Please Scroll Down to See Forums Below 
There seems to be alot of talk lately regarding training frequency and what is the ideal for maximal gains. After 27 years of lifting (mostly) I have decided the answer is.........it depends.
Often times beginning trainers are told to train the entire body three times per week, say Mon-Wed-Fri. This is actually good advice. The reason being if you're new to lifting you're only recruiting a very tiny percentage of the available muscle fibers during an exercise. Since very little of your muscle is actually doing any work you can easily be fully recovered in 48 hours. This is also why some newbies feel like they need to do 15-20 sets per bodypart to get a good workout.
On the other end of the spectrum are pro bodybuilders. These guys are recruiting a VERY high percentage of the available muscle fibers on each and every set, hence the reason Mike Mentzer could do 4-6 sets per bodypart and be completely wiped out...needing days to recover. Many top pros now train each bodypart once per week.
I spent the 20 years believing twice per week was the sweet spot, with each bodypart getting 10-13 sets of work plus warmups. Now my intensity is such that I have a very hard time recovering from that workload. I found myself needing to skip workouts at least once a week. My age is likely a factor in that of course. Recently I switched to once per week training, alternating lifting days with cardio days. I try to stay right at 15 sets per bodypart so that number is up a tiny bit. This feels perfect to me. I can still make gains. I don't have to "save anything" for tomorrow's workout. If I were to compete again I would up the frequency to three times every two weeks.
Often times beginning trainers are told to train the entire body three times per week, say Mon-Wed-Fri. This is actually good advice. The reason being if you're new to lifting you're only recruiting a very tiny percentage of the available muscle fibers during an exercise. Since very little of your muscle is actually doing any work you can easily be fully recovered in 48 hours. This is also why some newbies feel like they need to do 15-20 sets per bodypart to get a good workout.
On the other end of the spectrum are pro bodybuilders. These guys are recruiting a VERY high percentage of the available muscle fibers on each and every set, hence the reason Mike Mentzer could do 4-6 sets per bodypart and be completely wiped out...needing days to recover. Many top pros now train each bodypart once per week.
I spent the 20 years believing twice per week was the sweet spot, with each bodypart getting 10-13 sets of work plus warmups. Now my intensity is such that I have a very hard time recovering from that workload. I found myself needing to skip workouts at least once a week. My age is likely a factor in that of course. Recently I switched to once per week training, alternating lifting days with cardio days. I try to stay right at 15 sets per bodypart so that number is up a tiny bit. This feels perfect to me. I can still make gains. I don't have to "save anything" for tomorrow's workout. If I were to compete again I would up the frequency to three times every two weeks.
