3 or 5 days a week? "Tired" after first muscle group, stronger but not bigger.

[SciFitness]

Hi all, I am quite new to strength training, I am not a powerlifter nor I want to be one, but my goal is still to become stronger, but for fighting and more functional purposes.
I am doing weights 3 times a week, and I am considering to spread my sets throughout 5 days, the reason is that after compound exercises like squat or even dumbbell press I feel like the rest of the training I'm not giving my 100%, which I guess it's normal, but I'm wondering if it could be solved by training 5/6 times a week rather than 3.
To give an example what I do now is: Friday I go to the gym, do squat first (5X5) 80/90% 1RM, then after I do some weighted back extension (5X5), some calves (4X6) and finally some ABS, both central and obliques.
An example of what I'm thinking of trying out:Friday I do the squat and calves, and Saturday I do the back extensions and ABS.
Just to be clear, I still manage to train decently even in the second part of the training session, and if I had to do bodybuilding sets or cardio I would have no problem doing that, but when it comes to strength sets and reps I definitely perform worse.
Another question I have is, is 5X5 good for adding strength without adding size? I want to avoid putting on size as much as I can, and I'm thinking maybe 3X5 would be better, let me know what you think please.

Weight training for: 2 months after years off
Age:28
Height:5'8
Weight:210
BodyFat%:15-18 (got visible abs and overall pretty lean)

[ADC53]

4 days is best I think, hit each muscle group twice a week. I prefer a mix of 3x3 and 5x5, maybe try the 531 program?

[PhDPepper1111]

Yes, several folks out there talk about ideal rep ranges for strength vs hypertrophy. One very good one for all the science is Renaissance Periodization, but in general the consensus is 1-6 reps heavy weight builds mostly strength, 7+ reps builds hypertrophy.
I'd actually do most of your stuff like bench and squat 2+ times per week, deadlift once per week. Since you are training for sports, you can focus on accessories as well as the big compound movements.
Frequency is less important than total volume although that is a generalization; if you feel you have more energy splitting up your workouts more, excellent.

[beowulf359]

I am doing weights 3 times a week, and I am considering to spread my sets throughout 5 days, the reason is that after compound exercises like squat or even dumbbell press I feel like the rest of the training I'm not giving my 100%, which I guess it's normal, but I'm wondering if it could be solved by training 5/6 times a week rather than 3.

You certainly can spread your volume out over more days in the week. You are typically strongest on the first couple exercises in a workout which is why it is recommended to put the important compound exercises up front. So spreading out 3 days of workouts over 5-6 days can help you perform more optimally on each exercise. You can try it out and see how it works for you.

[SciFitness]

Yes, several folks out there talk about ideal rep ranges for strength vs hypertrophy. One very good one for all the science is Renaissance Periodization, but in general the consensus is 1-6 reps heavy weight builds mostly strength, 7+ reps builds hypertrophy.
I'd actually do most of your stuff like bench and squat 2+ times per week, deadlift once per week. Since you are training for sports, you can focus on accessories as well as the big compound movements.
Frequency is less important than total volume although that is a generalization; if you feel you have more energy splitting up your workouts more, excellent.

Ok i will give it a try, i don't think i could do those excercises 2 times a week as i have to do a lot of cardio and other muscle groups, but ye lets see how i react

[SciFitness]

You certainly can spread your volume out over more days in the week. You are typically strongest on the first couple exercises in a workout which is why it is recommended to put the important compound exercises up front. So spreading out 3 days of workouts over 5-6 days can help you perform more optimally on each exercise. You can try it out and see how it works for you.

Cool, will surely try it out and see if that works for me, thank you

[golli1982]

When I could work legs I would be in the gym 4-6 days a week. I just do 3 days now. When I competed in all 3 lifts I did this

Mon- Bench, upper
Tue- Squats/Deads
Thu- Bench, OH Press, upper
Fri- Squats/Deads

Sometimes I would do accessories on Wednesday and Saturday if I felt like it

[musclehead09]

When I could work legs I would be in the gym 4-6 days a week. I just do 3 days now. When I competed in all 3 lifts I did this

Mon- Bench, upper
Tue- Squats/Deads
Thu- Bench, OH Press, upper
Fri- Squats/Deads

Sometimes I would do accessories on Wednesday and Saturday if I felt like it

This sort of setup is definitely my favorite for strength. Honestly for hypertrophy I enjoy a similar layout but could throw in an extra day and resemble more of a PHAT based program with 2 days for strength and 3 days for hypertrophy.

[BeginnerGainz]

First and foremost, “strength” (at whatever lift you’re referring to) and hypertrophy are not an unmarried concept. One influences the other.

The quicker you learn that the faster you will stop worrying about putting on size. Which, frankly, is absurd. You’ll get bigger over time but it isn’t like you’re gonna be Ronnie Coleman after some squats and back extensions.