Good advice from Viking! "The best is the one that works for you!"
I agree. If you like to work the entire body in one work out like Steve did...then 3 X week is good with a day to rest in between. If you like to split it up and do upper body on Mon. and lower body on Tues. (or other various body part splits)...that works too. Try different methods and take note of the results. I posted the following below before on a different thread, but here it is again if you have interest in Steve's methods.
Steve's Training for Mr. America contest :
Upright Row 3 sets 8-12 reps
barbell--narrow grip
Press Behind neck 3 sets 8-12 reps
barbell--wide grip
Lateral Raises 3 sets 8-12 reps
dumbells--bent over
Bench Press 3 sets 8-12 reps
barbell--wide grip
Incline Bench Press 3 sets 8-12 reps
dumbells--thumbs in
Flying Motion 3 sets 8-12 reps
dumbells--bent over
Pulldown behind neck 3 sets 8-12 reps
overhead pulley--wide grip
Rowing seated 3 sets 8-12 reps
low pulley--narrow grip
One Arm Rowing 3 sets 8-12 reps
dumbell--toward hips
Incline Bench Curl 6 sets 5-7 reps
dumbells--down the rack
Bench Curl 3 sets 8-12 reps
overhead pulley-bar
Concentration curls 1 set 8-12 reps
dumbell--elbow on knee
Tricep pushdowns 3 sets 8-12 reps
high pulley--narrow
Tricep extensions 3 sets 8-12 reps
one dumbell--behind neck
Tricep crossovers 3 sets 8-12 reps
dumbell--1arm on bench
Parallel squats 3 sets 8-12 reps
barbell--heels on 2"block
Hack lifts 2 sets 8-12 reps
barbell--heels on block
Front squats 2 sets 8-12 reps
barbell--in clean position
Leg curls 2 sets 8-12 reps
workout partner resistance
Calf Raises 3 sets 20-25 reps
leg press machine
Forward bends 3 sets 12-15 reps
barbell--seated
Knee raises 2 sets 20-25 reps
vert.bench--ankle weight
Work neck 1 set 15-20 reps
all 4 sides--partner resistance
I train 3 times/week: Mon. morning, Wed. night and Sat. morning or afternoon. This way, you have a little over a day of rest in between training days to recover and build and won't get burnt out because you will feel ready, anticipate and look forward to hitting the gym again the next time, every time. The main thing is that you have to enjoy the way you do it or you won't continue to do it, use total concentration while you do it, put your mind on the muscle you are training, train safe and smart, start with less and gradually build, feel the pressure of a challenge but not the pain of a tear that injures. Remember this is ultimately for you--no one else, so go at your own pace. And pace yourself. Don't be in a hurry to do it wrong. Take the time to do it right. Remember to breathe and have water and/or some type of sports drink with you during training so you don't get dehydrated. Some people hit a plateau and can see results when they either mix up their routine a bit and/or make sure to get enough rest. Remember, it's during the rest that the muscle grows. Whatever you train, it's gonna grow. You tear it down in the gym and then it repairs and gets bigger in your sleep so that it's ready to take on another hit the next time you pick up the weights. So, if you train, you need more sleep.
Start with a warm up (I just do a kind of posing routine very slowly. You can do a number of different kinds of things for a warm up)...then do it in this order, waiting between 1-2 min. between each body part before moving to the next body part:
1.) Deltoids
2.) Chest (Pectorals)
3.) Back (Mid and Upper Latisimus Dorsi)
4.) Biceps
5.) Triceps
6.) Quadriceps (front thigh)
7.) Hamstrings (back of legs)
8.) Calves
9.) Lower Back
10.) Abdominals (stomach)
11.) Neck
The logic behind starting with the smaller muscles first, then moving to the larger muscles is that about 80% of your blood is located in your glutes and legs (legs are the strongest muscle in the body), so if you work them first, then even more blood goes to those areas and it makes it harder to get the blood back into the smaller muscles of your upper body later because it forces it to work against gravity. And you want as much blood in the body part that you work when you are working it, so when you do the upper body first, then it makes you able to put in a better maximum effort in the chest, delts, biceps...then move to the larger muscles of legs and glutes. It just feels better when you do it like this in this sequence. And the good thing about doing it this way is that when you are working one body part, it is warming up the body part next to it so that it is ready to go next. I usually do 2-3 sets of 8-12 reps. I work the entire body in each workout.
The things to keep in mind that need to be monitored and adjusted accordingly as you progress are the amount of weight you use, the number of repetitions, the speed of your movement, the pause between reps and sets, the number of sets, the concentration on good form and the amount of time you work out.
There are many different kinds of exercises that incorporate various weights and machines and the beauty of it is you get to decide what works for you. You can change and will change things as you learn and grow. Good luck.
