The “Minimum Effective Dose” Approach: Why You Don’t Need 6 Days a Week to Get Results
The “Minimum Effective Dose” Approach: Why You Don’t Need 6 Days a Week to Get Results
There’s this idea floating around some parts of the fitness side of the internet that if you’re not in the gym six days a week doing a hyper-specific split, you’re basically not trying.
No shade… buuuut… usually the person saying this is 22, living off affiliate codes and iced matcha, and has recovery capacity that could resurrect a plant that’s been dead since last Easter.
For the most of the rest of us, who are busy, with full lives and responsibilities, a 6-day split is not just unnecessary, it can be counterproductive.
Why More Isn’t Better: Allostatic Load Explained
Your body doesn’t recognise stress as “gym stress” or “life stress.”
It recognises total stress.. also known as allostatic load.
Allostatic load includes:
work deadlines
emotional labour
chronic sleep disruption
stimulants hitting your system
under-eating
neurodivergent fatigue
inflammation
training
Stack too much on the system, and performance drops, motivation tanks, and your progress stalls because your body is stuck in adaptation debt.
A 5 or 6-day gym training week looks productive, but if your nervous system is cracked like the old Tupperware you have shoved at the back of your cupboard hoping one day you’ll find the lid again, your results won’t reflect the effort that you’re putting in... That’s the trap most women fall into: doing more instead of doing what’s effective.
Busy Women Need Smarter Programming, Not Just More Programming
Most women in their late 20s, 30s, and 40s are juggling:
careers
commutes
partners and/or family
peri-menopause changes
household logistics
mental load
Add a packed training schedule on top of that and what happens?
Your stress hormone profile shifts, recovery drops, and you become too tired to lift heavy enough or consistently enough to actually build the hourglass shape you want.
The Truth: You Grow When You PUSH, Not When You Accumulate Days
This is the part people skip right over:
👉 You’re better off doing 3 really strong, intentional lifting sessions per week than 5–6 half-effort sessions spread across a burnt-out brain/body.
Your muscle fibres don’t care how many days you show up if it’s half-assed.
They care about:
intensity
progressive overload
technique
tension
consistency over months
your ability to recover between sessions
If you’re dragging yourself through five days where you’re too tired to increase weight or tempo, you’re basically performing glorified warm-ups…
Three high-quality sessions?
Completely different outcome.
This is literally the premise behind the Minimum Effective Dose: the least amount of structured training required to create the maximum return.
Side Note.. Neurodivergent Brains and Physical Fatigue
If you're neurodivergent, your recovery demands are even higher.
You’re navigating:
higher sensory load
emotional regulation fatigue
masking
executive dysfunction
sleep variability
dopamine crashes
Your nervous system often works very hard.
Overload it, and you risk:
shutdown
burnout
irritability
total lack of motivation
stalled gym progress because your CNS is fried
Why Power Curve Is Designed Around Minimum Effective Dose
Inside PCM, everything is programmed with intention:
3 or 4 days per week (you select) of structured hourglass-specific training
strength blocks designed to maximise stimulus without overloading your nervous system
built-in progression so you always know what to do and how to push
TVA and core integration to support your waistline and reduce back/pelvic stress
metabolic cycles that don’t wreck your hormones
recovery intentionally layered in, so your training actually works
This is why our members get incredible results on 3–4 days a week… while still living full lives, being mums, working big jobs, dealing with neurodivergence, travelling, and navigating everything else.
If You Want Real, Sustainable Results, Start Now
We begin our next Power Curve round on 15 December.
Join now to:
get your app profile set up
start building momentum with your nutrition
get in a good groove so December doesn’t derail you
If you want training that’s sustainable, structured, and actually respects your nervous system, this is it.
Power Curve Method is where strong women get the hourglass shape they’ve worked for, without burning themselves into the ground.
Hey there, I’m Rachel!
NUTRITIONIST, PERSONAL TRAINER, WELLNESS COACH
If you’re ready to ditch the all-or-nothing mindset and build a strong, confident body—you're in the right place.
✨ Start with my free 5-day Mini Mindset Reset to design a healthy lifestyle that actually fits your life.
🍑 Or join The Power Curve Method, my signature hourglass training program built to shape your glutes, waist, and mindset from the inside out.
While we make every effort to make sure the information in this website is accurate and informative, the information does not take the place of medical advice.
