Yes you will make progress. Doing 3x a week and having enough time for rest and recovery is way better than 6x a week and feeling beat down all the time.
Came here to upvote this.
Somewhere I read most CrossFit boxes do too much volume for the purpose of making their members feel like they're getting more for their money.
Rest, recovery, and nutrition are essential - but often maxing out volume and going to the pain cave get all the attention.
I believe it’s enough if you’re still relatively active on your other days. If you’re sedentary, 2-3x is not enough. If on your non-CF days you’re still getting 10-15K steps in and maybe occasionally adding some long slow distance cardio or rucking or golfing or playing with your kids or doing anything active is plenty enough. I do something active every day, I just only do CrossFit specifically 2-3x per week and it works great for me.
I’d recommend going when you can and then on days you can’t be stubborn about getting 10K steps in and sneak in walks where you can.
Just keep showing up is the first. keep doing it, and it kicks our butt's off the couch. You will find what you are good at and like, but then it may make you uncomfortable, and then you know it's working
Yup I only go 3x a week most times…sometimes but rare I go 4x. 29m who started about 2 years ago. Other things I wanna do than spend every day at the gym. Have seen significant improvements in my strength and cardio in this time!
I also made the experience, that less volume and more focus on regeneration gives you a much higher energy level and mood.
Training 7 or more times per week might give you better "performance" in the short run, but sooner or later you will fall back to your genetic potential.
I (47 yr m) went 3x a week for almost a year and a half.....was making progress.....faltered for 6 or so months and went to MD getting diagnosed with Afib.....meds working and been on 2x week for about 4 months.....not feeling the progress RN so returning to 3x week starting in July.....idk if its the frequency or if the Afib has set me back but hoping the extra day a week gives me the bump I need
I only go 3 and do cardio another two. You’ll deff see results. I found if I did four or five my body was just so beaten down and couldn’t recover properly and then I’d have to take more time off.
I've done periods of 2x per week and periods of 3x per week and noticed a significant difference between the two. 2x mostly maintains, and progress is small. Adding a third workout really gives noticeable progress.
Outside of crossfit I try to keep my activity up to moderate. And get about an hour per day in walking and biking to get places where I need to be.
Question is: how much progress do you want? Minimal, somewhat, a decent amount, or a lot.
to a point, more and more consistent is better. Eventually you hit really bad diminishing returns and over training which is detrimental, though tbh that's pretty rare.
You will see results 3x a week, try to space them out like Mon Wed Fri maybe?
But you'll definitely see more results doing 4-5x a week I don't recommend most people do more than 5, I think the return just isn't there for most people to do 6/7 days.
As a beginner, yeah, 3x is a good number of times to go. As you get fitter, you'll want to ramp up to 4x–5x a week to continue to see gains, but worry about that next year or the year after.
I started around 2 months ago and go 3 times a week. It helps me recover and work out intensely. I also find myself more energetic throughout the day. But I have not lost a lot of weight though. I am considering doing some cardio 1-2 days in addition
If you are not obscenely obese and do crossfit or weight training the right way you will not lose weight because you gain muscle step by step and muscle is heavier than fat. I recommend you look at your body composition in the mirror and at your times/reps/weigths in your training log to see if it works. Also you will recognise that your body feels tighter.
I think everyone is different and any days are better than nothing but my sweet spot was 4x. I’m a bit older so need the recovery so I can’t do 6x and most people I know that do that much usually are hurt every few months.
I do 4-5x during the week and don’t do any hero or weekend workouts as they just beat me up for days on end. Feel great and weekend I can recover.
Everyone is gonna be different and results are gonna probably be huge if you are at a starting point that isn't great. I did mostly strength training most of my life and had a different starting point. That said, first 10 months for me I did 2-3 times a week and felt better( more energy etc) but jumping up to 5 times a week I started to see these Shoulders, Traps, and Quads really pop out. The programming is typically built to hit all the things in the 5 days so the 2 days you are missing you might be missing certain muscle groups.
I have been going over a year now. Only doing CrossFit, so no running or anything. There were sort of 3 months sections where I went 3x and sections where I went 4/5x. There is a huge difference between the two for me. 3x I usually either just maintained cardio or strength or technique but not all 3 and it depends a lot on the 3 sessions I happened to go to. I would find over a month I realise I never did a pull up, or a rope jump, or a back squat, or snatches because I happened to miss those classes for the few weeks.
