How much training/hours/classes per week is optimal?

[mrt2]

Good day, martial arts practitioners.

As some of you know, I am returning to martial arts after more than 3 decades.

The title says it all. In my past practice, they used to say at least 3 classes a week if you are looking to improve, twice a week if you are looking to maintain. Anything less than 2 classes/week and your skills will atrophy.

My current teacher repeated the same advice. 3 classes/week. But I did run across a guy last week who told me he only has time to train once a week. It is hard to tell the frequency of training others do, but I do get a sense the frequency varies widely among the adults, as you might expect of people who do TKD as a leisure activity.

Back in the 80s, the frequency of my training varied, though for most of the 3 years I trained, my frequency was probably around or maybe just a little less than 3 times/week, occasionally going up to 4 or even 5 times/week, and never falling below 2 times/week. I never missed or failed a color belt test, and was never held back from testing.

We all hear stories of Korean or Japanese masters who trained 3 hours/day 6 days a week.

So, in you opinions, what is the minimum needed, what is optimal, and what is overkill, or even puts you at risk of burnout, injury or overtraining?

 

[KenpoMaster805]

I go tuesday and thursday and i go from 7 to 745 pm

 

[Headhunter]

It's all personal preference. Some can train for 7 hours a day some can train 2 hours twice a week. Any things better than nothing and it has to fit your life as well

 

[Martial D]

Good day, martial arts practitioners.

As some of you know, I am returning to martial arts after more than 3 decades.

The title says it all. In my past practice, they used to say at least 3 classes a week if you are looking to improve, twice a week if you are looking to maintain. Anything less than 2 classes/week and your skills will atrophy.

My current teacher repeated the same advice. 3 classes/week. But I did run across a guy last week who told me he only has time to train once a week. It is hard to tell the frequency of training others do, but I do get a sense the frequency varies widely among the adults, as you might expect of people who do TKD as a leisure activity.

Back in the 80s, the frequency of my training varied, though for most of the 3 years I trained, my frequency was probably around or maybe just a little less than 3 times/week, occasionally going up to 4 or even 5 times/week, and never falling below 2 times/week. I never missed or failed a color belt test, and was never held back from testing.

We all hear stories of Korean or Japanese masters who trained 3 hours/day 6 days a week.

So, in you opinions, what is the minimum needed, what is optimal, and what is overkill, or even puts you at risk of burnout, injury or overtraining?

I can't speak for anyone else, but my training schedule currently looks like this.

Mon-thurs mma 2 hours a night.

Saturday 1-2 hours WC practice.

10 mins WC (forms) each morning.

 

[pdg]

I think it depends on how the training is approached. Any minimum has to be based on what you want to achieve and how quickly.

I know a couple of people who struggle to attend one, one hour, class per week. They do improve, but very slowly (they're still very low grades after at least a couple of years). It's purely a leisurely hobby for them, they don't practice at home much and it shows.

So as said, anything is better than nothing.

Personally, I try to do 3-4 evenings a week, 1.5-2 hrs each, plus a couple of hours Saturday morning when I can (mainly TKD, with some kickboxing). And I practice, refine and research at home on top of that. It's still just a hobby for me, but I find it addictive...

 

[skribs]

I think there's a few factors at play here:

1. The individual. Some people can learn something once, take about 5 minutes to learn it, and then do it very very well every time. Other people can spend months doing the same thing every day and still not quite get it. Some people seem to have a steady increase in skill as they practice more, while for others practicing more often means you get tired and sloppy, or you burn out and quit.
2. The schedule. If you take classes Monday through Wednesday, you may get less out of it than if you take classes only Monday and Thursday, because having a 4 day rest in the middle is going to be time you're not in class.
3. Amount of practice outside of class.

I agree that 3 times a week to learn and 2 times a week to maintain sounds like a good mantra, but you should also be practicing outside of class.

 

[Gerry Seymour]

Good day, martial arts practitioners.

As some of you know, I am returning to martial arts after more than 3 decades.

The title says it all. In my past practice, they used to say at least 3 classes a week if you are looking to improve, twice a week if you are looking to maintain. Anything less than 2 classes/week and your skills will atrophy.

My current teacher repeated the same advice. 3 classes/week. But I did run across a guy last week who told me he only has time to train once a week. It is hard to tell the frequency of training others do, but I do get a sense the frequency varies widely among the adults, as you might expect of people who do TKD as a leisure activity.

Back in the 80s, the frequency of my training varied, though for most of the 3 years I trained, my frequency was probably around or maybe just a little less than 3 times/week, occasionally going up to 4 or even 5 times/week, and never falling below 2 times/week. I never missed or failed a color belt test, and was never held back from testing.

We all hear stories of Korean or Japanese masters who trained 3 hours/day 6 days a week.

So, in you opinions, what is the minimum needed, what is optimal, and what is overkill, or even puts you at risk of burnout, injury or overtraining?

What is optimal depends on a lot of factors: priorities, intensity, ability to recover, your level, and a bunch of others.

