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POLL: better results from training bodyparts once or twice a week
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Sniperwolf
New member
Rather than worrying about what works well for other people just switch to one body part per week and see what happens. If you don't like the results change back. 99% of the people here might say that working out each bodypart twice a week is best but that doesn't mean that you aren't going to get good results from working out each body part once per week.
maxmuscle66
New member
It depends on what level you are at....
If you happen to be a guy whose arms are barely 14 inches..... you had better get you ass to the gym at least three times a week.... the good old MON, WED & FRI thing.
If you have pipes that are 16 and up then I consider you an intermediate and then you would show up at the gym four times a week..... working each body part only twice per week..... this is an example of what I mean....
MON & THUR: Legs, Back, Bicpes and Forearms
TUES & FRI: Calves, Chest, Shoulders and Triceps
Abs can be worked anytime and shoud be to strengthen you midsection and they can be couple with hyperextensions as well.
Maxmuscle66
If you happen to be a guy whose arms are barely 14 inches..... you had better get you ass to the gym at least three times a week.... the good old MON, WED & FRI thing.
If you have pipes that are 16 and up then I consider you an intermediate and then you would show up at the gym four times a week..... working each body part only twice per week..... this is an example of what I mean....
MON & THUR: Legs, Back, Bicpes and Forearms
TUES & FRI: Calves, Chest, Shoulders and Triceps
Abs can be worked anytime and shoud be to strengthen you midsection and they can be couple with hyperextensions as well.
Maxmuscle66
nikolai_bolkov
New member
Unless you train with such ferocious intensity that you need 7 days to recoup each bodypart, I would say hit em twice. With a decently heavy routine, your muscle groups will recoup in 3-4 days, and if only hit once per week, you have a couple of days when they are fully recovered and not being worked out.
B
Burning_Inside
Guest
Why not listen to your body and just do them when they're ready? If they're sore, leave them be, But if for example on wednesday theyre not sore, thenwork them thursday. The deay that they become totally unsore, then just leave them be for that day, but work them the next.
it's funny...
Kinda funny but from the research I've done it actually takes about 7 days for a muscle to totally heal (on the cellular level)
Watch a cut one time, it usually scabs over in a day or so, then the scab flakes off...anyways, about 7 days later it's just a wee scar (within reason, a missing limb wouldn't be a "wee scar" but were talking a little cut here) Kind of a bad example, but thats sort of how it works, the micro damage takes i think it was 72 hours to heal, then another 72 hours or so to rebuild itself stronger. Mind you, this is after a REALLY intense workout, like 45 minutes of pecs, or arms, or back, you get the picture. But when it comes down to it do what these guys are saying...listen to your body, and adjust your workout to what feels good for you. And also mix around your reps/weight a bit, going with slightly lighter weights that you fail on around 10-12 reps promotes hypertrophy (thickening of muscle cells, and cell walls) where as working with much heavier weights that cause you to fail at 2-4 reps promotes hyperplasia ( the recruitment of new stem cells to grow new mucsle fibers)
Theres also fiber splitting and who knows what else!both forms will do a bit of both (hyperplasia and hpyertrophy), but encourgae one more than the other depending on which rep pattern you use. So basically what I'm saying is that with slightly higher reps to failure your muscles will bulge more (bodybuilding style), but with lower rep ranges you'll get more power than bulge. Of course if your starting out either method will help you grow big, and it also depends on what your goals are.
Phew! Little bit off topic, sorry guys, hop some of this was helpful!
Kinda funny but from the research I've done it actually takes about 7 days for a muscle to totally heal (on the cellular level)
Watch a cut one time, it usually scabs over in a day or so, then the scab flakes off...anyways, about 7 days later it's just a wee scar (within reason, a missing limb wouldn't be a "wee scar" but were talking a little cut here) Kind of a bad example, but thats sort of how it works, the micro damage takes i think it was 72 hours to heal, then another 72 hours or so to rebuild itself stronger. Mind you, this is after a REALLY intense workout, like 45 minutes of pecs, or arms, or back, you get the picture. But when it comes down to it do what these guys are saying...listen to your body, and adjust your workout to what feels good for you. And also mix around your reps/weight a bit, going with slightly lighter weights that you fail on around 10-12 reps promotes hypertrophy (thickening of muscle cells, and cell walls) where as working with much heavier weights that cause you to fail at 2-4 reps promotes hyperplasia ( the recruitment of new stem cells to grow new mucsle fibers)
Theres also fiber splitting and who knows what else!both forms will do a bit of both (hyperplasia and hpyertrophy), but encourgae one more than the other depending on which rep pattern you use. So basically what I'm saying is that with slightly higher reps to failure your muscles will bulge more (bodybuilding style), but with lower rep ranges you'll get more power than bulge. Of course if your starting out either method will help you grow big, and it also depends on what your goals are.
Phew! Little bit off topic, sorry guys, hop some of this was helpful!
Whizkid, I know you're 15 years old or whatever and all you care about right now is your guns, but I still suggest you do less arm blasting and more overhead pressing, chins, etc. At least hear me out. if working arms separately 2-3 times a week is working for you that's great. But when your progress stagnates and you want to get your arms to grow some more, try cutting back on direct arm work and focusing more on the compound movements.
