Lesson: More is NOT Better

This isn't so much a lesson as it is a reminder. But it's too late to change the title now, so roll with it.

As an "abbreviated training" advocate, I like to think I've always – at least since I first started writing long form content online, circa 2020 – stressed the idea of more is just more, not necessarily better.

Compared to many of the people in the Hard Gainer/Abbreviated Training camp — I'm probably a little closer to the "moderate volume" end of the spectrum. But, in general, I believe in hitting each muscle group, directly, around 1-3 times per week, using 3-4 training sessions per week (often just repeating 2 sessions twice), and doing 2-3 sets per exercise while leaving around 1 rep in reserve on most exercises (but I occasionally go straight to failure, while also occasionally leaving more than 1 rep in the tank).

However, I've been guilty of trying to train too frequently lately. While I believe you can and should do some general, light or brief exercise every day, I do not think it's a good idea to do hypertrophy or strength training every single day or even more than 4 times per week.

Even if sessions are pretty brief and low volume (like many of my PPL sessions tend to be), you still need to allow yourself and your body a few days per week away from resistance exercise. Remember it's all about respecting the "stress - recovery - adaptation" cycle if you want progress. In this case, progress is greater muscle mass and increased strength. 

Lifting weights or doing hard bodyweight exercises are the stress.

Your body needs to then recover from that stress. You do that by resting.

It's after this period of rest that our body adapts via bigger, stronger muscles so that it can handle the stress better next time.

Now, we often think of recovery as the specific muscle groups being trained. But all stress – including training stress – takes a toll on the central nervous system. This means the body – as a whole system – needs time to rest and recover in order to grow and perform better.

I've pushed this recovery envelope hard the last year. I've been living with a lot of stress lately – particularly the last 9 months – outside of my training, which, by itself, takes a toll on the central nervous system. I've paired this with basically daily resistance training – another stressor. This near daily [resistance] training kept my body in a state of stress without respecting or allowing suitable time for recovery and adaptation.

Lately, I've been thinking about the fact that while I've made good general body recomposition gains, I have been walking around at a lighter weight than I normally do. Basically, since my last cutting phase (over a year ago) I've maintained around that weight that I finished my "cut" at – which is right about 200 pounds.

I've been training frequently but with very low volume because it makes me feel good. But, even while eating 3,600-4,000 calories per day, I'm wasn't gaining size. 

So what gives? What should I do?

Well, the answer to that is easy. I needed to go back to my roots. 

Train 3 days per week (resistance training. I still do some general, light exercise/movement daily).

Use an upper lower split or full body template. 

Do 2-3 sets per exercise – 5-7 exercises per session.

Sessions like this generally take 30-40 minutes. Sometimes a little longer. Sometimes a little shorter. But, the training is hard, the daily volume is moderate (around 10-15 total sets per workout), and the balance between resistance training, recovery days, and active rest is superior. 

3 lifting days, 4 recovery days, and on those recovery days do some simple active rest like easy cardio, brief High Intensity Interval conditioning work, jump rope and/or experimenting and practicing swinging light Indian clubs around [for shoulder mobility].

Again, training nearly every day with a PPL split and using low volume per session (8 sets per session) has worked pretty well from a general health and body composition standpoint. I haven't gained weight, but I look better at 200-202 pounds than I have before. But, usually I'm walking around 210-212 pounds. I'm leaving muscular size gains on the table – unintentionally – by not letting my body rest. I'm not getting any younger either, so my body isn't going to suddenly – magically – begin recovering better than it did when I was younger. 3 weekly sessions lasting 30-45 minutes apiece always worked best for me in the past, and this year – 2026 – I'm getting back to that template and will see if it spurs new growth and mass gains. 

I suspect it will, especially since I've experienced some strength gains even with these 5-6 weekly sessions I've been doing throughout 2025, just without the expected size gains. Allowing my body a few extra days of recovery may be just what my body needs to grow. We will see.

All this is just a rambling-bambling reminder that more is not necessarily better. 

More volume isn't necessarily better than less volume. The volume you can recover and adapt (progressively overload) from, consistently over time, is better.

More time in the gym definitely isn't better than less time in the gym. The time that allows you to train your most productive exercises with focus, intensity, effort, and enjoyment, repeatedly, without detracting from your other daily activities, is best. If you've been following me for awhile, you know that I think most people can probably find best results with 30-45 minute sessions if they learn to be efficient, work hard, and cut the fluff (including the wasted time scrolling on your phones in the gym).

More weekly training frequency also isn't automatically better (and, beyond 4 days per week, it's often worse in the strength and hypertrophy world). A frequency that allows you to recover, adapt, and progress is best. Too much frequency can lead to performance plateaus, chronic fatigue, hormonal imbalances, injury and even muscle loss. Meanwhile, too little frequency can lead to sub-optimal (slow) gains, quick plateaus in strength and muscle, and – if your frequency is really low (like 1 or fewer days per week) – you could suffer from the same problems as you'd deal with being sedentary. If you're coming from a trained background, training too infrequently could lead to muscle loss. The sweet spot for resistance training – for most people – is 3-4 days per week. 

It's this last area – regarding total weekly training frequency – that I've been red-lining this past year. Even those of us that work in the fitness industry every day need occasional reminders and self reflection. If progress is going slower than you think it should be, step back and look at your habits and your plan from an unbiased point of view. Find the potential chinks in the armor – so to speak – and make adjustments. After a few more months, step back, reassess again, make adjustments if needed, and continue.

Train smart, train hard, train frequently enough (3-4 days per week, plus light daily movement), and focus on providing an appropriate amount of stress, allowing an appropriate amount of recovery, and your body will reward you with appropriate adaptations.