bodyparts twice a week

[johnnyblue]

Does anyone do their bodyparts twice a week. I just started this week and i am dying. I'd like to know other peoples' opinions on this type of workout or if they do their bodyparts twice a week, what their workouts look like.

Mine is:

Monday
Chest 10 sets
Triceps 6 sets

Tuesday
Shoulders 10 sets
Back 10 sets
Traps 4 sets

Wednesday
Quads 8 sets
Hams 5 sets
Bis 6 sets

and then repeat this workout on thurs fri sat

 

[rottenroguelacy]

personally i thinkit is a recipe for overtraining.But I am pretty biased with body parts once a week.There are lots of different training routines out there I suppose it is finding which ones work for you

 

[Silverback]

Does anyone do their bodyparts twice a week. I just started this week and i am dying. I'd like to know other peoples' opinions on this type of workout or if they do their bodyparts twice a week, what their workouts look like.

Mine is:

Monday
Chest 10 sets
Triceps 6 sets

Tuesday
Shoulders 10 sets
Back 10 sets
Traps 4 sets

Wednesday
Quads 8 sets
Hams 5 sets
Bis 6 sets

and then repeat this workout on thurs fri sat

Your body cant fully recover if you train like that--- Recovery=Growth

Your body can take anywhere from 10-14 days to fully recover depending on the size of the muscle-- Stick with one bodypart a week, except maybe calves and abs

 

[lestatgear]

I agree. If your training effectively, you're not giving the muscles enough recoup time. I prefer to blast each muscle group once a week.

 

[Bob Smith]

If you take your normal training volume and split it into two workouts per week, you will see more results. But trying to do your normal workout twice per week is asking for trouble.

Half volume + 2x/wk = more results

 

[rook48]

i think it works. if i'm taking something (which some of you might know hasn't been much) then i can do it. when i do twice per week it it will be for 3 or 4 weeks, then 1 or 2 weeks for 1 body part per week and back to a body part twice per week. if everything is right as far as diet and sleep then i recover from it pretty quickly and can make good gains, otherwise it's overtraining and a lot of fatigue during workouts.

 

[Silverback]

i think it works. if i'm taking something (which some of you might know hasn't been much) then i can do it. when i do twice per week it it will be for 3 or 4 weeks, then 1 or 2 weeks for 1 body part per week and back to a body part twice per week. if everything is right as far as diet and sleep then i recover from it pretty quickly and can make good gains, otherwise it's overtraining and a lot of fatigue during workouts.

Sorry bro, but I dont think you are a genetic freak that recovers 2-3x faster than other people-- Muscles take anywhere from 10-14 days to fully recover if they are fully fatigued in a workout

You may be able to work each bodypart 2 times a week---anyone can do that--but your missing the recovery phase which equals full growth--

BTW--- JUst because your are not sore doesnt mean you have fully recovered--

 

[Bob Smith]

Sorry bro, but I dont think you are a genetic freak that recovers 2-3x faster than other people-- Muscles take anywhere from 10-14 days to fully recover if they are fully fatigued in a workout

You may be able to work each bodypart 2 times a week---anyone can do that--but your missing the recovery phase which equals full growth--

BTW--- JUst because your are not sore doesnt mean you have fully recovered--

Conversely, just because you are sore doesnt mean you had a productive workout. Besides that, there is a ton of research showing that more frequent workouts result in greater gains. Also, a person doesnt need to be "fully recovered" before their next workout. Your quote of 10-14 days for a muscle to recover is well above anything Ive ever read for muscle recovery. Most things I have read from people in the know (JohnSmith, Bryan Haycock, etc) say that a muscle recovers in about 48-96 hours.

 

[Juggernauttx]

Conversely, just because you are sore doesnt mean you had a productive workout. Besides that, there is a ton of research showing that more frequent workouts result in greater gains. Also, a person doesnt need to be "fully recovered" before their next workout. Your quote of 10-14 days for a muscle to recover is well above anything Ive ever read for muscle recovery. Most things I have read from people in the know (JohnSmith, Bryan Haycock, etc) say that a muscle recovers in about 48-96 hours.

I have not seen research by Bryan that a muscle fully recovers in 48-96 hrs, but Bryans research points to that the muscle does not need to fully recover in order to train it again. ANother research that Bryan points to is that protein synthesis is only elevated for about 36-48 hrs. After that it goes back to baseline or below. Frequent training allows protein synthesis to be constantly elevated, and with sufficient protein intake feeding this, it is a recipe for hypertrophy. This is Bryans take with HST. I agree with frequent training, but there are somethings that Bryan preaches that I do not believe in. That is another post.

Yes training twice a week is better than once a week if you halve the volume like Bob says, and 3 times a week is better than 2 times a week, if u also cut the volume accordingly. But training once a week is better than not training at all, so do whatever keeps you consistently training. I believe consistency is the most important factor in all the principles of training.

 

[jamesdal7]

also??

are you doing squats and dead lifts by the way?

 

[Bob Smith]

I have not seen research by Bryan that a muscle fully recovers in 48-96 hrs, but Bryans research points to that the muscle does not need to fully recover in order to train it again.

Youre right, my mistake. I meant being able to work the muscle again in 48-96 hours and that the muscle doesnt need to fully recover.

Good post, bro. Along with Bryan (who, IMO, is a training genius), JohnSmith also advocates frequent training ala 5x5 programs. Different methods, but frequent exposure to stimuli and they are both some of the most effective programs, period.

