Why you should not train the whole upper body in one day!

[Big Pimp'N]

I have always trained my upper body in one session. I have noticed the most bodybuilders train differnt body parts different days and I am looking for a scientific reason why? I thought that you shouldn't work out when you are sore because you would build calusis on your muscles. I read it in article that Dorian Yates wrote in a M&F magizine years agol. Then I read in another article he wrote that you shouldn't work out the whole body in one day, like Mike Mentzer. Here is my current routine. Please give advise and opinions, I am just trying to grow faster and I have never did a cycle. I know, do a cycle. lol

2 sets of decline bench
1 set of flat bench
2 sets of dumbbell curls
1 sets of barbell curls
2 sets of hammer curls, I think, where you pull toward your chin.
2 sets of dips
3 sets of lat pulldowns
3 sets of hanging from a bar sit ups

I do this for two weeks and the swith around to incline instead of decline and start off with back instead of chest.

I am 5'8" at about 180, kinda fat. Any ideas? And is there a such thing as to much creatine?

[psyko1]

overtraining can lead to a dropoff in strength, and no growth. i've never really known anyone that has taken more than 20 gms of creatine a day. any more than 10 gms/day for me and i get sick to my stomach.

[hlcn8]

anything more than 10 gms of creatine for MOST people only results in making your urine more expensive, the body will just piss it out and you'll feel bloated and sick. i've never heard of calluses on muscles... someone more experience might be able to tell you more on that, or verify/deny it. but if you're working different muscle groups on different days, you shouldn't be sore anyways, having given those muscles time to recover. just break your routine down logically, since benches tend to use the tri's a lot, do those on the same day, work legs another, bi's and back another, there are more routines and recommendations i've read than i can count, so just find out what's best for you. as for scientific evidence, i have none off-hand, but read these forums and i'm sure you'll find more than enough anecdotal evidence to put your mind at ease. the routine you're doing now might well work for beginners etc. . ., but the intensity of each exercise and the recruitment of muscle fibers after only one or two sets might not be enough to see results after a little while. best of luck, continue to research and work, you'll see things change with time.

[Stonecold54]

Re: Why you should not train the whole upper body in one day!

Originally posted by Big Pimp'N
I have always trained my upper body in one session. I have noticed the most bodybuilders train differnt body parts different days and I am looking for a scientific reason why? I thought that you shouldn't work out when you are sore because you would build calusis on your muscles. I read it in article that Dorian Yates wrote in a M&F magizine years agol. Then I read in another article he wrote that you shouldn't work out the whole body in one day, like Mike Mentzer. Here is my current routine. Please give advise and opinions, I am just trying to grow faster and I have never did a cycle. I know, do a cycle. lol

2 sets of decline bench
1 set of flat bench
2 sets of dumbbell curls
1 sets of barbell curls
2 sets of hammer curls, I think, where you pull toward your chin.
2 sets of dips
3 sets of lat pulldowns
3 sets of hanging from a bar sit ups

I do this for two weeks and the swith around to incline instead of decline and start off with back instead of chest.

I am 5'8" at about 180, kinda fat. Any ideas? And is there a such thing as to much creatine?

if you are going to train your upperbody all in one day you will need to lower the sets and movements. mine used to be

Deadlifts-1 set to failure
pullups or pulldowns-1 set to failure
weighted dips-1 set to failure
unilateral medial delt raises 1 set to failure each arem
cable crossover 1-set to failure
maybe some type of curl if I am feeling energetic.

If you think about it most people train their legs all in one day and they have about the same amount of muscle mass on them as the upper body. so why not train them the same?

[JACKAL]

Re: Re: Why you should not train the whole upper body in one day!

Originally posted by stonecold54

If you think about it most people train their legs all in one day and they have about the same amount of muscle mass on them as the upper body. so why not train them the same?

in my opinion its kinda a waste to train the upper body all in one session. yes, most people do train their legs in one day, but remember, most people walk on them all day as well.

heres how i split my workouts up. muscles that PULL (back, bicep and posterior deltoid) and muscles that PUSH (chest, tricep, and anterior/lateral deltoids). just organize your routine around that and you should build muscle quite easily.

[hlcn8]

interesting thoughts guys, i like hearing different ideas and reasonings, all are applicable for my own workouts in different ways. last flex magazine had an i-view w/ a pro who advocated mixing up workouts to include both a push AND a pulling motion, separated by legs, ab, & cardio workout days. his reasoning was that otherwise you're pre-fatiguing muscles (say triceps from dumb-bell presses), and then are not able to work them out with the same intensity as if you'd done them first.
i thought about incorporating some of those ideas, but it essentially came down to two almost full upper-body days a week, only emphasizing different muscles on different days and so splitting it up w/ breaks for adequate rest and recovery proved difficult. food for thought... any more ideas on this bros?

[Stonecold54]

Re: Re: Re: Why you should not train the whole upper body in one day!

Originally posted by JACKAL
in my opinion its kinda a waste to train the upper body all in one session. yes, most people do train their legs in one day, but remember, most people walk on them all day as well.

heres how i split my workouts up. muscles that PULL (back, bicep and posterior deltoid) and muscles that PUSH (chest, tricep, and anterior/lateral deltoids). just organize your routine around that and you should build muscle quite easily.

I don't understand what walking around all day has to do with working legs in one day. and why would it be a waste. if consolidating a workout means I only have to workout twice a week to achieve my gains. that means I have gained time in other ventures in my life.

[JACKAL]

Re: Re: Re: Re: Why you should not train the whole upper body in one day!

Originally posted by stonecold54
I don't understand what walking around all day has to do with working legs in one day. and why would it be a waste. if consolidating a workout means I only have to workout twice a week to achieve my gains. that means I have gained time in other ventures in my life.

my point is that legs shouldnt be compared to one's upper body.
and im glad YOU only have to work out twice a week to achieve YOUR gains, but if you didnt notice, im not you, and neither is they guy who started this. everyone's different. im just offering my opinion.

[Aurora]

Big Pimp'N what you are doing without knowing it is a form of training called "hypertrophy specific training" or HST. Try this site for more specific information.

http://www.hypertrophy-specific.com/articles.html

What your doing works because you only have a couple of sets per exercise. I do this on occasion aswell. Like right now as a matter of fact.

[Big Pimp'N]

Aurora, thanks for the link. I really think this is right and plan on going by the information from now on.

[grifilken]

i always used to do my whole upper body too...but i quit that and have seen more progress...

[audiowaves252]

i think you shouldnt because you cant hit all your muscles really hard and intense, and all those sets would cause overtraining.