This is a series of either short videos or blog posts in which we show and tell you, how we handle things when it comes to training, nutrition & lifestyle. Also, whatever tip or question that pops up into our head, that we consider valuable to you, we will, of course, share.
So, one of the first things that popped into our mind and an overheard excuse is “Yooo, I really want to train, but see, the way my schedule is set up, mmm, I don’t really have time.”
When it comes to training, it doesn’t really have to take that long. A lot of times, people think you have to be in the gym 7 days per week and train 2 hours per day. An ongoing meta-analysis (Bayesian, PT Course #8) from the Bayesian research team found that as an untrained lifter, the optimal training volume would be 12-17 sets per muscle group and for intermediates that it hovers between 17-21 sets per muscle group.
Training volume: number of training sets per muscle group over time.
Now if you take frequency into account, aka allowing the muscle groups to be stimulated enough and recover properly, research has found that for untrained individuals it would be enough to train a body part once a week. Whereas novice lifters can go from 1-3 times per week, intermediate lifters would be 3-5 times per week and advanced lifter about 5+.
Training status based on strenght standards: Untrained – Novice – Intermediate – Advanced – Elite
Now if you look at all muscle groups and you spread it out over the week, you will understand that you can barely spread it out over 7 days and train for 2 hours. Unless of course, you decide to work on your jaw muscles or take 10-minute rest intervals. Even myself, with 3-minute rest intervals between sets, usually don’t train longer than 60 minutes. Take into account that I am near the advanced range of the spectrum.
So with an optimized program, there should be no reason for you to be in the gym longer than 1 hour per session. Depending on your goal and experience, of course, 3 sessions per week would be enough to stimulate muscle growth. And in most cases, people will be able to build a reasonable physique by training 3 times a week.
See, most people who complain about not having time, usually still fall in the untrained or novice category and it will take you quite a while before you shift to either intermediate or even advanced. 3 sessions of 45-60 minutes are not that much on a 168 hour week. So your excuse for no time or it takes too much time is invalid.
Now, I can go a lot deeper and talk about priorities and seeing value or benefits from self improvement, but that will take away the point of this short videos or posts, which is to keep it short and simple.