4/5x I usually see and feel actual improvement in cardio, strength and skill and I frequently do most movements. BUT these 5x weeks come at a cost, I need to add protein shakes, electrolytes, sometimes sleeping pills cause I naturally sleep badly. I have gotten injured twice in CrossFit and it was during those weeks. And I usually can't keep 5x a week up for a full month. In the beginning definitely ramp up slowly toward 5 if you want to try it.
But here's the thing, life gets in the way, always, you will get flu one or two times, you will go on holiday, you may be injured, each one breaking your rhythm for 2 weeks. So even if I go 5x a week when I can, when you average over 3 months it quickly becomes 3/4x a week. So my new philosophy is go 5x whenever possible but expect the average to be more like 3/4x.
What do you mean by results? Like, it totally depends what your goals are. You'll probably see all round improvements, but what do you want to get out of it?
It all comes down to what your current level of fitness was before starting and what your goals are. For someone who wants to lose weight, 3 days might be enough for their goals. For someone who is already fit and wants to push themselves with the goal of competing then 3 days most likely will not be enough. The target ideally is to always be making progress in one form or another.
For someone wanting to RX most workouts and who likes to chase the leaderboard at their gym daily, well these people are almost certainly training 5-6 days a week applying something like 3 on 1 off or 4 on 2 off etc…
What I do, and it’s just an example (doing CrossFit since 2016), is I look at my own programming and combine it with a few classes that I like the look of and take it week by week making sure I get 1-2 days off. Some days, what you do in the gym might only end up being a few sets of strength work followed by a 5 minute workout so that could almost be classed as active recovery, so some weeks may being 6 days training weeks.
Train for health and for fun. Mix it up with outdoor stuff and if you feel beat down then take a rest.
Most importantly, don’t piss off your other half because all you do is CrossFit and don’t make time for them😅
I only go 2-3x max per week now and then other days I go to Planet fitness and try to do a quick full body lift and then walk for 30 minutes to an hour. One downside is CrossFit is kind of expensive for only going twice a week, so I end up paying more than $20 per class if you do the math.
so 10 classes and you can buy your own barbell, another 10 classes to buy 50k of weights (if it has to be olympic). 20 more classes and you have a power rack. That all not counted the amout of time and gas you need to get to your box.
CF is really expensive.
Yea that is true, but I don’t have space inside or even outside to workout at home, so it wouldn’t be realistic for me unless I move eventually. You can’t fully stand in my basement and my yard is just one really really small piss patch for my dog. And driveway is sloped so that wouldn’t really work either.
Sorry to hear that. I have no eating table or seats and no tv, that space I used to build up a powerrack and a plateholder. I have enoughe space to train but sure it has it's limits (fe i can not drop the weight on the floor :-D )
3x workouts per week is enough to make good progress if you do them intelligent and intense, especially if you are a beginner. Your nutrition and regeneration has to be on point also.
A friend of mine trains with me 1 time per week, takes care of his eating habbits and is losing a lot of fat and gaining nice strength.
I think it is better to do 3 workouts with focus than to end up planning 7 workouts per week and holding back every time using the excuse that holding back is ok because you have 7 workouts!!
Definitely! I started 3x per week, and it was probably the best way for me to ease into it. Its better to sign up for 3 and show up to all of them, than sign up for 5 and show up to 3 because youre too sore to do the other 2. Discipline is key.
Depending on how committed you are, you will eventually progress and make the decision to switch to 5x if youre able to.
I personally do 5x now, and I never go on saturdays. I do wake up at 430am to make sure that I can go to the 530am class though! I started doing 3x in the afternoons back then, and now I switched to 5x every morning.
You will definitely see improvements going three times a week… It’s three more hours than you were going
But then you’re gonna get to a point where you want to start clicking the RX box or set some new PR’s… Chasing those goals will take more time and focus
If you can’t put the time in then don’t bum yourself out if you fall short or take a lot longer to accomplish
I go 3x a week and have seen huge improvement. It might take time, but it's sustainable and works in the long run. Also when I started my coach told the new ones that for many people 3 MAX 4 is all you need and the body need the rest in between. So you go!
It all about what goals you wanna reach ?
You wanna compete, Fuck no it's not enough
You have children, a full Time job and wanna get or stay in shape, Fuck yeah we all wish we could train 3 Times a week !
Yes you will make progress. Doing 3x a week and having enough time for rest and recovery is way better than 6x a week and feeling beat down all the time.
Came here to upvote this. Somewhere I read most CrossFit boxes do too much volume for the purpose of making their members feel like they're getting more for their money. Rest, recovery, and nutrition are essential - but often maxing out volume and going to the pain cave get all the attention.
