How many times should body parts be worked?

[rippedsucka]

I am currently on a routine in which I work out each body part once per week. I have seen solid gains and I feel good after each workout because I get to trash the muscle. But, I am thinking about changing my workout for about 6 weeks. Should I start working out each muscle group twice and just do less vloume per workout and should I take a different route? thanks.

[JUICE]

Personally I've noticed that for me, working out each bodypart once a week does the trick. I recently started training with a friend doing each body part at least twice cause he kept on insisting that I work out with him. So I trained for a month, not only did I lose strength but I lost some size too. I would feel so tired all day long, lost hunger. So I had to train on my own then, my own routine and felt good about it.

If u wanna change your workouts, why not change your training methods. I just change the exercises I do, maybe add a new exercise and decrease the sets. I also do drop sets.

[BBAddict]

I totally agree with Juice. I learned opposite of him though. I started out working muscles twice a weeks and found that when I went to once a week I put on considerable size and strength. Some workout/diet plans like UD2 recommend differently but I don't have any experience with that. If you're natural, I would really recommend against anything more than once a week without careful consideration and planning.

[beefcake]

Once a week works good for me. I was doing delts and pecs twice a week, strength was fine, but the growth just wasn't there. Once I switched to once a week, things started to fill in.

[Stonecold54]

if you really want to feel good...start training even less. I workout each muscle group every two weeks and love it.

[rippedsucka]

if you really want to feel good...start training even less. I workout each muscle group every two weeks and love it.

Thanks for all the responses fellas. I think I may just change the exercises I do and reps. I have always done 4 sets of 10-12 reps on all auxillary lifts and my workouts seem to always last 1 hour and a half to 2 hours.I break it down like this: MON Shoulders/traps
TUES Legs
WED Off
Thurs Chest/Tris
FRI Back/Bis
SAT/SUn off

Stonecold how do you train each muscle group only once every two weeks and look that jacked??

[Stonecold54]

yikes...I can't even remember what its like to workout that long. I don't go over 1/2 hour ever. I would be useless if I lifted that much in my daily life.

[Bouncer]

if you really want to feel good...start training even less. I workout each muscle group every two weeks and love it.

na, 5 days a week 45min per workout is what works for me. i bet if you worked out with me and did my workout you would like that more.

[Stonecold54]

na, 5 days a week 45min per workout is what works for me. i bet if you worked out with me and did my workout you would like that more.

I have been thinking more about it and I think some of your pains are not necassarily from coming off but the fact that anabolics mask a lot of overtraining and injuries so that when you are on you don't feel what you are doing as much to your body. and now that you have been clean the pains are catching up. My guess is if you went back on the pains would go away but I would be careful about keeping up a high volume pace. Its tough to judge pain threshold while on.

[Bouncer]

I have been thinking more about it and I think some of your pains are not necassarily from coming off but the fact that anabolics mask a lot of overtraining and injuries so that when you are on you don't feel what you are doing as much to your body. and now that you have been clean the pains are catching up. My guess is if you went back on the pains would go away but I would be careful about keeping up a high volume pace. Its tough to judge pain threshold while on.

you might be right.

[Stixs]

Stonecold54, have you always done the one body part every two weeks. If not is this a routine someone getting back into the gym can use. The reason I am asking is that with work and kids it is so easy to get off track from the gym. I have been trying hard but very stressful trying to get there. I have been going at night around 9:00pm when everyone is sleeping but I have to also get up at 6:00am to get the day started.

If this two week program really produced results it would give me the more free time and less stress. BTW - what do you do the week you are off any cardio that week. Really trying to get the most out of workouts, they older we get the harder it is. I also do martial arts when time permits this would allow me to alternate weeks for each.

Is this also a routine you would do while on a cycle also.

[Taylor]

I've done the once a week workouts and twice a week workouts, about a year ago i was doing the once a week workouts, and more recently i'm now doing two a weeks...both i had results quick at the start and then things kinda slowed down after the initial boost

right now i do
monday - push
tuesday - pull
wednesday - sprinting (cardio)
thursday - rest
friday - push
sat - pull
sunday sprint
monday - rest...etc...

i'm playing 2 games of baseball every saturday so for now saturdays are an auto "rest" day

i'm going to continue to alternate every couple of months

[iceberg]

I like to do 1 body part per week with the exception on Traps and Hamstrings (2x per week). These are weak points for me and I am trying to catch them up.

Another note: try either a 4 day cycle or 6 day cycle M-F. This way you are not doing the same bodypart on the same day of the week.

ICEberg

[wheyman]

Honestly man, you have to try different things to see how your body reacts to it. SC might be able to work a bodypart once every two weeks with low volume and it work well where as Bouncer might go in 5 days straight w/high volume and that works for him; that doesn't mean it will work for you.

I've tried three day splits, 5 day splits and now 4 day splits. I've done the whole low volume thing, high volume and circuit type workouts. For me, 4 day splits and three day splits work the best for my body. Working a bodypart twice is out of the question for my body though.

Just be willing to try new things and listen to your body. That's the best advice I have taken to heart.

WM

[Stonecold54]

Stonecold54, have you always done the one body part every two weeks. If not is this a routine someone getting back into the gym can use. The reason I am asking is that with work and kids it is so easy to get off track from the gym. I have been trying hard but very stressful trying to get there. I have been going at night around 9:00pm when everyone is sleeping but I have to also get up at 6:00am to get the day started.

If this two week program really produced results it would give me the more free time and less stress. BTW - what do you do the week you are off any cardio that week. Really trying to get the most out of workouts, they older we get the harder it is. I also do martial arts when time permits this would allow me to alternate weeks for each.

Is this also a routine you would do while on a cycle also.

no I have not always done that routine. From age 14-20 I did a traditional "volume" programs and all I got to show from it was injury and a few girlfriends from being in the gym so much :D My specific workout now is as follows:

CHEST, SHOULDERS, TRICEPS (say I do this on monday)
BACK, BICEPS, TRAPS( this would be 3-5 days after monday so between thursday and saturday I would do this workout depedning on how I felt in recovery time)
LEGS( again 3-5 days from the Back, etc... workout)

so one turn of that rotation can go from 9 days to 15 days. and then back to the chest, Etc....
while some people say do what works for you...are human bodies are the same...we all have the same muscles, the same nervous systems, and the same endocrine systems. the only differences are the genetics differences in the "amounts" of things, like Enogenous test levels, CNS firing capability....however with all the differences there are a few things you can say for sure. #1-you don't need to do more than two sets of one exercise per workout and no more than 3-5 exercises at the MOST... there is no need to trace one movement pattern with 4-5 sets. If you can't stimulate growth or strength from 1-2 sets of something than 4-5 sets won't do any good either. #2 THere should be a minimum of never working out in sucessive days. I am sure the amount should be more but I tell people that just to get SOME rest in there since many people can't force themselves out of the gym.

I have a lot written already in the training section in old posts. You can look up Prescribed Exercise on the searh button or go to the website I posted in my sig.