I've known a lot of people who trained, systematically, twice a week for years to gain their skills. There were times when I participated in more than 10 classes a week, between teaching and training (teaching 2x per week). I don't think my body would take that now. Nor do my personal priorities support that much training time.

So all I can do is offer generalities. It's up to you to figure out how they apply to you. 2x per week is minimal for making steady (if slow) progress. Overtraining is really dependent upon what your body can take. If you're regularly still sore the next class, you're probably overtraining.

 

[mrt2]

What is optimal depends on a lot of factors: priorities, intensity, ability to recover, your level, and a bunch of others.

I've known a lot of people who trained, systematically, twice a week for years to gain their skills. There were times when I participated in more than 10 classes a week, between teaching and training (teaching 2x per week). I don't think my body would take that now. Nor do my personal priorities support that much training time.

So all I can do is offer generalities. It's up to you to figure out how they apply to you. 2x per week is minimal for making steady (if slow) progress. Overtraining is really dependent upon what your body can take. If you're regularly still sore the next class, you're probably overtraining.

I hear you. This might sound silly but, I want to advance to the point where I am not always the lowest ranking adult in class. In the old days, that would be easy, since martial arts was fairly popular for adults. Second, I want to get a lot more fit, and I realize that means exercising as much discipline at the dinner table as it does training, but nonetheless.training hard is part of it.

 

[Michele123]

I’ll provide a different perspective. I’ve always trained at small schools. When I was younger it was twice a week for 1 1/2-2hours.

The place I train at now is twice a week for one hour each. Unfortunately the second night is the same night I’m required to work. So I only get to train one night a week. I very much wish it could be more but there is absolutely nothing I can do about it. That said, I run through all of my material at least once a day plus the areas I’m working to improve several more times. I take copious notes after every class and review them daily until I’ve memorized them (just just the words but making them work).

I pick things up very quickly. Ill be taught something one night and by the next class I have it nearly down. It’ll get tweaked a bit in class then I’ll be taught more. By the next week those first techniques are where they need to be for my level and the next ones are just gettin tweaked. This is partially due to my prior experience and partially due to how my brain works, and of course due to all the time I put into practicing. Only attending once a week I was able to double test at my first colored belt testing and the instructor even told me that I was ready to test a couple weeks early but of course I had to wait until the actual testing day to test.

I wish I could attend class more often. When my contract is up at work in 1 1/2 years I hope to work out a different time to work or be in a position that I can stop working that job so that I can attend MA class twice a week instead of once.

But, depending on the person, it is very possible to increase skill only training once a week.


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[Gerry Seymour]

I hear you. This might sound silly but, I want to advance to the point where I am not always the lowest ranking adult in class. In the old days, that would be easy, since martial arts was fairly popular for adults. Second, I want to get a lot more fit, and I realize that means exercising as much discipline at the dinner table as it does training, but nonetheless.training hard is part of it.

I'll assert that focusing on your fitness probably leads to your biggest gain at this point. Work with a trainer (most gyms and YMCA's have them for very low cost for an initial consultation) to put together a training schedule that will help you improve your cardio, gain some strength, and lose the weight you're wanting to lose. Add that to a 2-3 class-per-week schedule for now. Like most of us, as you aged, you did less. Gaining back some of your overall physical ability (your fitness) will be the fastest approach to improving your martial arts ability for now. Once you've gotten your fitness to a level that allows it, you have the option of training more and/or harder to gain skill faster.

 

[Monkey Turned Wolf]

I can't answer the overall question, but I disagree with the 3 days to improve, 2 days to maintain, 1 day atrophy idea, for two reasons.

The first is that it ignores the amount of training done in each of those days (along with outside training). I think someone who trains 5 hours a day 2 days a week, and 15 minutes a day the other days will gain more than someone who trains 1 hour a day 3 days a week, and 15 minutes a day the other days.

The second is that it depends on how advanced you are. There is a learning curve, so it is much easier for a black belts skills to atrophy than a white belts. If someone just starts and only goes 2 days a week, you'll still see significant progress three months out. If someone training for 5 years starts doing the same, you might not notice any difference.

 

[drop bear]

I hear you. This might sound silly but, I want to advance to the point where I am not always the lowest ranking adult in class. In the old days, that would be easy, since martial arts was fairly popular for adults. Second, I want to get a lot more fit, and I realize that means exercising as much discipline at the dinner table as it does training, but nonetheless.training hard is part of it.

Our guys who are serious do about 12 classes a week.

 

[drop bear]

I'll assert that focusing on your fitness probably leads to your biggest gain at this point. Work with a trainer (most gyms and YMCA's have them for very low cost for an initial consultation) to put together a training schedule that will help you improve your cardio, gain some strength, and lose the weight you're wanting to lose. Add that to a 2-3 class-per-week schedule for now. Like most of us, as you aged, you did less. Gaining back some of your overall physical ability (your fitness) will be the fastest approach to improving your martial arts ability for now. Once you've gotten your fitness to a level that allows it, you have the option of training more and/or harder to gain skill faster.

He probably wants to do some sort of fitness every day. It will save that shock to the system you get when you train 3 times a week.