Godfather
New member
Garza said:
Day 1: Chest/Tri
Day 2: Back/Bi/Delts
Day 3: Legs
Abs everyday, try to do cardio everyday but more on legs day. Five day/week workout. That said, i work two body parts twice a week and one body part only once a week by virtue of 5 day workout. The following week i start where i left off. I'm not a bb but i do work out hard for nearly 2 hours daily, take that with a grain of salt i guess.
4 times a week!!!!
jumpmaster82
Well-known member
I saw dramatically better results when I switched to twice a week
The poll is oversimplified.
It doesn't make allowance for training a body part every 4, 5 and 6 days.
Personally I've always tried to train a body part every 5 or 6 days and have never used the week as a cycle guide.
In most routines there's some indirect work done on most body parts even on their "off" days. Indirect shoulder and elbow work can quickly overtrain and subsequently cause injury to these vulnerable areas. Anytime you pick up a weight the shoulders are doing quite a lot of work.
It's important to take this into consideration when designing a program.
It doesn't make allowance for training a body part every 4, 5 and 6 days.
Personally I've always tried to train a body part every 5 or 6 days and have never used the week as a cycle guide.
In most routines there's some indirect work done on most body parts even on their "off" days. Indirect shoulder and elbow work can quickly overtrain and subsequently cause injury to these vulnerable areas. Anytime you pick up a weight the shoulders are doing quite a lot of work.
It's important to take this into consideration when designing a program.
firefighter337
New member
jumpmaster82 said:
I can tell, your avatar is looking spot on.
deathdroprob
Banned
Usall Once a week days:
Monday: Chest Biceps And somtimes forearms
Wednesday: Back/Traps Triceps
Friday: Legs Calves Shoulders.
I only do this^^^ if on a Monday I dont have enough time, to do
this twice a week routine:
Monday: Chest Back Shoulders (all compound excersises for 3x5)
Wednesday: Legs Calves Biceps Triceps. (using both high and low reps)
Friday: Chest back Shoulders. (More Isoaltion excersises with lower weights and high reps)
I found my twice a week program alot better.
Monday: Chest Biceps And somtimes forearms
Wednesday: Back/Traps Triceps
Friday: Legs Calves Shoulders.
I only do this^^^ if on a Monday I dont have enough time, to do
this twice a week routine:
Monday: Chest Back Shoulders (all compound excersises for 3x5)
Wednesday: Legs Calves Biceps Triceps. (using both high and low reps)
Friday: Chest back Shoulders. (More Isoaltion excersises with lower weights and high reps)
I found my twice a week program alot better.
B
BigboyAl
Guest
Re: It depends on what level you are at....
this makes no sense.. you think you cant have big arms if you go to the gym 3 times a week? and your determining workout volume by skill level.. LOL
maxmuscle66 said:
this makes no sense.. you think you cant have big arms if you go to the gym 3 times a week? and your determining workout volume by skill level.. LOL
B
BigboyAl
Guest
ceo said:
solrosenberg
New member
I don't use a calendar, I let my muscles tell me which gets trained. Once per week isn't enough for me, and twice is too many. It's probably more like once every 5 days for me. I don't see how anybody could train their entire body twice per week.
Powerbuilder333
Timeout? No, timeouts are for Plats
I take 9 to 10 days between bodyparts.
Present routine:
Sun: Off.
Mon: Off.
Tue: Pecs/Cardio - 20 minutes x 4 EW.
Wed: Deadlifts/Abs/Cardio.
Thu: Off.
Fri: Delts/Rotator Cuffs/Cardio.
Sat: Lats/Abs/Cardio.
Sun: Off.
Mon: Off.
Tue: Arms/Cardio.
Wed: Legs/Abs/Cardio.
Repeat.
Present routine:
Sun: Off.
Mon: Off.
Tue: Pecs/Cardio - 20 minutes x 4 EW.
Wed: Deadlifts/Abs/Cardio.
Thu: Off.
Fri: Delts/Rotator Cuffs/Cardio.
Sat: Lats/Abs/Cardio.
Sun: Off.
Mon: Off.
Tue: Arms/Cardio.
Wed: Legs/Abs/Cardio.
Repeat.
R
RachelEFC
Guest
tropo said:
I agree, I'm about every five days.
safety4lyfe
New member
it really depends on your goals. if you want strength, bigger muscles def twice a week (one day heavy lift/ the other a little lighter for muscle groups) but beach bod, def once a week...can get nice tonage this way.
wtf? That's an old fuckin thread.
legendz
New member
I don't really try to do all body parts within any given timeframe; I just have a cycle that I run through then repeat. (i.e., Chest and Triceps on day 1, Back and Biceps the next, etc.) It comes out to training each body part once per week, which is okay for me. The few times I tried to train bodyparts more frequently, I found that it just wasn't enough recovery time and I would up overtraining, developing tendonitis and so on. But everyone is different. Find what works best with you (and, yes, that can be a time- and effort-consuming challenge but, ultimately, it's worth it).
Frunsky
New member
Im on an 4 day routine with a day off when I need it or not .
Day one:chest,bi
Day two:legs,abbs
Day three:back,tri
Day four:shoulders,abbs
I will jump right back into day one or rest depending how I feel or ill take a rest day inbetween days. So its like each muscle gets hit every four to five days.
Day one:chest,bi
Day two:legs,abbs
Day three:back,tri
Day four:shoulders,abbs
I will jump right back into day one or rest depending how I feel or ill take a rest day inbetween days. So its like each muscle gets hit every four to five days.
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