frequency

[petej123]

how often do the majority of you train each body part? in the past what have you seen best gains on? more aimed at people lifting naturally

 

[davegmb]

Once a week for me, escpecially legs they are usually sore for a good few days after my workout. Did try splitting legs into quads and hams onto seprate days for a while but prefer them on the same day now, works better for me. As a compromise i put my deadlifts on my back day, i know lots of people dont like this but it allows me to hit legs twice a week as my hamstrings get a great workout from deadlifts and then on my leg day i like squats and all its varieties and i think good mornings are such a underated exercise.

 

[PushAndPull]

One of my favorites is a basic 4 day push&pull split, I guess in terms of bodyparts that hits the back and legs twice a week (I actually would consider the legs are only once a week, split up into two days). Shoulders, chest, and accessory work once a week. I got such good overall gains the first time I did this routine that it changed the way I plan for my new routines. Now I always try to balance my overall upper and lower body exercises.

 

[assassin]

One of my favorites is a basic 4 day push&pull split, I guess in terms of bodyparts that hits the back and legs twice a week (I actually would consider the legs are only once a week, split up into two days). Shoulders, chest, and accessory work once a week. I got such good overall gains the first time I did this routine that it changed the way I plan for my new routines. Now I always try to balance my overall upper and lower body exercises.

Same here

 

[pwloiacano]

push and pull. please breakdown the four days and what exercises/body-parts you do on each individual day. Also, once you complete a 4 day cycle, how many days do you take off before repeating??

 

[petej123]

push and pull i'd be interested to see your schedule as well, this is my current one, is it similar?

day 1
pull up 4 sets
db row 4 sets
lat pull down 3 sets
hammer curls 3 sets

day 2 rest

day 3
db bench 4 sets
db fly 3 sets
db shoulder press 4 sets
incline db press 3 sets

day 4 rest

day 5
squat/leg press (only one squat cage if its busy i'll do leg press's) 4 sets
hamstring curl 3 sets
deadlift 4 sets
standing calf 3 sets

day 6 rest

day 7 repeat from day 1

on the last set of every exercise i do a sort of rest pause technique called myo reps, but the routine is a push/pull/legs type routine

 

[stfuandliftbtch]

im on a 2 day on 1 day off split..

chest
back/traps/side and read delts
rest
front delts/arms
legs
rest
repeat

So i train every bodypart aboutttt 3X every 2 weeks. my training split used to be 4 days on and 1 day off. same routine as above but without the rest after back day..but i felts that on chest day my tris and front delts aren't rested enough for my chest workout, which in turn would lead to overtraining.

The 2 day on 1 day off routine also lets me get my cardio in on the rest days to improve my cardio, but id still rather be training hardcore 5-6 days in a row with one rest day, or 3 days on 1 day off, training every bodypart twice a week, but find it hard to make a routine that won't lead to overtraining that way.. I mean it would be easy if i did tris after chest or bis after back, but I am not a fan of training either of those after a chest or back workout due to the fact they are already somewhat tired..I like giving them there own day so they are strong and ready to get torn to shreds.

 

[MDR]

I'm not training naturally, so I didn't vote, but right now I'm on a 3 on 1 off split. I will take an extra day off as needed. With this I can train the entire body twice in eight days. It's about as frequent as I'll go. Maintenance is significantly less often.

 

[stfuandliftbtch]

50% of the guys here probably don't train naturally lol On steroids you need the same amount of rest...sure you recover faster, but your workouts are so much more intense, you are ripping more muscle fibers...in turn needing about the same amount of rest. Not only do your muscles need rest but your body in general and get your energy back up..bcuz after my legs workout, the next day my body is drained to the max...i am lazy and tired the wholeee day..

MDR, what is your split? very curious

 

[MDR]

50% of the guys here probably don't train naturally lol On steroids you need the same amount of rest...sure you recover faster, but your workouts are so much more intense, you are ripping more muscle fibers...in turn needing about the same amount of rest. Not only do your muscles need rest but your body in general and get your energy back up..bcuz after my legs workout, the next day my body is drained to the max...i am lazy and tired the wholeee day..

MDR, what is your split? very curious

Varies, but right now I'm doing Chest and Triceps together and Back and Biceps together, and my third day is Legs and Shoulders. Abs throughout the week. Very light cardio to warm up each workout, and not for very long. Really focused on bulking right now.