 

[JR 137]

So 2 days a week maintains, not improves? Well I guess I’m a freak because I can only train twice a week, yet I’m far better now than I was when I started 3 years ago.

I’d love to add at least one night a week. Being a husband, father, and employee has its trade-offs though.

 

[mrt2]

I can't answer the overall question, but I disagree with the 3 days to improve, 2 days to maintain, 1 day atrophy idea, for two reasons.

The first is that it ignores the amount of training done in each of those days (along with outside training). I think someone who trains 5 hours a day 2 days a week, and 15 minutes a day the other days will gain more than someone who trains 1 hour a day 3 days a week, and 15 minutes a day the other days.

The second is that it depends on how advanced you are. There is a learning curve, so it is much easier for a black belts skills to atrophy than a white belts. If someone just starts and only goes 2 days a week, you'll still see significant progress three months out. If someone training for 5 years starts doing the same, you might not notice any difference.

Who has time to train 5 hours/day? Going out on a limb here, but I would guess that you would be lucky to find (in the US at least), one martial artist in 10,000 that actually trains on any kind of regular basis 5 hours or more/day.

 

[mrt2]

I'll assert that focusing on your fitness probably leads to your biggest gain at this point. Work with a trainer (most gyms and YMCA's have them for very low cost for an initial consultation) to put together a training schedule that will help you improve your cardio, gain some strength, and lose the weight you're wanting to lose. Add that to a 2-3 class-per-week schedule for now. Like most of us, as you aged, you did less. Gaining back some of your overall physical ability (your fitness) will be the fastest approach to improving your martial arts ability for now. Once you've gotten your fitness to a level that allows it, you have the option of training more and/or harder to gain skill faster.

It was boredom with my gym routine that got me to try martial arts again. But, as we get into spring, I am looking forward to putting in some miles on my road bike as there really is nothing as nice as a bike ride on a warm summer day.

 

[_Simon_]

I can't speak for anyone else, but my training schedule currently looks like this.

Mon-thurs mma 2 hours a night.

Saturday 1-2 hours WC practice.

10 mins WC (forms) each morning.

Haha beast! Respect

It's a great question, but really I don't think there's a formula that's best for everyone. I don't think that twice a week is just for maintenance at all. Pretty much all my general martial arts training has always been twice a week, and I progressed just fine. Never really did more than that apart from preparing for a grading/tournament.

I even think once a week you can progress and improve, just at a slower rate. But some great points have been made, and it really does depend on what training you're doing, the quality of it, quantity of it, and not to mention the individual modes of how people learn and different learning styles/rates.

I would say twice a week is a good minimum to shoot for, but if not possible once a week is better than none .

Even if I'm injured or something and can't train that week I'll chuck on some MA vids (like tutorials, tournaments, seminars, clips) that I've download and I still consider that just as valuable training too in the interim.

 

[Martial D]

Haha beast! Respect

It's a great question, but really I don't think there's a formula that's best for everyone. I don't think that twice a week is just for maintenance at all. Pretty much all my general martial arts training has always been twice a week, and I progressed just fine. Never really did more than that apart from preparing for a grading/tournament.

I even think once a week you can progress and improve, just at a slower rate. But some great points have been made, and it really does depend on what training you're doing, the quality of it, quantity of it, and not to mention the individual modes of how people learn and different learning styles/rates.

I would say twice a week is a good minimum to shoot for, but if not possible once a week is better than none .

Even if I'm injured or something and can't train that week I'll chuck on some MA vids (like tutorials, tournaments, seminars, clips) that I've download and I still consider that just as valuable training too in the interim.

Once a week is fine provided you practice what you learned a bit outside of class.

Even if you don't you should still progress..only slower.

 

[Buka]

You just train when you can. There is one "but", though - when you get a day that your schedule allows you to train......but you just don't feel like it, or you're tired, maybe. Be careful of those days. Those days are dangerous.

I was blessed. I don't really like to use that word, but as my buddies continuously say to me, it's the only way I can describe the opportunities that were laid at my feet. It was luck of the draw. I got to train, got paid for it, actually made a living, all day and all night, all week every week, all year every year, for almost thirty years full time with great instructors and dojos/gyms. I didn't deserve it. But you can be damn sure I took it. I mean, wouldn't you?

 

[_Simon_]

You just train when you can. There is one "but", though - when you get a day that your schedule allows you to train......but you just don't feel like it, or you're tired, maybe. Be careful of those days. Those days are dangerous.

I was blessed. I don't really like to use that word, but as my buddies continuously say to me, it's the only way I can describe the opportunities that were laid at my feet. It was luck of the draw. I got to train, got paid for it, actually made a living, all day and all night, all week every week, all year every year, for almost thirty years full time with great instructors and dojos/gyms. I didn't deserve it. But you can be damn sure I took it. I mean, wouldn't you?

That's awesome Buka, would definitely call that a blessing!

Didn't know that! Being newish here I'm always interested in everyone's story and history, am learning bit by bit about everyone as we go, but that's very cool