How Frequently Should You Train as a Weightlifter?

The world of strength sports is an interesting topic when it comes to training as the majority of the movements in the gym that you use to improve in your sport are similar or even the exact same as the ones you perform in competition. The reason why this is so important to consider is that one of the keys to being successful in any athletic endeavor is to be able to spend as much time working on your sport as possible while also maximizing longevity in the process. This relates directly to the concept of specificity. Specificity refers to how similar your preparatory activities are compared to the task you are attempting to perform. In an idealized scenario, we want our training/practice to mimic competition or testing as closely as possible. However, this does not work in practice for natural athletes in strength sports as this type of training performed over long periods of time will lead to an increased risk of injury due to athletes not being able to recover sufficiently between sessions.

What you can manipulate in training:

For weightlifters, there are three primary variables that we can adjust in our training. These are volume, intensity, and frequency.

1. Training volume describes the number of sets and repetitions performed. Volume can be talked about in reference to certain lifts within a training session, the total number of sets/reps within an entire day of training, or even across a week of training. In all of these cases, it is important that we are attempting to achieve a sufficient volume to achieve the desired stimulus without adding unnecessary volume. This is one of the many instances in sports where more is not always better. A good general recommendation for weightlifters is to train with a moderate volume in order to achieve optimal results. One study suggests that this should look like approximately 40-50 total working repetitions in a session across the competition lifts, squats, and pulls. [1]

2. The second variable is training intensity. This refers to the load used for a given exercise. This is generally taken as a percentage of the individual’s one repetition maximum (1RM). Though there are some slight differences depending on training goals, some studies suggest that training a movement with high loads (>80% of 1RM) is ideal for gaining strength or for muscle hypertrophy. [2] Therefore, the majority of working sets during a training session should aim to use high loads for most weightlifters as this will translate into the best progress and better performance on the competition platform. Another important note on intensity, is that many individuals fall into the trap of thinking that all of their training should be done with maximal attempts in order to count as high loads. In reality, anywhere in above 80% is likely sufficient to achieve strength gains, and attempts above 95% should not constitute a significant number of repetitions performed in training.

3. Frequency refers to the number of times in a given week that you perform a particular lift or lift variation. This variable is important for both physical adaptations from training as well as for the psychological aspect when it comes to learning and executing the many complex movements that we perform in training. For learning as a whole, performing more repetitions with less time in between attempts is optimal. [3] In weight training, this suggests that training movements more than one time per week will be beneficial to improving technique. Individuals who perform weight training three to five times in general have seen the best outcomes in weightlifting. [1,4] However, research has not been able to demonstrate a significant difference within that range of three to five days. It has also been suggested that volume is a more important variable to consider compared to frequency when the primary goal is hypertrophy. [5] Therefore, an athlete should consider experimenting with a couple different training frequencies in order to determine which suits them best.

Conclusion:

What each individual training session should look like for most weightlifters will consist of moderate volume for the main lifts using loads at or above 80% of their 1RM performed three to five times per week. Further decisions regarding their training can be dictated by personal preference and their specific goals for training.

References:

1. González-Badillo JJ, Izquierdo M, Gorostiaga EM. Moderate volume of high relative training intensity produces greater strength gains compared with low and high volumes in competitive weightlifters. J Strength Cond Res. 2006;20(1):73-81. doi:10.1519/R-16284.1

2. Currier BS, Mcleod JC, Banfield L, et al. Resistance training prescription for muscle strength and hypertrophy in healthy adults: a systematic review and Bayesian network meta-analysis. Br J Sports Med. 2023;57(18):1211-1220. doi:10.1136/bjsports-2023-106807

3. Yamada C, Itaguchi Y, Fukuzawa K. Effects of the amount of practice and time interval between practice sessions on the retention of internal models. PLoS One. 2019;14(4):e0215331. Published 2019 Apr 16. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0215331

4. Huebner M, Faber F, Currie K, Rieger T. How Do Master Weightlifters Train? A Transnational Study of Weightlifting Training Practices and Concurrent Training. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2022;19(5):2708. Published 2022 Feb 25. doi:10.3390/ijerph19052708

5. 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. J Sports Sci. 2019;37(11):1286-1295. doi:10.1080/02640414.2018.1555906