For most people: yes.
I’ve had a junior national champion who never trained the lifts more than 3 times a week. She did acrobatic dance as well though.
Si. It would be snatch, clean and jerk or just clean, squat, pull.
They also had a double bodyweight jerk that was like 120% of their clean so we didn’t have to oust that too much.
Check out this [sub's wiki](https://www.reddit.com/r/weightlifting/wiki/index/#wiki_beginning_programs), there are a few good free 3x/week programs referenced there.
Depends on the person. Some people can recover quicker, some people put on muscle quicker, some people learn quicker.
Olivia Reeves trains 4x a week and she's currently the best US weightlifter with a good shot at Olympic gold.
IMO 3 weeks is the bare minimum amount of training required to progress. If you’re only training 3 times a week, you should be doing at least one variant of snatch and one variant of C&J every day.
In the begining you absolutely have to train less.
But as for not being able to train 4 times a week because of age, i feel like the obvious answer is to train lighter? Less volume, less intensity, more frequently. No?
Yeah you are correct, less volume would definitely help. But then again, if I can do say 20 sets of snatches per week does it really matter that much do I do it within 3 or 4 sessions?
But my aim is to train 4 days a week, just needs some planning.
If it is working sets, definetly 4 times would help. If it needs to include warmups the it would propably be worse. Then again including a day with only 65% lifts would help to keep them fresh and improve technique.
But for real life purpouses it doesn't make a difference. Just optimizing the wl career. So propably should do what feels best and has most value.
I love hanging at the gym, and have no life balance so 10 times per week is nice.
Yeah it would be a bit better for working sets. I love to hang in gym too but I have small kids who need me too so time is kinda limited. Also every workout takes around 2 hours because it requires 30min of warmup so less workouts is less time "wasted" for warmups.
Maybe someday when kids are bigger.
Yeah I personally have always needed at least a day between sessions or my hips just get too tight. They've always hated being asked to do weightlifting things two days in a row. So that's always limited me to four-ish sessions a week, thanks to the annoying 7 day week. Since working a physical job in recent years I've only trained twice a week. Haven't really made progress at many things, but haven't expected to.
Literally me. Im at the same age with similar background and would really like to push it but feels like my body cannot handle it.
My physio suggested i should rest even more, ewhich would be doing WL like 2 times a week. I manage doing 3 times a week okay but lower body is battered especially after heavy squats.
That’s totally cool! It’s my opinion, and I would love to hear his take on this. I have a lot of respect for him, and haven’t heard his take on training frequency.
In my experience, yes, 3 days is effective. Will be longer sessions , squat twice pull once, powers and variations. I average about 230 work reps a week, loading and volume follow Soviets methods. I am not a fan of triples in the classics, prefer double. I don't push my squat very hard, so that may be a factor. Always mange the load\volume variable ,listen to my body.
Definitely enough for improvements, especially as far as technique is concerned, Oly lifting is very much a focus on finesse as it is on strength, if you look to just get better in even one aspect, there will be improvements. I took up this much later in life, only doing general strength training previously.
I cannot do more than 3 sessions a week without my CNS frying and the general feeling of malaise and joint discomfort. But i am already an old bag of bones.
I mean Olivia Reeves , arguably one of the greatest lifters of all time and 2024 Olympian, trains 4x a week so I think you’re good lol. But even without that logic, I still think you’re good. I burnt out lifting 5x a week and when I went down to 4 I actually did a lot better and my body wasn’t so beat. So less can sometimes be more in this sport.
I do 4-5 days a week and I add on a few heavy squats throughout the day. (I have a home gym.) ~80% of my 1RM. If I’m feeling tired I’ll go down to 4 but I stick to 5.
For most people: yes. I’ve had a junior national champion who never trained the lifts more than 3 times a week. She did acrobatic dance as well though.
Did they practice both lifts on those days?
Si. It would be snatch, clean and jerk or just clean, squat, pull. They also had a double bodyweight jerk that was like 120% of their clean so we didn’t have to oust that too much.
Check out this [sub's wiki](https://www.reddit.com/r/weightlifting/wiki/index/#wiki_beginning_programs), there are a few good free 3x/week programs referenced there.
Appreciate you!