 

[GearsMcGilf]

Varies, but right now I'm doing Chest and Triceps together and Back and Biceps together, and my third day is Legs and Shoulders. Abs throughout the week. Very light cardio to warm up each workout, and not for very long. Really focused on bulking right now.

Same here, but I split up legs and shoulders. If I tried to do them both on the same day, I'm sure the intensity would be compromised. My workouts are always more intense on gears and I may throw in a few more sets here and there. But, I stick to hitting each muscle 1xweek.

 

[stfuandliftbtch]

see i would do a split like that...but then, even though you arent directly training you tris on shoulder day you are working them out...so id see that as working out tris 4X a week!! which seems like not time to give your tris some time to chill out and rest..

 

[MDR]

see i would do a split like that...but then, even though you arent directly training you tris on shoulder day you are working them out...so id see that as working out tris 4X a week!! which seems like not time to give your tris some time to chill out and rest..

There is no doubt that balance can be a challenge. It is a schedule that works well for me in the short term, but it can be very demanding.

 

[MDR]

Same here, but I split up legs and shoulders. If I tried to do them both on the same day, I'm sure the intensity would be compromised. My workouts are always more intense on gears and I may throw in a few more sets here and there. But, I stick to hitting each muscle 1xweek.

I'll probably switch back to something more like that after about two months. I can't keep up this schedule for very long, or my joints start to be a problem. So far, strength and size is going through the roof, but avoiding injury is crucial. Nothing wrong with hitting each muscle group once a week, and spreading things out a bit more. I'd say that is more of a "normal" schedule for me.

 

[cshea2]

I chose 1, but it's more like two as hit back twice a week with rows on one day and cleans and chin ups on the other. I do an upper/lower split 4 days a week so I hit hams twice a week with squats and good mornings on one day and deads and hypers on the other. Chest, shoulders, arms are hit only once a week.

 

[PushAndPull]

The first push and pull routine I did was about a year, and I can't remember what it was. Here is a routine I did recently.

Day One (Vertical Pull)
Weighted pull-ups 3x3, 6x5, and 15x5 <--bw only
Accessory(optional)
Upright rows 2x10 or ez-bar curls 2x12

Day Two (Lower Push)
Squats 5x5, 4x8, 5x10
Weighted walking lunges, 3 sets (not sure of the exact distance)
Accessory
not optional --> Calf raises 3x30
optional --> leg extensions 2x12

Day three --> off

Day Four (Horizontal Push & Pull)
Flat BB Bench Press 3x5, 5x5, 3x10
Incline DB press 2x12, 2x10, 2x8
DB rows 3x10, 3x8, 5x5
BB rows 2x8, 2x10, 2x12
Accessory(optional)
French press 2x12
Reverse curls 2x12

Day Five (Lower Pull & Vertical Push)
Deadlifts 5x5, 4x8, 5x10
Good mornings 3x12, 3x10, 3x8
Unilateral deadlifts 2x10
Military(DB) or Corner Press 3x8, 3x12, 3x15
Accessory(not optional)
Calf raises 5x30

Just a basic routine. Oh and the numerous setsxreps --> 5x5, 4x8, 5x10 is the periodization so that's over three weeks

 

[theCaptn']

ATM Im hitting:

Cardio AM, Chest & Bis PM

Cardio AM, Shoulders (upper back) and tris PM

legs PM

Stretching PM (1 hr)

Cardio AM, Pull-up (failure) and DLs (failure) PM

Cardio AM Stretching PM (1hr)

Off

Gears!

 

[stfuandliftbtch]

you stretch for an hour!! If only i had that patience to sit....and sit..and sit some more..

 

[theCaptn']

you stretch for an hour!! If only i had that patience to sit....and sit..and sit some more..

