How long between strength training?

I'm not an expert at all, but my trainer generally has me do a slightly different workout when I only have one day of rest in between (this is also good because it allows me to cover many different muscle groups). So for example, we will do deadlifts and push-ups on Monday and squats and shoulder presses on Wednesday.

Generally depends on how advanced you are. Beginners, usually taking a day off between is sufficient. That's what I'm doing about a year in.

As far as your issue goes, lack of rest (sleep), lack of food, etc can definitely affect your lifts.

Generally depends on how advanced you are. Beginners, usually taking a day off between is sufficient. That's what I'm doing about a year in.

As far as your issue goes, lack of rest (sleep), lack of food, etc can definitely affect your lifts.

me too.

Generally depends on how advanced you are. Beginners, usually taking a day off between is sufficient. That's what I'm doing about a year in.

As far as your issue goes, lack of rest (sleep), lack of food, etc can definitely affect your lifts.

Yep, same here.

Also another possible variable: Hydration can make a big difference. If you aren't well hydrated your strength can drop significantly.

Look up Dual-Factor Theory. You can workout the same body part every day (or multiple times per day), but you need to work in a sub-maximal range when you do. Many good beginner programs such as Starting Strength, have you squatting 3x a week.

You can manipulate 3 main variables:

Intensity - How much weight you lift (usually compared to your max)
Frequency - How often you lift
Total Volume - How many times you perform a lift (sets x reps at a given intensity)

Another minor factor is how long you rest between sets, a workout where you are failing reps in the later sets can often be fixed by simply increasing your rest time from say 1 minute to 3 or 5 minutes (or more for serious powerlifters).

So what this all means is that you can't work "all-out" for a given body part/movement/exercise every day. But if you have a fairly "easy" workout, you can get by with lifting twice a day! As you increase one variable, you decrease one or both of the others.

For people interested in primarily "strength" training (really getting stronger), the more frequent sub-maximal workouts will help you get there much faster, as most of the early strength gains actually come from increasing the ability of your nervous system, not getting bigger. (This is also one major way you can get stronger while also losing weight and eating at a caloric deficit.) Many people think lifting is all about building muscle, but it's actually a skill that must be developed, just like pitching a baseball. If your diet is good (adequate protein, fat & total calories), you will happen to build muscle also, which is a nice side-effect.

If you are interested in making your own workout program, look up "Prilephin's Chart" or "Prilephin's Table". While originaly developed for Olympic lifting, it really shows the optimal sets/reps/intensity for lifting. Here's one good link among many: http://www.texaspowerscene.com/articles/powerlifting/prilephin.html This chart was developed from Eastern Bloc research, and is not just bro-science.

If you are not ready to do your own programming, go with either Starting Strength or Strong Lifts.

(Other factors that can influence overall recovery are diet, stress, sleep, other activities, etc.)

I hope this helps.

When I was younger, I could go every other day and repeat the same lifts. Now that I am a bit older (understatement), I need more time. I can get back in there and lift again with only one day rest, but I am dragging my feet and loathing the session.
But then, I usually do something fairly strenuous on my non-lifting days.

I'm no expert and there is a lot of information out there on this, but to simplify it depends on how intense you are working out and how quickly your body recovers. I'm not surprised though that Saturday to Monday was not enough rest for your chest. In very broad strokes you'll see lifting routines divided into two basic ways (and this is really simplifying): (1) fully body or upper/lower body workouts, in which case you'll see these usually recommended to be done 3 days a week, and if split between upper and lower body then 2 days upper and 1 day lower per week and (2) body part splits, which usually are anywhere from 4 to 6 days per week (for example: Monday: chest, Tuesday: shoulders, Wednesday: legs, Thursday: back and traps, Friday: arms and core). The body part split gives each part a full week to recover but also allow you to zero in on each muscle group. Generally (and again GENERALLY) you see it recommended that beginners go with (1) and intermediate and advanced lifters go with (2). That said, plenty of people will rotate these. I use (2) but still need a full week off with complete rest from lifting every 6 to 8 weeks and do mix in fully body.

My personal opinion is to build a strength base first, and then work on hypertrophy if that is your ultimate goal.
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I agree 100% with this statement

My personal opinion is to build a strength base first, and then work on hypertrophy if that is your ultimate goal.

I also agree with this!

Thank you for taking the time to write this. Very informative.