Training FAQ #1: Should I train major bodyparts more than once a week?

[fernandob]

so you guys think once a week is enough? how many sets? how many reps?

[fernandob]

hey guy's thank you thank you so much. you guys save me a ton af money in personal training fee's. so imgoing to switch to one bodypart per workout, one per week.so it'l look like this lmk if this is nay good
day 1 chest 12 sets, 6 sets for abs
day 2 back 12 sets 6 sets for calves
day 3 shoulders 12 sets 6 sets for abs
day 4 arms 9 for bi's 9 for tri's 6 for calves
day 4 legs 12 for quads 9 for hams 6 for abs
each work out has a 10 min warm up on bike followed by 30 min on treadmill
i hope this works

[Kima]

Can someone tell me what should i do... Should i train two groups of muscles per day or one group??? Can saomeone send me a mass gain workout program?? makistojanovic@hotmail.com Thanks!!!!

[arsilva]

a good bodypart-twice-a-week split i've done goes like this,:

Day 1- Heavy Legs
Day 2- Heavy Chest, Calves
Day 3- Deadlift, Heavy Back, Traps
Day 4- Bis, Calves, Abs
Day 5- Pump/Detail Legs, Pump Chest
Day6- Back, Shoulders, Tris
Day7- Rest

Or, I've also done rotating every 4-6 weeks which bodypart i do twice a week, such as
first 6 weeks:
Day 1- Heavy Legs
Day 2- Heavy Chest
Day 3- Rest
Day 4- Pump Legs
Day 5- Back
Day6- Arms
Day7- Rest

Next 6 weeks:
Day 1- Heavy Chest
Day 2- Heavy Legs
Day 3- Rest
Day 4- Pump Chest
Day 5- Back
Day6- Arms
Day7- Rest

Etc, change to do back 2x/week

[Kima]

Thanks for posting...i try to workout that...

[fenix237]

i certainly am not an expert, but consider myself somewhat informed. I thought the 1 bodypart per day routine was for more seasoned lifters because they have sufficient conditioning to work out hard enough for a muscle hard to NEED 6 days off. i always thought a beginner starts with a full body routine 2/3 times/wk. then after a few months, switch to a split routine for awhile, then the 1 body part per week.

when i started 10 years ago i followed a full body routine 3X/week. Squats, Bench, Barbells Rows, Shoulder Press, Lat pulldowns, Barbell Curls, then finish with 100 leg raises. Do the exercises for 3 sets of 8 for two weeks, then 4 sets of 6 for a month, then 5 sets of 6 for a month, the 6 sets of 6 for a month. I had great results; got really strong, put on some good muscle. This is a foundational routine designed for beginners looking to put on mass and get stronger.

i believe there are many ways to lift with good results. i think it comes down to personal preference, goals, recovery ability, willingness to eat a proper diet.

just my 2cents

peace-brp

[In Flames]

Animal's Titan Training!

Monday
Back and Abs
Deadlifts: 4 sets x 10-4 reps
Pullups: 5 sets x 10 reps
Dumbbell Rows: 3 sets x 10 reps
T-Bar Rows: 3 sets x 10 reps
Crunches: 4 sets x 25 reps
Hanging Leg Raises: 4 sets x 10 reps

Tuesday
Arms
Barbell Curls: 4 sets x 12-6 reps
Alternating Dumbbell Curls: 3 sets x 10-6 reps
Hammer Curls: 3 sets x 12-8 reps
Pushdowns: 4 sets x 15-10 reps
Skullcrushers: 3 sets x 12-6 reps
Overhead Dumbbell Extensions: 3 sets x 12-8 reps

Wednesday
Off

Thursday
Legs
Leg Extensions: 4 sets x 20-10 reps
Barbell Squats: 5 sets x 20-8 reps
Leg Presses: 3 sets x 15-10 reps
Lying Leg Curls: 4 sets x 15-10 reps
Standing Calf Raises: 4 sets x 15-10 reps
Seated Calf Raises: 4 sets x 15-10 reps

Friday
Chest and Abs
Flat Barbell Bench Press: 4 sets x 12-4 reps
Incline Dumbbell Press: 4 sets x 12-8 reps
Flat Dumbbell Flyes: 3 sets x 15-10 reps
Rope Crunches: 4 sets x 25 reps

Saturday
Delts and Calves
Barbell Military Presses: 4 sets x 12-6 reps
Side Dumbbell Lateral Raises: 4 sets x 15-10 reps
Bent Rear Delt Dumbbell Lateral Raises: 4 sets x 15-10 reps
Dumbbell Shrugs: 4 sets x 12-8 reps
Leg Press Calf Raises: 5 sets x 20-10 reps

Sunday
Off

[Elem Entree]

I'm learning as I go, as we all do, but for me I like to change my routine up throughout the year to keep my muscles learning. For at least a few months at a time I hit a muscle every 4 days. With regards to over working my bi's/tri's I have found that the following has worked well for me-

I've run
day 1:chest/back then
day 2:legs then
day 3:bi's/tri's then
day 4:abs/core

and repeat. You could add a rest day in between or on the end if you feel you need it but I find that running the routine in this way allows you to work the different groups more than once a week but not always the same group will be hit twice a week.

