fitness preparers around me train twice a day, doing chest presses in the morning and back exercises in the afternoon, and cycle back to shoulder presses the next day, and I haven’t seen anyone collapse.

Another variable that is most easily overlooked is your living situation. A twenty-year-old college student who stays up late and plays games all night after practicing his legs can still jump to do shoulder training the next day. A thirty-year-old social worker who works overtime for two days after practicing his legs may still have weak legs after walking for four or five days. In this case, the 72-hour training interval is purely to make yourself suffer, and it is easy to get injured.

Don’t keep an eye on the calendar to calculate the time. There are several more reliable judgment criteria: there is no obvious tingling in the target muscle group, there is no soreness and trembling when exerting force, your sleep and appetite have been normal in the past two days, and your hands are itchy when you see a barbell when you pass by the gym. Then just go and practice without any worries. Many people are confused about "can I practice if my muscles are still a little sore?" In fact, delayed onset soreness (DOMS) will only reach its peak 24-72 hours after training. Sometimes the muscles have been repaired and the soreness has not gone away. As long as it is not tingling, you can practice normally after activating with a small weight.

In the final analysis, the training interval is a reference value that serves you. There is no need to follow the blogger's schedule, and there is no need to be anxious just because you have two more days of rest than others. I now do two rounds of leg push and pull. Normally, I do chest exercises twice a week with an interval of three days. If I worked overtime and stayed up late the day before, I would take an extra day off. Anyway, the iron is always there, and practicing for a long time is much more useful than practicing frequently.