It's a PITA, but it's worth every second . . recovery is a shitload better and I can't stand not going to the gym so its a good compromise

 

[PushAndPull]

push and pull i'd be interested to see your schedule as well, this is my current one, is it similar?

day 1
pull up 4 sets
db row 4 sets
lat pull down 3 sets
hammer curls 3 sets

day 2 rest

day 3
db bench 4 sets
db fly 3 sets
db shoulder press 4 sets
incline db press 3 sets

day 4 rest

day 5
squat/leg press (only one squat cage if its busy i'll do leg press's) 4 sets
hamstring curl 3 sets
deadlift 4 sets
standing calf 3 sets

day 6 rest

day 7 repeat from day 1

on the last set of every exercise i do a sort of rest pause technique called myo reps, but the routine is a push/pull/legs type routine

Here's my thoughts and advice

day 1
pull up 4 sets <--vertical pull
db row 4 sets <--horizontal pull
lat pull down 3 sets <--vertical pull
hammer curls 3 sets <--accessory
Total: 7 sets of vertical pull, 4 sets of horizonta pulll. That's not bad, but dropping a set of lat pull downs and adding a couple sets of BB rows is a better idea because it would give you 6 sets apiece of horizontal&vertical pull. I think alternating grips on pull-ups is also a good idea.

day 3
db bench 4 sets <--horizontal push
db fly 3 sets <--accessory
db shoulder press 4 sets <--vertical prush
incline db press 3 sets <--This could be horizontal or vertical push depending on the angle of incline. It looks like you grouped it with your other vertical press so i'll assume it's vertical.
Total: 4 sets of horizontal push and 7 sets of vertical press. I would replace the flys with 3 sets of BB bench and drop a set of DB bench and shoulder press. Giving you 6 sets apiece of horizontal&vertical push

day 5
squat/leg press (only one squat cage if its busy i'll do leg press's) 4 sets <-- Lower Push
hamstring curl 3 sets <-- Lower Pull
deadlift 4 sets <-- Lower Pull
standing calf 3 sets <--accessory
Total: 4 sets of lower push and 7 sets of lower pull. I would add an additional set to the deadlifts&squat/leg press, Add 3 sets of a free weight lower pull exercise such as GHR's/Good Mornings/stiff legged deadlift/ ect.. and reduce the hamstring curls to 2 sets. I would also add 3 sets of split squats/or some other lunge variation, and add 2 sets of leg extensions. Giving you 8 sets apiece of Lower Push&Pull

That would give you a total of 25 upper body exercises to 19 lower body which to me is alot more balanced compared to your current 28 upper body exercises to 14 lower body. The reason why I never do Push/Pull/Legs is that the split is unbalanced. You're spending twice the time working on your upper body compared to your lower. This generally leads to an unbalanced program, since we only have so much time and energy for a typical workout session. I would strongly suggest that you break your leg day up into two seperate days. Then alternate upper body and lower body days for better recovery. If you do this, then I would also change your upper body split by seperating the upper pulls. Maybe group vertical push&pulls one day and horizontal push&pulls for the other.

 

[petej123]

thanks for the advice pushandpull, anything else you can recommend instead of flat bb press, my body doesnt seem to agree with it it hurts my shoulder blades! i tend to just stick to db press which doesn't give me any problems. Also how important do you think periodization is? i normally just hammer the 5-8 rep range and when i get strong enough to lift a given weight for 8 reps next week i just up the weight but i never seem to really move out of this range, ive sort of just focused on getting stronger and eating a shit load for the size?! rather than doing the whole high reps and getting more sarcoplasmic non-functional hypertrophy

 

[assassin]

push/pull/legs

or

push/pull/push/pull and periodize

or

chest+back/arms+shoulders/legs

That's what I like

 

[petej123]

give me an example of your routine if you dont mind?

 

[gtbmed]

Admittedly not training for bodybuilding, but I like to do fullbody workouts. In every workout I'll do a push, a pull, and something for my legs. After that you just add a few other exercises to fill in the gaps.

I can't argue with any of what's been posted above though. Any of those splits are going to work. In the end you just have to find the one you like and can sustain.

 

[fraseram]

I too like full body workouts
I do
squats
deads and calf raises for legs
alt pull ups and rows
alt bench and incline press
chinups for bis
and dips for tris
overhead milt press and rev flies for shoulders
I lift with a good effort and weight but dont kill myself
I lift three to four sets and do anywhere from 6-10 reps dep on movement
ohhh ps I do this twice a week and do a fluffy recovery weight routine in the middle for my third work out
so it looks like
mon cardio
tues cardio and hard weights
wed cardio
thurs cardio and easy routine
fri cardio
sat cardio and hard weights
sun AHHHHHHHHHHHHH rest

 

[fredlabrute]

I'm not training naturally and even then, can't train on back to back days!My training sessions are very brutal and take close to 2hrs each,have to stretch religiously to be able to move the next day.I alternate between cardio and weighlifting so i'm training almost all week long!