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View Full Version : 3 days per week vs 4 days per week



71bbo455
12-15-08, 2:54 pm
Yo Animals,

I have question regarding thoughts for a new bulking training cycle. I have two options in mind and would like some ideas on what the brothers think.

Option 1 3 days per week
Day 1 Chest/Tri's
Bench 5 sets
Incline 3 sets
Fly 2 sets
Dips 5 sets
Skullcrushers 3 sets

Day 2 Back/Bi's
Deads 5 sets
Pull Ups 5 sets
Barbell Rows 5 sets
Curls 5 sets
Dumbell curls 3 sets

Day 3 Shoulders/Legs
Dumbell Presses 5 sets
Shrugs 3 sets
Lateral Raises 2 sets
Bent Over Lateral Raises 3 sets
Squats 5 sets
Stiff Legged Deads 5 sets

Will throw in Abs/Calves on off days with some cardio.

Option 2
All the same as above but changing the splits to
Day 1 Back/Calves/Abs
Day 2 Legs
Day 3 Chest/Bi's
Day 4 Shoulders/Tri's

Let me know what you guys think. Thanks.

theharjmann
12-15-08, 3:49 pm
personally i would do 4

but it depends on how much you can eat to create an excess of calories so you can gain!

Cellerator65
12-15-08, 10:01 pm
i would say 4 day... not many people can do legs with another body part, if they can, either they're very gifted or not training hard enough.

Angst
12-15-08, 10:22 pm
Check out the split routines in this link if you haven't already, http://www.animalpak.com/html/sections.cfm?id=32

I'm sure you can find one and modify it to fit your needs.

getapump
12-16-08, 10:50 am
Im sure not many would support your idea of doing legs/shoulders together. However i swim against the tide quite abit so what the hells one more time? i have done shoulders/legs together in the past and was actually goin to do just that today. it is just my opinion though that you have WAY too many sets for shoulders. your delts take a lickin on back and chest days from almost any excersise for those bodyparts as supporting muscles, which im sure u know. when i do this i will perform 6 sets for shoulder(mostly presses) and, as you do, 5 sets for quads/hammies in superset fashion. i stumbled upon this about a year ago when my shoulders were not responding. my legs were growing like weeds at the time, and i had heard somethin about squatting releasing test in the body. so i figured if i could get some extra hormones up n runnin through my system on shoulder day it could be beneficial to muscle growth in that area without compromising my lower body. bing badda boom my shoulders started growing again. i guess what im trying to say is i see no problem with delts/legs together, if thats what u wanna do. i prefer a 4 day split thou. whatever suites u best man.

phlex_ing
12-16-08, 12:29 pm
I train two days on and one day off.
I have been trying to do legs and shoulders on the same day as well, but I have found by the time I’m done with my legs all I can do is drag myself out of the gym so I end up skipping delts. But they do get hit hard on my chest and back days. When do ya’ll do your delts?

Aggression
12-16-08, 1:02 pm
i would say 4 day... not many people can do legs with another body part, if they can, either they're very gifted or not training hard enough.

I agree. Pairing shoulders with legs would be a very hard workout.

getapump
12-16-08, 1:03 pm
phlex, when i incorporate this into my split i perform six sets (maybe 8) of shoulders. i start with standing military presses or shoulder presses on the smith machine. ill finish with some heavy side laterals for 2-3 all out sets. then AFTER delts i do legs. the reasoning is, as you obviously know from ur poevious post, is that leg training places a very high demand on your oxygen, as well as draining you of energy. by training shoulders first you still have that much needed air in your lungs for those heavy squats and stifflegged deads. what im saying is that by placing the smaller muscle group first(delts) and followed by the larger group(legs) you will get a more efficient workout in both muscle groups than doing it the way you described. try that one out and see how it goes.

MVP
12-16-08, 1:25 pm
I like the 3 day.

Junkie2
12-16-08, 1:32 pm
I like the 3 day.

I am more partial to 3 days as well.

I have been doing a 20x squat routine for the past few weeks, which is basically a full body 3x a week workout. I have seen amazing gains. Most impressively has been the starting out 205 20x deadlift, and i just maxed out yesterday at 405. Don't forget, with every routine, the most important aspect is to get a good nights sleep and have a solid diet.

71bbo455
12-16-08, 8:25 pm
Some good information guys. I am planning on doing shoulders prior to legs so that I won't be too tired out to do them. Seeing as a few people think that I have too many sets for shoulders what do you guys suggest. Getting rid of the laterals and just doing presses and rear delts? Or keep the exercises and just lower the sets.

shizz702
12-16-08, 8:46 pm
If you want to bulk 3x a week would be your best bet. You need to train hard and heavy on the big compound lifts and get all the rest and recovery you can get. Also I'd drop the cardio and I don't think it is necessary to do abs on off days. Just hit a few sets of ab work after each session and you're good to go.

js71474
12-17-08, 9:11 am
Take it from someone that use to hit the gym 5 and 6 days a week....go 3 times a week and be absolutely anal about your diet and rest/recovery and I swear you will see results like you never have.

DanTheMan
12-24-08, 2:55 pm
time is a bigger issue, so it's kinda more of a personal stance. I'd say both workouts look fine. I work on a four day split but i have a rest between on wednesday

MrMonday
12-25-08, 3:45 pm
If you want to bulk 3x a week would be your best bet. You need to train hard and heavy on the big compound lifts and get all the rest and recovery you can get. Also I'd drop the cardio and I don't think it is necessary to do abs on off days. Just hit a few sets of ab work after each session and you're good to go.

I generally disagree with this philosophy that offseason bulking should be treated like you're going into hibernation. Unless you also train towards powerlifting goals, in which case I think a 3 day split would be perfect (push/pull/legs), if you want to get the most out of your physique you should be in the gym 4 or 5 days a week, and using cardio lightly to control fat gain and partition calories better in the body (heart health is important, and having strong lungs will power you through your 20 rep squat widowmakers, not to mention the added muscular benefits of increased circulation). That way you can focus more diligently on your main muscle groups because you don't have to cram it all into 3 exhausting days, and you have something for those calories to be doing (growing muscle tissue/supporting gym strength) nearly every day instead of dedicating most of the week to literally doing nothing while still eating a caloric surplus.
Obviously you still need to be gaining weight, and design your split intelligently so that muscle groups don't overlap and you aren't doing too much/too little for anything.

Doing abs every off day isn't necessary, I agree with hitting them after each non-consecutive session (don't do two days in a row).

simpleguy
12-25-08, 3:46 pm
I generally disagree with this philosophy that offseason bulking should be treated like you're going into hibernation. Unless you also train towards powerlifting goals, in which case I think a 3 day split would be perfect (push/pull/legs), if you want to get the most out of your physique you should be in the gym 4 or 5 days a week, and using cardio lightly to control fat gain and partition calories better in the body (heart health is important, and having strong lungs will power you through your 20 rep squat widowmakers, not to mention the added muscular benefits of increased circulation). That way you can focus more diligently on your main muscle groups because you don't have to cram it all into 3 exhausting days, and you have something for those calories to be doing (growing muscle tissue/supporting gym strength) nearly every day instead of dedicating most of the week to literally doing nothing while still eating a caloric surplus.
Obviously you still need to be gaining weight, and design your split intelligently so that muscle groups don't overlap and you aren't doing too much/too little for anything.

Doing abs every off day isn't necessary, I agree with hitting them after each non-consecutive session (don't do two days in a row).


^^^

agreed