Is training 6 days a week too much (causes overtraining)?

Is training six days a week actually beneficial, or could it lead to overtraining? In this article, we'll explore whether you should actually train at a high frequency for hypertrophy and the real risks of overtraining.

So, is training six days a week too much? It's okay to lift weights six days a week. In fact, many workouts, like ABC 2x , have six training sessions a week and produce great results for most people.

Overtraining is a problem that occurs when the amount and intensity of physical exercise exceeds your recovery capacity. This usually happens when there isn't enough time for your muscles to recover from the last workout.

However, overtraining isn't something that happens easily or in the short term. Most people who worry too much about it are usually the ones furthest from experiencing it.

In any case, to prevent overtraining , it's crucial to create a properly designed workout so that there's enough rest between sessions to allow your muscles to recover properly. This could mean organizing your training days so that the same muscle isn't worked consecutively or including rest days without physical activity.

Furthermore, the quality of your diet and sleep can also affect your ability to recover from training. In other words, even with adequate training, poor diet and insufficient sleep can still facilitate overtraining.

Does training 6 times a week cause overtraining?

Under normal circumstances, training six times a week doesn't usually lead to overtraining. In fact, this training frequency, if well-organized, can produce great results, especially for those who have been training for a while.

Furthermore, the number of days you train per week is a poor indicator of overtraining, at least when considered in isolation. For example, if you follow a workout with many exercises, sets, and repetitions, you may overtrain by training 3, 4, or 5 days. This can be further exacerbated by poor diet and poor sleep.

In other words, if you're following a proper routine, there aren't many valid reasons to worry about a 6-day-a-week workout.

How to train 6 times a week without worrying about overtraining

As we've seen, whether you'll overtrain by training six times a week depends on how you approach it. Below, we'll look at the main tips for training this frequently correctly.

1 – Follow the correct routine for six days

There are workout routines designed to be used six days a week. This is the case with the push/pull/legs 2x routine , which allows you to train all your muscles with adequate recovery between sessions.

The push/pull/legs workout has six weekly workouts and organizes exercises into three categories: push, pull, and legs. "Push" includes exercises that involve pushing movements, such as bench presses and shoulder presses. "Pull" includes pulling exercises, such as rows and pulldowns. "Legs" focuses on leg muscles, such as squats.

This setup allows you to train all muscle groups twice a week in a way that allows enough recovery for you to train the same muscle again once it has recovered.

2 – Listen to your own body

Training six days a week is generally reserved for those who have been training for some time (6-12 months) because after a while of training, any bodybuilder may notice that they are more tired than normal or that there is something wrong, precisely because they have the previous experience that a beginner does not have.

That said, when you train almost every day, there will certainly be days when you're more sore, with stiffer joints, and more tired than usual. While training hard is never a walk in the park, you need to know how to separate a one-off situation from a chronic one.

If you frequently feel tired and have muscle or joint pain, you may be overtraining and it's time to reevaluate your routine and see what you might be doing wrong.

3 – Eat the correct amount of calories

If your goal is muscle hypertrophy, eating the right amount of calories is vital, regardless of how many days you train. However, if you train almost every day, this is even more important because you're burning more calories and demanding more from your body.

Failing to consume the correct amount of calories for you will drastically prevent muscle gain, decrease your strength, and even facilitate overtraining.

4 – Prioritize sleep quality

Sleep is one of the best ways to ensure you're recovering properly. During sleep, your body rebuilds muscle fibers damaged during training and also improves hormone production (primarily testosterone and growth hormone).

Inadequate sleep has been linked to reduced reaction time, motor performance, mental cognition, energy levels, and mood disorders. Therefore, it's recommended that you get 7 to 9 hours of sleep per night.

If you can't sleep even 7 hours a night, there will be no magic to compensate for sleep deprivation and you will have to accept training at a disadvantage.

Who should train 6 times a week?

First of all, it's important to understand that you don't have to train six times a week to get results. Many people can achieve great results by training three to five times a week. The number of days is a very limited indicator for predicting results when considered in isolation.

That said, training six times a week is recommended for those who want and can train this way. In other words, training six days a week isn't mandatory; it's optional, and when choosing to train this way, you need to have more time available.

Additionally, training six times a week is recommended for those who have been training for some time and have mastered the basics of bodybuilding, such as performing basic compound exercises (bench press, squat, overhead press, etc.) and know how to train with the proper intensity to generate results.