Study of pro bodybuilders: 4 days vs 6 days per week with equal volume yielded equal

[Admin]

Another cool graphic put together by Thomas Coughlin, this one on our study that investigated the effects of 4 vs 6 training sessions a week where both groups worked each muscle twice per week on a volume-equated basis. The really cool thing about this study is that subjects were pro bodybuilders (drug tested via monitoring testosterone levels). We found no differences in changes in either fat free mass or strength. Limitations were a small sample size (pretty tough to get a large sample of pro bodybuilders!) and a short study duration. Nevertheless, interesting info that provides insight into a relevant topic for serious lifters.

 

[Stiffy]

Pro Bodybuilders: 1RM Bench Press 105kg????


So it's Upper/Lower versus P.P.L.

 

[Fadi]

Training frequency as far as bodybuilding is concerned is tied to protein synthesis/an anabolic phase that is created by the effect a workout has on our body. This anabolic phase/window lasts between 1 and 2 days, and even shorter for more advanced bodybuilders. The use of anabolic steroids extends that anabolic phase from 1 to 2 days all the way up to 1 to 2 weeks when it comes to a pro bodybuilder. What does all this mean for the average Joe? It simply means that the higher the frequency the more potential one has to build muscle. Some are suggesting 6 days per week for the same muscle group (and you'll hear a lot about it soon when the Norwegian high frequency experiment study is out for peer review)...

http://strengtheory.com/high-freque...rch-on-highly-trained-norwegian-powerlifters/

Why am I mixing this study which looked at 16 competitive Norwegian powerlifters, with bodybuilding? Because the ones that worked out 6 days per week added some size to their legs (not to mention doubling in strength), when the ones who trained for 3 days per week did not.

I'm still waiting for someone to tell me what was extraordinary about a powerlifter training the same muscle group 6 days per week? I realise that the volume was equated between the two groups, that is to say, they both did the same amount of work, with the only difference been the spreading of said work over a longer period of time. For me personally, (someone who trained 8x/week as an Olympic weightlifter), this study seems very much inapplicable to bodybuilding.

Having said the above, I do believe that a higher frequency of training (up to a point) as a bodybuilder is more beneficial when compared with one of a lower frequency. In practical terms, that to me translates into training the same muscle every 48 hours; Mon, Wed, Fri. Adding to that anabolic window created by training, I'd use an overreaching method that would stop short of overtraining, before decreasing the load (by way of less frequency and less weight/higher repetitions), allowing for maximum muscle growth. Then repeat the cycle with a slightly heavier load etc.