Training Frequency
Health vs. Competition
When people walk into a CrossFit box, a Hyrox gym, or a functional fitness class, or a gym like ATTN, they often wonder: “How many days a week should I train?”
The answer depends entirely on your goals.
Do you want to be healthy, strong, and capable for everyday life? Or are you chasing the competitive edge—stepping onto a competition floor and pushing your body as far as it will go?
Both are valid goals. But they come with very different approaches to training frequency, recovery, and lifestyle.
“The Everyday Athlete” for Health/Longevity
If your goal is simply to be fit, resilient, and enjoy life, then 3–5 sessions per week is the sweet spot!
Adaptation Without Burnout: Training stimulates strength development and endurance improvement. Recovery makes you fitter. Beyond 5 intense sessions a week, recovery can’t keep up for the average person with work, family, and life stress.
Joint & Tissue Health: Tendons and ligaments adapt more slowly than muscles. Spacing your sessions gives them the time they need to get stronger, which reduces overuse injuries. That is, if you’re eating well enough.
Consistency > Intensity: Three to five workouts done consistently will beat occasional “beast mode” weeks every single time- too hard, too soon leads to issue and injury.
What It Looks Like in Practice:
3x/week: Full-body strength + conditioning each day, balanced with mobility and accessory work.
4x/week: Two strength-focused days, two conditioning/skill-focused days.
5x/week: A mix of heavy lifting, conditioning, and skill, with one or two lighter sessions (e.g., mobility or active recovery). I personally like a day or two of accessory (see: bodybuilding) work.
You’ll build lean muscle, maintain a strong heart and lungs, and keep energy for the rest of your life—without feeling like fitness is a second job. You’ll also reduce injury risk and stay training well into your 40s, 50s, and beyond.
“The Aspiring Athlete” (for Competition)
Competitive CrossFit or Hyrox training is a different animal. To excel, you’re no longer just “working out”—you’re training like an athlete, which often means 5–7 sessions per week, sometimes with two-a-days.
I named the program CompEx, short for Competitive Exercise, because I wanted people to trust in their training and skills enough to go out and test them at events outside our spaces. This was true when I started it first as “Level 2” all the way back at Foundation CrossFit and CrossFit SLU. The program has seen a ton of evolutions, but the same target remains.
Volume Covers All Bases: You need time for strength (Olympic weightlifting, powerlifting), conditioning (running, rowing, biking, ski, Zone 2), gymnastics (pullups, HSPUs, muscle-ups), and accessory work. A single one-hour class isn’t nearly enough time to develop this. It’s also why CompEx is 90 minutes.
Sport-Specific Demands: Hyrox requires long endurance efforts paired with strength stations. CrossFit competitions demand barbell cycling, high-skill gymnastics, and varied conditioning. Each area needs dedicated practice.
High Repetition = High Recovery Needs: With this frequency, recovery becomes part of training: 8+ hours of sleep, targeted specific nutrition, an understanding of your individual mobility, and often physiotherapy or bodywork.
What It Looks Like in Practice
5 Days/Week: Single sessions, ~90 minutes, with 1–2 active recovery days. Come in and get on a bike for a while.
6–7 Days/Week: Often split sessions: strength in the morning, conditioning in the evening. One lighter active recovery day included.
Yearly Planning: Periodization is key—off-season focus on strength/skills, pre-season on conditioning/competition prep, and tapering before events.
Training this much isn’t about health. It’s about performance if that’s what matters to you. Competitive athletes live in a constant cycle of pushing to the edge of overreaching, then recovering just enough to push again.
Higher injury risk
Less balance with work/family life. You have responsibilities that take priority.
Recovery becomes that much more important.
That’s the cost of chasing peak output.
The Bottom Line
Training for health and training for competition are two different sports.
If your goal is HEALTH: 3–5 sessions per week will keep you strong, mobile, and fit without burning you out. Fitness enhances your life.
If your goal is COMPETITION: expect 5–7 sessions per week, recovery strategies, and a lifestyle built around training. Fitness is your life.
Neither path is better—just be honest about what you’re chasing. Want to live longer, move better, and have energy for family and hobbies? Stick to the health approach. Want to see what your body is capable of under a spotlight? Embrace the competitive grind.
Your frequency should always match your goal.