It is a great routine that has given me great results. Using the right sups and eating well really helps the recovery time and having the day or so in between seemed to be plenty of rest for my bi's/tri's. I use this routine for about 1-3 months and cycle it with a few other routines every few months. I try and super set the opposing groups during this routine. Made me sick to my stomach several times but I never puked. Had a few partners toss from it though so I recommend giving it your all and seeing what happens but pay attention to yourself and realize what you need to do to make it work for you.

Namaste'

[solomon_caine]

once will do. hit your heaviest, train at your hardest and then, eat after and sleep well. it's in resting that one grows.

[calel]

each body part should be trained no more than once per week,plus,the bigger you get the recovery process takes much longer.It also depends on how hard one is training if your taxing the system.I never train 2 days on , only when i trained 1 day on, 1 day off, did i really grow.My bodyweight went from 18st to 20st or 280lbs still pretty hard.
Remember eating is the most important aspect of bodyguilding better a good days eating,more so, than a bad days training.STAY STRONG.

[bigmike43]

Just need some input on my routine. Mon Chest and triceps... tues back and biceps wed off thrus shoulders and delts friday chest and triceps... working for explosion and negitive reps. I lower the intensity and weight and focus on fast reps up and slow on the way down..... sat Legs and Sunday off...

[live2lift]

If you are not seeing results at least on a monthly basis then you owe it to yourself to change what you are doing. I train each bodypart once every 10-12 days. Now many will think that this is not often enough, but I cannot argue with the results that I continue to see strength and size wise since I have been doing this style that I was not seeing before. People have this thought in their head that their muscles will shrink or they will lose strength if they dont train often enough...well I am here to say that maybe you should think the opposite and maybe you will find the results you are looking for. This may not be for everyone but it has worked for me. Just my 2 cents though.

Peace

[whosnexttt]

Even for me, I train calves once a week, abs maaaybe twice a week, but im a big believer in getting as much rest as possible to grow.

[Bombreezey]

I think you can go more then once a week workout for major muscle groups. I do a 4 day split that works well for me. i do chest, back, shoulders, arms, legs. I know that is 5 but most of the time in do shoulders, and back in the same day. Like in the morning do shoulders and at night do back. Right now it is summer and i don't have school so I have the time to do that. Idk about you... i guess if you have the energy you can do shoulders and back at the same time. just make sure you get good sleep and, protein in

[Just Jack]

I'm 16, been BBing for 2 years now and have always used a 6 day split and took long ass breaks of not training my legs but what I do now, and I'm exploding with growth like crazy is I do..

monday - chest/delts/tris
tuesday - legs/abs
wednesday - back/bis
thursday - chest/delts/tris
friday - horse riding practice(lol not my choice)
saturday - back/bis abs
sunday - rest, sometimes I get another day off due to missing a workout and when I'm full on not missing any workouts for like 2-3 weeks straight, I explode.

Also I get more growth training abs 3 times a week rather than 2. And everytime I start up my legs again I get more growth than usual, it's true what they say if you wanna get big, train legs.

[NaturalTrainee]

Working out the bigger muscle groups fatigue the body and the CNS extremely, so it's advocated to train them once per week, as with other body parts(directly).

[Birdman]

Whats been working for me lately is hitting everything twice a week. I do a chest/tri day a back/bi day and a shoulder/leg day twice a week. But its takin a couple of years of working myself up to 6-7 days a week of training to get my bodies recovery time up.

[alemax38]

I'm 16, been BBing for 2 years now and have always used a 6 day split and took long ass breaks of not training my legs but what I do now, and I'm exploding with growth like crazy is I do..

monday - chest/delts/tris
tuesday - legs/abs
wednesday - back/bis
thursday - chest/delts/tris
friday - horse riding practice(lol not my choice)
saturday - back/bis abs
sunday - rest, sometimes I get another day off due to missing a workout and when I'm full on not missing any workouts for like 2-3 weeks straight, I explode.

Also I get more growth training abs 3 times a week rather than 2. And everytime I start up my legs again I get more growth than usual, it's true what they say if you wanna get big, train legs.

in no way am i trying to bash you. good job!! keep doing it while your young just make sure you get some height ok? but also, this will mostly only help the teenage adolescent generation because this "explode" thing happens mostly to younger people because now in your youth is when your body is going to grow the most. it is just pounding out the growth. so keep going man, but also remember this is only going to benefit the really younger generations.

[BigBrian]

hey men, i am a rookie to the bodybuilding world, i already had pretty good muscle gains before i started my journey, but i was wonder if this is true, if you want big results, train legs hard?

[Birdman]

hey men, i am a rookie to the bodybuilding world, i already had pretty good muscle gains before i started my journey, but i was wonder if this is true, if you want big results, train legs hard?

First of all, welcome to the forum, and yes killing your legs will help you get big. The Quads and Hamstrings are very large muscles and therefore release more hormones during exercise.
This is what my current split looks like and has helped alot..i ran it for a about 3 months and had great results-
Chest/Tri
Quads/Calves
Shoulders/Abs
Day off
Hamstring/Glutes
Back/Bi
Day off
Just make sure you eat big and that ur supplementing is on point and let the growth begin..good luck bro