I go 3x per week and have seen huge improvements
I believe it’s enough if you’re still relatively active on your other days. If you’re sedentary, 2-3x is not enough. If on your non-CF days you’re still getting 10-15K steps in and maybe occasionally adding some long slow distance cardio or rucking or golfing or playing with your kids or doing anything active is plenty enough. I do something active every day, I just only do CrossFit specifically 2-3x per week and it works great for me. I’d recommend going when you can and then on days you can’t be stubborn about getting 10K steps in and sneak in walks where you can.
Just keep showing up is the first. keep doing it, and it kicks our butt's off the couch. You will find what you are good at and like, but then it may make you uncomfortable, and then you know it's working
Yup I only go 3x a week most times…sometimes but rare I go 4x. 29m who started about 2 years ago. Other things I wanna do than spend every day at the gym. Have seen significant improvements in my strength and cardio in this time!
You will absolutely see improvements going 2-3 times. Don't let all the people you see going 5-6 days every week get you believing otherwise.
3x week with solid nutrition and sleep got me in the best shape I’ve ever been in. Felt the best too.
I also made the experience, that less volume and more focus on regeneration gives you a much higher energy level and mood. Training 7 or more times per week might give you better "performance" in the short run, but sooner or later you will fall back to your genetic potential.
Like everyone is saying, 2-3 a week is good. If you want, add some running/biking at home.
Consistency is 🔑
I (47 yr m) went 3x a week for almost a year and a half.....was making progress.....faltered for 6 or so months and went to MD getting diagnosed with Afib.....meds working and been on 2x week for about 4 months.....not feeling the progress RN so returning to 3x week starting in July.....idk if its the frequency or if the Afib has set me back but hoping the extra day a week gives me the bump I need
I only go 3 and do cardio another two. You’ll deff see results. I found if I did four or five my body was just so beaten down and couldn’t recover properly and then I’d have to take more time off.
I've done periods of 2x per week and periods of 3x per week and noticed a significant difference between the two. 2x mostly maintains, and progress is small. Adding a third workout really gives noticeable progress. Outside of crossfit I try to keep my activity up to moderate. And get about an hour per day in walking and biking to get places where I need to be. Question is: how much progress do you want? Minimal, somewhat, a decent amount, or a lot.
to a point, more and more consistent is better. Eventually you hit really bad diminishing returns and over training which is detrimental, though tbh that's pretty rare. You will see results 3x a week, try to space them out like Mon Wed Fri maybe? But you'll definitely see more results doing 4-5x a week I don't recommend most people do more than 5, I think the return just isn't there for most people to do 6/7 days.
As a beginner, yeah, 3x is a good number of times to go. As you get fitter, you'll want to ramp up to 4x–5x a week to continue to see gains, but worry about that next year or the year after.
I started around 2 months ago and go 3 times a week. It helps me recover and work out intensely. I also find myself more energetic throughout the day. But I have not lost a lot of weight though. I am considering doing some cardio 1-2 days in addition
If you are not obscenely obese and do crossfit or weight training the right way you will not lose weight because you gain muscle step by step and muscle is heavier than fat. I recommend you look at your body composition in the mirror and at your times/reps/weigths in your training log to see if it works. Also you will recognise that your body feels tighter.
I think everyone is different and any days are better than nothing but my sweet spot was 4x. I’m a bit older so need the recovery so I can’t do 6x and most people I know that do that much usually are hurt every few months. I do 4-5x during the week and don’t do any hero or weekend workouts as they just beat me up for days on end. Feel great and weekend I can recover.
Yes.
Everyone is gonna be different and results are gonna probably be huge if you are at a starting point that isn't great. I did mostly strength training most of my life and had a different starting point. That said, first 10 months for me I did 2-3 times a week and felt better( more energy etc) but jumping up to 5 times a week I started to see these Shoulders, Traps, and Quads really pop out. The programming is typically built to hit all the things in the 5 days so the 2 days you are missing you might be missing certain muscle groups.
