How many times a week should you exercise to build muscle?
Twice a week? Three times? Or perhaps every day, so that you finally see some results? If you’re asking yourself this question, you’re not alone. As a personal trainer in Basel, I hear this from almost every new client. And I’ll let you in on a little secret right from the start: there’s no such thing as the perfect number that applies to everyone. But there is the right number for you.
The short answer
For an effective training plan aimed at building muscle, I recommend at least 2, ideally 3 to 4 training sessions a week:
2 to 3 sessions of targeted strength training
1 to 2 sessions of endurance training
That’s the framework. Where you fit into it exactly is determined by three questions that are far more important than any rule of thumb.
Question 1: How well has your body already adapted to the strain?
Your body is a master of adaptation. It will become exactly as strong as you push it to be, but only if it is able to recover between sessions.
If you’re just starting out or getting back into it after a long break, your muscles, tendons and joints aren’t yet used to the strain. Muscles adapt relatively quickly. Tendons, ligaments and bones take considerably longer. If you try to do too much too quickly, you risk overloading yourself rather than making progress. Two well-planned sessions a week will get you further at this stage than five half-hearted ones.
If, on the other hand, you’ve been training regularly for months or years, your body can cope with more. In that case, two sessions are often no longer enough to provide new stimuli, and three to four training sessions a week make all the difference.
The rule of thumb: it’s not the frequency that makes you strong, but the intensity of the workout from which you can actually recover.
Question 2: Do you have any limitations or pain?
Does your back ache, does your knee bother you when climbing stairs, or has your shoulder been stiff for weeks? That’s no reason to skip your training. On the contrary: strength training done in the right way is often exactly what helps.
When you’re experiencing discomfort, the first priority is to build up your body’s resilience again: with adapted exercises, proper technique and gradual progression in small steps. More frequent, but slightly shorter or gentler sessions can be more beneficial here than a few very intense ones. And sometimes you’ll need to consult a doctor or physiotherapist first before we get started.
Important: Pain is a signal, not an enemy. We listen to it, rather than ignoring it or coming to a complete standstill out of fear.
Question 3: What do you do for the other 23 hours?
An hour’s training sounds like a lot of effort. But there are 24 hours in a day. Whether your training is effective is largely determined by what you do in the 23 hours that follow. Muscles don’t actually grow during training. Training provides the stimulus; the growth happens afterwards: when you eat, recover and sleep.
Everyday activity: Even the best workout is of little use if you just sit around for the rest of the day. Try to get at least 30 minutes of light exercise every day, for example by walking to work, cycling to the shops or going for a stroll during your lunch break. The more active your daily life is, the better your body will respond to your training.
Nutrition: Your body can only build itself up if it gets the right nutrients. If you don’t eat enough, especially not enough protein, you’ll end up feeling tired rather than strong. A balanced diet with enough protein, vegetables, good carbohydrates and fats gives you the energy for your training and the building blocks for new muscle.
Stress: A full day at work, appointments, family, being constantly on call: these things also put a strain on your body. It doesn’t distinguish between stress at the office and stress during training; both drain your energy. If your day is already very demanding, a tough training session on top of that can be too much. In such cases, a shorter or gentler session is sometimes the wiser choice. That’s not a step backwards, but good timing.
Sleep: A large part of recovery takes place whilst you sleep: tissues are repaired, muscles are built up, and your mind finds rest. If you consistently get too little sleep or poor quality sleep, you recover more slowly, have less energy and lose motivation more quickly. Seven to nine hours of good sleep are therefore an integral part of your training plan.
The bottom line: Training is just one piece of the jigsaw. It only really pays off when combined with everyday physical activity, a good diet, healthy stress management and restful sleep. That’s why, with my clients, I look not just at the training session, but at the whole day.
How I support you as a personal trainer in Basel
As you can see, there’s no one-size-fits-all answer to the question "How often should I train?", which is precisely why I don’t offer a standard programme. Together, we’ll assess your current fitness level, check for any limitations or pain, and discuss what you’d like to achieve. From there, we’ll create a training plan tailored to your body, your goals and your daily life. Step by step, with safe guidance and measurable progress.
Curious to see what your plan might look like? Start with a free, no-obligation 20-minute introductory chat.
Mary Carmen Argast · Personal Trainer Basel · Ruchfeldstrasse 24 · 4142 Münchenstein +41 79 521 71 92 · info@personaltrainerbasel.ch