4 days on, 3 days off

[Destram]

Would a split with 4 days on and then 3 days off be ok? I thought it would probably be better for the CNS to give it as long of breaks as possible, but i really have no idea. Should i do 2 days on, 1 off, 2 on, 2 off? My current split is Chest/tris, Back/bis, Shoulders/traps, Legs/abs.

 

[Dr. Pain]

A better split with those parts

Chest/abs
Back/tris
off
Legs/abs
Shoulders/traps/bis
off
off

Gives you maximum seperation and recovery of bodyparts....chest and back are antagonistic.....both hit shoulders front or rear to some degree...so now you have better seperation


As for arms...if you do chest, you have pre-exhausted tris and they can't be hit as hard...same with back and bis, so we move them away and hit them harder


A better theory, a saying from a National level friend of mine....."If your doing two bodyparts in one day....something ain't getting hit right!"

So a split with that in mind

Chest
Back
off
Legs
Shoulders
Arms
off


DP

 

[Mudge]

If I do a 5 day routine I prefer 4 on 1 off, if I do a 4 day routine 3 on 1 off, etc

I do not like lots of days off, I feel like my body notices that I'm not doing anything and I don't seem to gain if I take off a day more than usual. Plus, if I spread the body out through more time in the week I will have more energy for each bodypart when trained.

 

[Fit Freak]

Dr. Pain hit it right on!

Take his advice...and avoid the 4 on, 3 off

 

[miamiguns]

How about...

chest,back
off
arms,shoulders,traps
off
legs
off
chest,back
off
continue


I used to do this in college and got great results. I might start it again after I get my core strength back.

 

[Fit Freak]

In my opinion I think certain bodyparts will suffer. For example chest and back are both large muscle groups that need to be worked hard and from many different angles. If you do chest first your back development will surely suffer. The reverse is also true.

Same goes with arms and shoulders. Also, doing all these muscles in the same workout will make it hard to hit everything...i.e. forearms, brachialis, etc. since you'd have to do so many sets all in one workout.

You shouldn't be working with weights longer than 1 hour otherwise your body begins to release cortisol which is very detremental to growth.

Why not just go with DP's recommendations and by doing so you'll be in and out of the gym in no time insstead of having to spend all day there to complete your training sessions.

 

[miamiguns]

Back in college my workouts never exceded 90 minutes at the most. What I did was on my chest back day I hit certain areas and then on the next chest and back day I would hit the remaining areas. BTW, I never said I spent excessive time in the gym like you suggested.


DP suggests that you have 6 days between specific muscle groups. I know some muscle groups get worked with others but some don't. Isn't that a little too much time between workouts? Legs for instance IMO should be worked every 6th day max.

 

[Destram]

Well my current workouts are 12 sets for big body parts, 9 for small, with 7 days of rest for each body part. My workouts NEVER exceed an hour and if i was to cut down my reps to like 9 for big and 6 for small, some days i would be out of the gym in 20-30 minutes. That seems like i wouldnt be doing enough.