Many people wonder whether it’s better to exercise a little every day or do a longer workout once a week. A new study from Edith Cowan University suggests that when it comes to building muscle strength, daily exercise may be the best approach.
The good news? You don’t have to spend hours at the gym every day. Even a small amount of regular exercise can make a real difference.
For the study, researchers divided participants into three groups and had them perform a bicep exercise for four weeks. The exercise involved lowering a weight, which is called an “eccentric contraction”—similar to lowering a heavy dumbbell in a bicep curl.
The first group did six repetitions of the exercise five days a week (6×5 group), totaling 30 repetitions per week. The second group did all 30 repetitions in a single day once a week (30×1 group). The third group did only six repetitions one day per week.
After four weeks, the results were clear:
- The group that spread their exercise throughout the week (6×5 group) saw a more than 10% increase in muscle strength and a small increase in muscle size.
- The group that did all 30 reps in one day (30×1 group) gained muscle size but did not increase muscle strength.
- The group that only exercised once a week with six reps saw no changes in strength or muscle size.
This means that doing a small amount of exercise regularly is much more effective for strength gains than doing a lot of exercise all at once. The researchers also compared their findings to an earlier study, which showed that even a single three-second repetition per day, five times a week, can lead to noticeable strength improvements.
These results suggest that consistent, short workouts can be just as effective—if not more so—than long, intense sessions. So if you’re looking to build strength but don’t have time for long gym sessions, doing just a few minutes of focused exercise each day could be the key to success.
The study, led by Professor Ken Nosaka, was published in the Scandinavian Journal of Medicine and Science in Sports. It adds to growing research showing that even small amounts of regular exercise can lead to meaningful health benefits.
If you care about muscle, please read studies about factors that can cause muscle weakness in older people, and scientists find a way to reverse high blood sugar and muscle loss.
For more health information, please see recent studies about an easy, cheap way to maintain muscles, and results showing these vegetables essential for your muscle strength.
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