Tips for training schedule

[SippinCoffee]

My wife and I are currently only able to work out 3 nights a week. I also swim on my lunch break a few times a week and do a few body weight exercises at the house, but as far as really getting in a good workout we are only able to do 3 nights a week. It will be this way for the next 4-6 months.

I have always liked doing a Push, Pull, Legs split. That is putting me only doing each muscle once a week, however when I am lifting I am really hitting it hard. I'm going 1-2 reps from failure if not all the way to failure, doing many compound and iso sets for each muscle, and really trying to maximize the time I am getting. And I have definitely seen gains doing it like this as well, but its getting slower.

What do yall think would be better?
A) sticking to what I am doing now

B) Doing an Upper/Lower Split which would look like this: Week 1- Upper Body day, Lower Body Day, Upper Body Day. Week 2- Lower Body day, Upper body day, Lower Body Day. Then repeat. So in 2 weeks each muscle is getting hit 3 times.

C) Doing 3 Full body works outs Monday, Wednesday, Friday. So hitting each muscle 3 times per week with less recovery time.

D) Something else entirely(example: Selling my kids to the black market and having way more time to work out)

Thanks for any suggestions/advice you may have!

 

[Rido]

D. You can sell kids and use it for more gear/vacations


But I like the upper lower split. Gives adequate rest time. You could probably do arm focused exercises in-between since it doesn't require a gym.

 

[Orkoo]

D) LMAO

 

[Deleted member 123722]

My wife and I are currently only able to work out 3 nights a week. I also swim on my lunch break a few times a week and do a few body weight exercises at the house, but as far as really getting in a good workout we are only able to do 3 nights a week. It will be this way for the next 4-6 months.

I have always liked doing a Push, Pull, Legs split. That is putting me only doing each muscle once a week, however when I am lifting I am really hitting it hard. I'm going 1-2 reps from failure if not all the way to failure, doing many compound and iso sets for each muscle, and really trying to maximize the time I am getting. And I have definitely seen gains doing it like this as well, but its getting slower.

What do yall think would be better?
A) sticking to what I am doing now

B) Doing an Upper/Lower Split which would look like this: Week 1- Upper Body day, Lower Body Day, Upper Body Day. Week 2- Lower Body day, Upper body day, Lower Body Day. Then repeat. So in 2 weeks each muscle is getting hit 3 times.

C) Doing 3 Full body works outs Monday, Wednesday, Friday. So hitting each muscle 3 times per week with less recovery time.

D) Something else entirely(example: Selling my kids to the black market and having way more time to work out)

Thanks for any suggestions/advice you may have!

B.) would make most sense for your situation and how you train, IMO.

If you did Full Body 3x a week, you'd have to lower intensity and do less volume per session, no question.

 

[SippinCoffee]

B.) would make most sense for your situation and how you train, IMO.

If you did Full Body 3x a week, you'd have to lower intensity and do less volume per session, no question.

Do you think more frequency with less intensity may result in better gains or no? I definitely don't have an issue making it easier on myself...I just felt like I needed to be going to failure to get as much out of my workout since I wasn't able to go super often.

 

[Deleted member 123722]

Do you think more frequency with less intensity may result in better gains or no? I definitely don't have an issue making it easier on myself...I just felt like I needed to be going to failure to get as much out of my workout since I wasn't able to go super often.

I've done both volume and HIT training; they both work. The question is, what do you like better and will STICK to more consistently? That will bring about the most gains over time.

I, like yourself, love PPL; so you will probably enjoy the Upper Lower split, which is why I said B.)

And since each muscle will be hit every 4 Days, you could go a bit more intense, with some moderate volume. But that will also vary due to your personal recoverability. The best way to determine this is to see is whether your performance suffers in the next session. If not, you're recovering just fine.

 

[SippinCoffee]

I've done both volume and HIT training; they both work. The question is, what do you like better and will STICK to more consistently? That will bring about the most gains over time.

I, like yourself, love PPL; so you will probably enjoy the Upper Lower split, which is why I said B.)

And since each muscle will be hit every 4 Days, you could go a bit more intense, with some moderate volume. But that will also vary due to your personal recoverability. The best way to determine this is to see is whether your performance suffers in the next session. If not, you're recovering just fine.

That makes sense. Thanks for the suggestions.

 

[bornSkinny]

How long can these workouts be? Really I think your limitation will be you can only get in so much in a realistic amount of time and keep it at a good level of intensity and energy.
What’s an “upper” going to look like? So that’s like lats, mid back, biceps, chest, shoulders, triceps, forearms, traps, lower back, maybe even abs? In one workout? Either you’re hitting some of those indirectly with compounds or they’re not getting their due reps at all.

I suppose it just depends on your goals but at some point you’re going to need more time to make progress. If you want to maintain that’s easier.

Out of curiosity what’s your BW?

 

[SippinCoffee]

How long can these workouts be? Really I think your limitation will be you can only get in so much in a realistic amount of time and keep it at a good level of intensity and energy.
What’s an “upper” going to look like? So that’s like lats, mid back, biceps, chest, shoulders, triceps, forearms, traps, lower back, maybe even abs? In one workout? Either you’re hitting some of those indirectly with compounds or they’re not getting their due reps at all.

I suppose it just depends on your goals but at some point you’re going to need more time to make progress. If you want to maintain that’s easier.

Out of curiosity what’s your BW?

On average doing push/pull/leg split we have been spending around 90 minutes actively working out. On the days we go there is no reason we can't spend 2 hours or more if we need to.

I'm 6'1 225.

 

[SippinCoffee]

Also...I would be trying to get as much out of compound exercises as possible. Doing abs at home...my wife has an aerial rig so we have the ability to get in some legit core workouts from home.

You've got people doing full-body workouts a few times a week and reporting gains. Even top level pros. So I'm sure it's possible. Now it may require an unrealistic amount of time to accomplish. But these are the discussions I made the post for so please share your thoughts.

 

[bornSkinny]

On average doing push/pull/leg split we have been spending around 90 minutes actively working out. On the days we go there is no reason we can't spend 2 hours or more if we need to.

I'm 6'1 225.

Just curious about size because I think sometimes if you’re big enough you can get away with a little less frequent training because the weights being used are often much greater.

Based on what you’re saying I think you’re probably already organizing things optimally with the PPL. Given that it’s once a week, and you have some time you can really nail those sessions and get the most out of them, still bring fresh for next week.

Thing about maximizing training effect, is PPL you are really localizing which seems to be more efficient rather than hitting antagonists. (According to sport science folks). So IMO you are already running your optimal split basically.