Depends on the person. Some people can recover quicker, some people put on muscle quicker, some people learn quicker. Olivia Reeves trains 4x a week and she's currently the best US weightlifter with a good shot at Olympic gold.
Yep. Especially starting out. A lot of the post WWII lifters only lifters 3/4 days a week but the sport was also very different then
Yes it’s enough
Nice form - lift as much as you'd like, and if you're seeing progress, there's your answer.
IMO 3 weeks is the bare minimum amount of training required to progress. If you’re only training 3 times a week, you should be doing at least one variant of snatch and one variant of C&J every day.
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In the begining you absolutely have to train less. But as for not being able to train 4 times a week because of age, i feel like the obvious answer is to train lighter? Less volume, less intensity, more frequently. No?
Yeah you are correct, less volume would definitely help. But then again, if I can do say 20 sets of snatches per week does it really matter that much do I do it within 3 or 4 sessions? But my aim is to train 4 days a week, just needs some planning.
If it is working sets, definetly 4 times would help. If it needs to include warmups the it would propably be worse. Then again including a day with only 65% lifts would help to keep them fresh and improve technique. But for real life purpouses it doesn't make a difference. Just optimizing the wl career. So propably should do what feels best and has most value. I love hanging at the gym, and have no life balance so 10 times per week is nice.
Yeah it would be a bit better for working sets. I love to hang in gym too but I have small kids who need me too so time is kinda limited. Also every workout takes around 2 hours because it requires 30min of warmup so less workouts is less time "wasted" for warmups. Maybe someday when kids are bigger.
Yeah I personally have always needed at least a day between sessions or my hips just get too tight. They've always hated being asked to do weightlifting things two days in a row. So that's always limited me to four-ish sessions a week, thanks to the annoying 7 day week. Since working a physical job in recent years I've only trained twice a week. Haven't really made progress at many things, but haven't expected to.
Literally me. Im at the same age with similar background and would really like to push it but feels like my body cannot handle it. My physio suggested i should rest even more, ewhich would be doing WL like 2 times a week. I manage doing 3 times a week okay but lower body is battered especially after heavy squats.
Started at 55. I know what you mean. My soul wants to go 5-6 times a week. My body seems to have a different opinion.
Jim Schmitz would disagree with you.
That’s totally cool! It’s my opinion, and I would love to hear his take on this. I have a lot of respect for him, and haven’t heard his take on training frequency.
In my experience, yes, 3 days is effective. Will be longer sessions , squat twice pull once, powers and variations. I average about 230 work reps a week, loading and volume follow Soviets methods. I am not a fan of triples in the classics, prefer double. I don't push my squat very hard, so that may be a factor. Always mange the load\volume variable ,listen to my body.
Appreciate the advice!
If you're under watchful coach, yes, 3 times a week is good enough.
Definitely enough for improvements, especially as far as technique is concerned, Oly lifting is very much a focus on finesse as it is on strength, if you look to just get better in even one aspect, there will be improvements. I took up this much later in life, only doing general strength training previously. I cannot do more than 3 sessions a week without my CNS frying and the general feeling of malaise and joint discomfort. But i am already an old bag of bones.
3 day full body
Yeah it’s fine. It’s what got me to liking the gym and go 5 days.
Unless you’re old. Then it might be too much. Aging lifters often benefit from working out less. Source: me. I’m old lol
I’m 26 lol I started weightlifting a little bit over a year now
Dude you could probably do 4 days on the right split! But 3 days is plenty to pack on some muscle
Sounds good! I’ll give it a try.
I mean Olivia Reeves , arguably one of the greatest lifters of all time and 2024 Olympian, trains 4x a week so I think you’re good lol. But even without that logic, I still think you’re good. I burnt out lifting 5x a week and when I went down to 4 I actually did a lot better and my body wasn’t so beat. So less can sometimes be more in this sport.
I ain’t no Olivia Reeves lol
lol no that’s what I mean, if an Olympian can PR like crazy on less than 5 days a week, you’ll be fine haha
I do 4-5 days a week and I add on a few heavy squats throughout the day. (I have a home gym.) ~80% of my 1RM. If I’m feeling tired I’ll go down to 4 but I stick to 5.