 

[Silverback]

Conversely, just because you are sore doesnt mean you had a productive workout. Besides that, there is a ton of research showing that more frequent workouts result in greater gains. Also, a person doesnt need to be "fully recovered" before their next workout. Your quote of 10-14 days for a muscle to recover is well above anything Ive ever read for muscle recovery. Most things I have read from people in the know (JohnSmith, Bryan Haycock, etc) say that a muscle recovers in about 48-96 hours.

I should have been more specific-- I believe that a muscle needs 10-14 days to fully recover, but it should be worked again before that---each week IMO

I dont know if I believe that a muscle is recovered in 48 hours---that is a stretch.

 

[Girth]

It's not the muscle that is recovered, but the nerves. For strength, nerves need to be continually trained at the expense of size. Due to constant muscle breakdown.

Conversely, size is best achieved when a muscle is fully recovered. How that is best achieved can be argued. Some will say work the muscle once a week. Others will follow the heavy light scheme. By that, I mean heavy as 8-20 reps.

 

[Ramstein II]

2X/wk frequency

Listen to Bob. Cut the volume for more frequency. Here's another recommendation: you might not want to split your workout to where you're going in 6 days a week. That's a good way to overtrain your nervous system. Even though you're not working the same muscles every time, you're calling on your CNS in a heavy way 6 days a week. A 2 day split 4 days a week is good and won't take so long with the reduced volume. Also, consider doing a light workout and a heavier workout and do different exercises for each. For example, do dumbell bench presses on your light day and barbell on your heavy day or whatever exercises you use. Ex. Upperbody light, Lowerbody heavy, rest, upperbody heavy, lowerbody light, rest, rest repeat. Also, watch out for lower back overuse. That's how I think I hurt my lower back. I wouldn't load the lower back more than once a week and not at all if you're injured or have been injured.

I second what the good bro above says about consistency. That is truly the key. One of the biggest mistakes I've seen over the years is with people who go hard, burnout, and then don't go at all. They would have been better off being consistent even if that meant using a low volume workout.

 

[Juggernauttx]

It's not the muscle that is recovered, but the nerves. For strength, nerves need to be continually trained at the expense of size. Due to constant muscle breakdown.

Conversely, size is best achieved when a muscle is fully recovered. How that is best achieved can be argued. Some will say work the muscle once a week. Others will follow the heavy light scheme. By that, I mean heavy as 8-20 reps.

Where do you get this argument that size is best achieved when a muscle is fully recovered? If you wait for a muscle to fully recover, you are not at a condition for maximum hypertrophy. To back up my claims, a muscle might take a couple of weeks to fully recover, or it can take a week or whatever. But protein synthesis is only elevated in the muscle for 24-48hrs. Protein synthesis is the key for hypertrophy. It is our body being in a anabolic state. Now say you take a whole week for the muscle to recover. You are growing about 2-3 days of the week, and just repairing and maintaining status quo the rest of the week. It is more optimal to be in a anabolic state 6-7 days out of the week.

Now you will bring up the argument that once a week worked for you and everyone you know. Thats great that it did, I never said it would not work, I just said it is not more optimal for hypertrophy than a higher frequency.

 

[IPlayRugby18]

Like some of the other guys have stated...you will be over training. You need to let your body rest (recover) from the previous workouts. If you don't (rest) you won't see your results as well as if you let your body rest and recover. When you workout you're basically tearing the muscle fibers causing them to rebuild back bigger and stronger the next time. Take some vitamin C due to it helping with connective tissue repair as well as glutamine. Besides Vitamin C also keeps your immune system strong for the winter months. You might go to the gym only three times a week due to your schedule but if you can...try going four and breaking down your body parts into something like this:

Monday:
Chest/tris
Tuesday:
Legs
Wed.:
Back/Bis
Thursday:
Shoulders and traps.

See what works for you bro...everyones body is different. Just don't forget the other two main points of working out...Diet and sleep. Your diet will be different for what your goals are (gaining mass or defining yourself) and without sleep your body can not rest. Good luck and if you have any other ?'s you can always PM me, maybe I can be of some help setting up a diet for you or help answer some other questions.

 

[Gavin Laird]

My text in (brackets)

Like some of the other guys have stated...you will be over training. (based on what assumptions?)

You need to let your body rest from the previous workouts. If you don't (rest) you won't see your results as well as if you let your body rest and recover.

(Results in terms of what? Recovery in terms of what? CNS? Structural?)


When you workout you're basically tearing the muscle fibers causing them to rebuild back bigger and stronger the next time.

(Which can take up to 6 weeks from a single bout of exercise. Tissue remodelling is EXTREMELY slow. "Recovery" from exercise has precisely ZERO to do remodelling.)


Monday:
Chest/tris
Tuesday:
Legs
Wed.:
Back/Bis
Thursday:
Shoulders and traps.

(You play rugby, you should no better than to train on a 1/2 arsed bodybuilders split. Learn the time frames involved in post training processes and schedule training sessions accordingly - not according to some bullshit myth about needing a week off to "recover" from having a wank.

G

 

[patsfan]

Your body cant fully recover if you train like that--- Recovery=Growth

Your body can take anywhere from 10-14 days to fully recover depending on the size of the muscle-- Stick with one bodypart a week, except maybe calves and abs

I agree except for legs...I think you can train legs more than once a week.

 

[lopoiji]

looks good, just take the last week off at the end of the month

 

[zadok]

I squat, bench and deadlift twice a week. everything else (except calves which i do 3-4 times/wk) i do only once. i work 12 hour days and as much as i love the gym i find it hard to keep up the intensity and motivation for longer than 45min-1hr.