This is something that I am asked all the time. How often should I train? Well, the answer isn’t all that simple because there are so many factors involved. What is your training history? What is your muscle fibre makeup? What is your injury history? What is your training goal, rehab or performance? How solid is your nutrition and or supplementation? What are your commitments outside of training?

All of these factors and more have influence over training frequency so you can see how much it can vary from individual to individual. Thus, for me to answer that question in generic terms is very difficult. Don’t get me wrong, there are a lot of generic strength programs out there that are very good and well written, but the problem is that these are often written for strength athletes or body builders, where lifting is their sport. These programs do not account for the skills practice required for competition in other sports including action sports.

I have written before about understanding the difference in training and practice and this is a huge factor to consider in training frequency when programming for performance in action sports athletes. If practice is not required, like with rehabilitation cases, then this enables the athletes training frequency to be dictated so that maximum training effect for their specific goal can be achieved. On the other hand in peak competition season an athlete may only be doing the minimum required in the gym to maintain strength and fitness throughout the season as to not impede athletic performance.

So now that I have confused the hell out of you, I’ll attempt to reel it back in and give you an example of a fairly typical scenario.

Let’s say you are an amateur action sports athlete trying to make a name in the sport, be that FMX, BMX, motocross, skate, wake or whatever. You have a few local and interstate competitions going on but they are only on around once a month or so. Outside of that you are still having to work part time and the occasional demonstration fee or prize cheque helps make ends meet as you chase your dream of being a full time pro athlete on the world stage.

At this early stage in your career you are still learning your craft so practice takes very high priority followed closely by strength training and everything else has to work in around that, including the three days work you do down at the local shop.

Ideally you would be practicing three to five days a week some of these can be done on work days after or before work which leaves two to four days a week that are available to train. You could train and practice on the same day but in this instance, practice must come first because of safety issues that can arise from fatigue. The problem is that this unfortunately goes both ways and if you practice first you will be fatigued and may not be able to train as effectively as you would if you were fresh.

So that leaves us with our four days left for training, with this limit ideally you would want to maximise the effectiveness of each session, with that though also comes the need for rest so that your body can recover from training and practice, leaving enough fuel in the tank to participate in life or more importantly competition.

In this instance I would recommend the athlete complete a minimum of two strength training sessions per week spread out so that there is at least a day recovery either between strength session or strength session and practice. I would also suggest that strength session should occur during the week days and that practice should be weighted around the weekend to emulate competition schedule.

As the athlete progresses in their career and the need for outside employment lessens then the training frequency can increase but generally I would not suggest any more that 4 times per week as the need for practice and travel for competitions and demonstrations is still required.

Is this the absolute optimal scenario for strength and performance gains? No, but unfortunately sometimes life isn’t optimal and we have to understand that and make adjustments to get as much out of it as possible. This is the difference that Actionsport Performance brings to the table, understanding combined with a wealth of personal experience and proven techniques for optimal gains in any given situation.

If you are ready to take your performance to the next level regardless of whether you are a seasoned pro or a weekend warrior, Actionsport performance can help you get there, contact me today to find out how.

Train hard and be safe.

Your strength coach,

Cam