Tip The Two-Day Rule Search Skip to content Menu Menu follow us Store Articles Community Loyal-T Club Loyal-T Points Rewards Subscribe to Save Search Search The World s Trusted Source & Community for Elite Fitness Training Tip The Two-Day Rule How long do you have to wait before you train the same muscle group again Not as long as you may think Here' s why by Charles Staley May 16, 2018August 18, 2019 Tags Bodybuilding, Tips, Training Training Frequency For most people, most of the time, muscles will be fully recovered and ready to be trained again in two days. That's right, muscle will be ready to train again in two days, which means if you wait any longer than this to hit that muscle again, you're losing ground. It's not that "bro splits" (where you train each muscle group hard once per week) don't work, it's that they don't work as well as other approaches, at least for most people. Now sure, if you happen to be Big Ramy or some other similarly huge lifter who regularly squats in the 700-800 range and benches north of 500, okay, maybe it takes your muscles a week to recover. The rest of us only need a day or two until we're ready to hit that muscle again, and if we don't, we'll start losing our previously-acquired gains. Think of it this way: The bigger a muscle is, the more damage it sustains during training and the longer it'll take to recover from that damage. You probably already know intuitively that your biceps recover faster than your hamstrings, for example. That being the case, most guys should train their bigger muscles (legs, back, and chest) 2-3 times per week, and their smaller muscles (pretty much everything else) 3-4 times per week. This reality is the rationale behind my recommendation for 3 "whole body" workouts per week for most lifters. The best approach involves doing a squat, push, hinge, and pull movement, along with 1-2 optional movement for smaller muscles such as arms and calves, each workout. Get The T Nation Newsletters Don' t Miss Out Expert Insights To Get Stronger, Gain Muscle Faster, And Take Your Lifting To The Next Level related posts Training Tip Fix Your Push-Up Form Save Your Face Here's the simplest way to hone in on the ideal push-up mechanics. Tips, Training Joel Seedman, PhD September 15 Training Do Straight-Arm Pulldowns For Lats Doing straight-arm pulldown nails the lats and enhances your V-taper like no other exercise, only if you use perfect form. Here's how. Tips, Training Christian Thibaudeau February 2 Training From 0 to 100 Know Your Percentages Each training percentage, from zero to 100% of your 1RM, has a distinct effect on speed, power, and hypertrophy. Here’s how to use that info wisely. Bodybuilding, Powerlifting & Strength, Training Christian Thibaudeau May 13 Training Tip Two Lifts for Real Athletic Strength Here's are two functional strength exercises that are actually functional for athletes and everyone else who occasionally gets off the couch. Powerlifting & Strength, Tips, Training TJ Kuster January 24