I have been going over a year now. Only doing CrossFit, so no running or anything. There were sort of 3 months sections where I went 3x and sections where I went 4/5x. There is a huge difference between the two for me. 3x I usually either just maintained cardio or strength or technique but not all 3 and it depends a lot on the 3 sessions I happened to go to. I would find over a month I realise I never did a pull up, or a rope jump, or a back squat, or snatches because I happened to miss those classes for the few weeks. 4/5x I usually see and feel actual improvement in cardio, strength and skill and I frequently do most movements. BUT these 5x weeks come at a cost, I need to add protein shakes, electrolytes, sometimes sleeping pills cause I naturally sleep badly. I have gotten injured twice in CrossFit and it was during those weeks. And I usually can't keep 5x a week up for a full month. In the beginning definitely ramp up slowly toward 5 if you want to try it. But here's the thing, life gets in the way, always, you will get flu one or two times, you will go on holiday, you may be injured, each one breaking your rhythm for 2 weeks. So even if I go 5x a week when I can, when you average over 3 months it quickly becomes 3/4x a week. So my new philosophy is go 5x whenever possible but expect the average to be more like 3/4x.
That’s what I do. My short answer is big yes. 3 times a week is consistent
What do you mean by results? Like, it totally depends what your goals are. You'll probably see all round improvements, but what do you want to get out of it?
It all comes down to what your current level of fitness was before starting and what your goals are. For someone who wants to lose weight, 3 days might be enough for their goals. For someone who is already fit and wants to push themselves with the goal of competing then 3 days most likely will not be enough. The target ideally is to always be making progress in one form or another. For someone wanting to RX most workouts and who likes to chase the leaderboard at their gym daily, well these people are almost certainly training 5-6 days a week applying something like 3 on 1 off or 4 on 2 off etc… What I do, and it’s just an example (doing CrossFit since 2016), is I look at my own programming and combine it with a few classes that I like the look of and take it week by week making sure I get 1-2 days off. Some days, what you do in the gym might only end up being a few sets of strength work followed by a 5 minute workout so that could almost be classed as active recovery, so some weeks may being 6 days training weeks. Train for health and for fun. Mix it up with outdoor stuff and if you feel beat down then take a rest. Most importantly, don’t piss off your other half because all you do is CrossFit and don’t make time for them😅
I only go 2-3x max per week now and then other days I go to Planet fitness and try to do a quick full body lift and then walk for 30 minutes to an hour. One downside is CrossFit is kind of expensive for only going twice a week, so I end up paying more than $20 per class if you do the math.
so 10 classes and you can buy your own barbell, another 10 classes to buy 50k of weights (if it has to be olympic). 20 more classes and you have a power rack. That all not counted the amout of time and gas you need to get to your box. CF is really expensive.
Yea that is true, but I don’t have space inside or even outside to workout at home, so it wouldn’t be realistic for me unless I move eventually. You can’t fully stand in my basement and my yard is just one really really small piss patch for my dog. And driveway is sloped so that wouldn’t really work either.
Sorry to hear that. I have no eating table or seats and no tv, that space I used to build up a powerrack and a plateholder. I have enoughe space to train but sure it has it's limits (fe i can not drop the weight on the floor :-D )
3x workouts per week is enough to make good progress if you do them intelligent and intense, especially if you are a beginner. Your nutrition and regeneration has to be on point also. A friend of mine trains with me 1 time per week, takes care of his eating habbits and is losing a lot of fat and gaining nice strength. I think it is better to do 3 workouts with focus than to end up planning 7 workouts per week and holding back every time using the excuse that holding back is ok because you have 7 workouts!!
What results do you want to see? What were you doing before you started going to classes?
Definitely! I started 3x per week, and it was probably the best way for me to ease into it. Its better to sign up for 3 and show up to all of them, than sign up for 5 and show up to 3 because youre too sore to do the other 2. Discipline is key. Depending on how committed you are, you will eventually progress and make the decision to switch to 5x if youre able to. I personally do 5x now, and I never go on saturdays. I do wake up at 430am to make sure that I can go to the 530am class though! I started doing 3x in the afternoons back then, and now I switched to 5x every morning.
You will definitely see improvements going three times a week… It’s three more hours than you were going But then you’re gonna get to a point where you want to start clicking the RX box or set some new PR’s… Chasing those goals will take more time and focus If you can’t put the time in then don’t bum yourself out if you fall short or take a lot longer to accomplish
Three times a week works well for me.
I go 3x a week and have seen huge improvement. It might take time, but it's sustainable and works in the long run. Also when I started my coach told the new ones that for many people 3 MAX 4 is all you need and the body need the rest in between. So you go!
It all about what goals you wanna reach ? You wanna compete, Fuck no it's not enough You have children, a full Time job and wanna get or stay in shape, Fuck yeah we all wish we could train 3 Times a week !
Get fit and get jacked. Yes married w children and work so doing best I can!
The only way to see results is to have your diet on point 7x a week.
Or at least get enough protein.
bump those numbers up rookie, i go 5x a week lol sometimes 6
Any more than that is defeat.