Is there really a difference?

[Coop817]

I was on a upper lower 4 day split for a very long time, then over the years have tried other routines. Currently i am on a one bodypart per day split. I am just maintaining for now, and will most likely go back to a 4 day upper lower...but

Is there really a difference...for instance, on my current routine I am doing 20 sets for chest once per week...4-5 different excercises...and on an upper lower i would most likely be hitting 10 sets, twice per week..... is one really better than the other if the total sets is roughly the same?

is it better to blast chest then rest it for a week, or is it better to hit it pretty good then hit it again later in the week?

 

[bjg]

20 sets is a bit too long unless you are only doing chest , then you cannot do shoulders or triceps till 3 days later. anyways 20 sets is a bit too much i would do 16, You need 48 hours at least to fully recover from a good workout so if you are doing one muscle per day you can do: (except for triceps and shoulders since both need pressing)
1- chest 16 sets
2- Back 16 sets + rear deltoids and traps
3- rest
4- shoulders (9 sets) without rear deltoids and traps + triceps 12 sets
5- biceps 12 sets
6- legs (16 sets)
7- rest

or if you want you can do a muscle twice a week but i would do instead of a total of 16 sets split in half 8 and 8 ..i would do once 10 sets and the next time 6 sets
example
1- Chest 10 sets- Triceps 9 sets
2- Back 10 sets- rear deltoids 3sets-biceps 9 sets
3- legs 12-16 sets- Traps 4 sets-
4- rest
5- Chest 6 sets- shoulders 9 sets -triceps 4 sets
6 _ back 6sets- biceps 6sets
7 rest
this way you have : a total of 16 sets for chest and back , 13 sets for triceps, 15 sets for biceps and 16 sets for shoulders....you can do abs with legs or any rest day .
This is a pretty tough workout so it is better to take 2 days of rest in a row if needed.

 

[ctr10]

I was on a upper lower 4 day split for a very long time, then over the years have tried other routines. Currently i am on a one bodypart per day split. I am just maintaining for now, and will most likely go back to a 4 day upper lower...but

Is there really a difference...for instance, on my current routine I am doing 20 sets for chest once per week...4-5 different excercises...and on an upper lower i would most likely be hitting 10 sets, twice per week..... is one really better than the other if the total sets is roughly the same?

is it better to blast chest then rest it for a week, or is it better to hit it pretty good then hit it again later in the week?

Thats what im doing

 

[CaptainNapalm]

There is a difference. If someone were to ask you to compete and try to bench press say 200 lbs for 10 sets for as many reps as you can to win a million bucks, would you try to move all the 10 sets in one session or would you prefer to do 5 sets, rest 2-3 days, come back and do the other 5. I would put my money on the second option. That's why I usually train each major muscle group twice a week. This works for me but others swear by the other method. At the end of the day you just have to diligently try both methods and see what works better for you.

 

[PushAndPull]

My 2 fucking cents:

When I do a 4-day split it's divided up by movements not bodyparts. Fro me, the main benefit of a 4-day split is being able to split up my lower push (squats,lunges,ect...) and lower pull (deadlifts,ghr's,ect...). So a typical split might look like:

1) Lower push, calves
2) Horizontal push then horizontal pull
3) Lower pull, calves
4) Vertical push then vertical pull

The emphasis of this program would be on lower body, but also more emphasis on upper body pressing than pulling. For many reasons you cannot simply seperate bodyparts without making some trade off. If you do heavy chest, then squats. Squats will suffer since your energy level will be down. If it's another upperbody movement instead then you'll suffer from lower energy and muscle fatigue. At some point in your training you should have a predetermined emphasis in your program, that prioritizes certain movements/exercises and variables (see periodization). Anyways, my advice is that you start individualizing your training program, and not simply doing the same routine, the same way, all the time.

 

[ALBOB]

There is a difference. If someone were to ask you to compete and try to bench press say 200 lbs for 10 sets for as many reps as you can to win a million bucks, would you try to move all the 10 sets in one session or would you prefer to do 5 sets, rest 2-3 days, come back and do the other 5. I would put my money on the second option. That's why I usually train each major muscle group twice a week. This works for me but others swear by the other method. At the end of the day you just have to diligently try both methods and see what works better for you.

This doesn't SEEM logical to me. The second option spreads the lifting out over a longer period of time, thus making it easier to accomplish. That's the exact opposite of what we're trying to do. We don't want to make things easier, we want to work the muscle harder. For that reason I work each muscle once a week and work it as hard as I possibly can. Then I give it the nutrients and time to repair itself and get bigger/stronger.

 

[blergs.]

