How Many Times a Week Do Bodybuilders Work Out?

It takes a high level of dedication and sweat equity to develop the enviable physique of a bodybuilder. It's blatantly clear that bodybuilders must spend a considerable amount of time working out in the gym, but there's a fine line between "enough" and "too much" when it comes to training volume.

Bodybuilder lifting weights (Image: LUNAMARINA/iStock/Getty Images)

Training Splits

In order to make sure every muscle group is properly worked and adequate rest and recovery is received, bodybuilders typically break their training regimens up into "splits." A training split is based on a set number of days in the gym, and all of the muscle groups are divided between those training days. For example, a five-day training split could be back and abs, biceps and triceps, chest, shoulders, and legs. Other bodybuilders may only do a three- or four-day split. The fewer training days in a split, the larger the number of muscle groups that must be trained per workout. Generally, the more training days a bodybuilder has in his or her split, the shorter each workout is.