How Often Should You Lift: Understanding Training Frequency

One of the most common questions we hear at M2 is how many days per week someone should train to see real progress. The encouraging part is that you don’t need to live in the gym to be strong. In fact, you can make fantastic progress on just two full-body sessions per week. But if your schedule allows it, bumping that to three or four sessions will lead to faster and more noticeable results.

Training 2x Per Week

Two days per week work extremely well for people with busy schedules, high-stress jobs, or those just getting started. With full-body training, each session hits every major movement pattern, giving you enough intensity and volume to drive strength and muscle gains.

Progress may be a bit slower simply because you’re practicing the lifts fewer times, but the results are absolutely there. Twice a week is more than enough to build strength, maintain momentum, and address any nagging injuries.

Training 3x Per Week

Three days per week tend to be the sweet spot for most adults. You’re practicing key movements often enough to get noticeably stronger, but not so often that recovery becomes a major consideration. It’s the perfect balance: more exposures to skill work, more weekly volume, and still plenty of time to recover between sessions. For the average person looking for the best “return on investment,” three days a week is hard to beat.

Training 4x Per Week

Four days per week work best for people with a bit more training experience or those who simply enjoy being in the gym. Increased frequency means more high-quality reps, more opportunities to refine technique, and more total volume across the week. You’re not necessarily working harder in each session—you’re just spreading the work out, which often leads to better execution and faster progress. The trade-off is that it requires more time and more attention to recovery habits.

Why More Frequency Usually Leads to Better Results

Strength is a skill, and like any skill, it improves with practice. The more often you train (within reason), the more chances you have to reinforce movement patterns, build muscle, and expose your body to stress. Frequency lets you distribute your workload across the week in a way that keeps sessions effective instead of overwhelming.

It’s important to choose the schedule that fits your life, not the one that looks best on paper. Consistency will beat perfection EVERY. SINGLE. TIME. If you can show up and train with intention, your strength will take care of itself.