For mass train heavly only 1-2 muscle groups per workout and dont workout more then 2 days in a row without taking a full day off.
I rec EOD and 1-2 groups a workout day at a 6-8reps a set, with a couple styles per muscle group and workout should be about 30-50min.

dont train the same part more then 1-2 times a week!
so no blasting your chest for a week would be worse then doing just 1 good workout and lettign it grow.
you DONT grow in the gym, you grow when resting on days off.
i rec eod, 2 groups, heavy, not hit more then 2 times a week. (i rec 1 time a week)

less is sometimes more.


good luck.

 

[blergs.]

this doesn't seem logical to me. The second option spreads the lifting out over a longer period of time, thus making it easier to accomplish. That's the exact opposite of what we're trying to do. We don't want to make things easier, we want to work the muscle harder. For that reason i work each muscle once a week and work it as hard as i possibly can. Then i give it the nutrients and time to repair itself and get bigger/stronger.

this----^

 

[blergs.]

as for set number.... who the fuck cares! i go till i cant anymore.
20, 30 shit maybe 40 . I lift heavy and where I cant go more then 8 or so reps at a time and do 2 or so styles on each muscle with same logic.
works VERY well. shit I dont even eat meat and im bigger then most I know. (still have alot of work to do though :-( )

 

[CaptainNapalm]

This doesn't SEEM logical to me. The second option spreads the lifting out over a longer period of time, thus making it easier to accomplish. That's the exact opposite of what we're trying to do. We don't want to make things easier, we want to work the muscle harder. For that reason I work each muscle once a week and work it as hard as I possibly can. Then I give it the nutrients and time to repair itself and get bigger/stronger.

No not easier to accomplish, it would be so if you were doing the same weight in both scenarios, the idea is that you can lift much heavier weight if you have the rest for those second series of 5 sets. Biggest muscles generally come from moving bigger weight. You can lift heavier on the other 5 sets for chest if they are done after some rest. Heavier weight moved for more reps = bigger muscles. From experience, if I attempt to do 15 chest sets in one workout, I will lift productively for the first 6 sets after than I'm only able to throw around half the weight of what I'm capable of doing fresh. After 10 sets I'm doing crossovers with 10 lb dumbbells, that's because I'm gassed from kicking it hard earlier in the workout? How productive is that? Not very. I guess every body is different, but I know myself I certainly don't need 6 days to nourish and rest my chest for example before hitting it again, maybe 2-3 days at most.

 

[ALBOB]

No not easier to accomplish, it would be so if you were doing the same weight in both scenarios, the idea is that you can lift much heavier weight if you have the rest for those second series of 5 sets. Biggest muscles generally come from moving bigger weight. You can lift heavier on the other 5 sets for chest if they are done after some rest. Heavier weight moved for more reps = bigger muscles. From experience, if I attempt to do 15 chest sets in one workout, I will lift productively for the first 6 sets after than I'm only able to throw around half the weight of what I'm capable of doing fresh. After 10 sets I'm doing crossovers with 10 lb dumbbells, that's because I'm gassed from kicking it hard earlier in the workout? How productive is that? Not very. I guess every body is different, but I know myself I certainly don't need 6 days to nourish and rest my chest for example before hitting it again, maybe 2-3 days at most.

Okay, now I gotcha. I misunderstood the point you were making in the first post.

In essence you're suggesting a rest/pause routine where the rest lasts for a couple of days. I can see that possibly being effective for a very young lifter who's recovery abilities are almost boundless. Where I see your suggestion not being effective is in this statement: "Heavier weight moved for more reps = bigger muscles." That's not a complete statement. You need to add, ", IF the muscles are given enough of the proper nutrients and enough time to recover and get stronger." Remember, bigger muscles aren't built in the gym, they're built after you leave the gym and start feeding them and letting them grow.

 

[CaptainNapalm]

Okay, now I gotcha. I misunderstood the point you were making in the first post.

In essence you're suggesting a rest/pause routine where the rest lasts for a couple of days. I can see that possibly being effective for a very young lifter who's recovery abilities are almost boundless. Where I see your suggestion not being effective is in this statement: "Heavier weight moved for more reps = bigger muscles." That's not a complete statement. You need to add, ", IF the muscles are given enough of the proper nutrients and enough time to recover and get stronger." Remember, bigger muscles aren't built in the gym, they're built after you leave the gym and start feeding them and letting them grow.

Yup I agree.

 

[iSteroids]

I was on a upper lower 4 day split for a very long time, then over the years have tried other routines. Currently i am on a one bodypart per day split. I am just maintaining for now, and will most likely go back to a 4 day upper lower...but

Is there really a difference...for instance, on my current routine I am doing 20 sets for chest once per week...4-5 different excercises...and on an upper lower i would most likely be hitting 10 sets, twice per week..... is one really better than the other if the total sets is roughly the same?

is it better to blast chest then rest it for a week, or is it better to hit it pretty good then hit it again later in the week?

20 sets for just chest? you're way overtraining

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