advice! training each bodypart only once a week? how can that work?

[Tom]

hey everybody! been working out off and on now for a few months, but have been buckling down and consistently working out for the past 2 months, anyway, right now, i'm currently in the middle of this 4 day workout (mon,tues,thurs,fri) routine where i work out every bodypart twice a week, for instance, mon,thurs it's chest, shoulders, triceps and tues,friday it's legs, back and biceps.

for each bodypart i do 2 exercises and the first exercise is always a compound exercise and the second a "definition" exercise. usually do 3 to 4 sets for each exercise.

the second time of the week that i do the same bodypart like the thursday and friday workouts i go a bit lighter and a bit more higher reps.

anyway, i have 2 more week of this program. then?.... not sure. if i should keep this up. every place i look from the internet from the bb magazines say that for a person like myself who has less than 1 year of constant working out should do each bodypart only ONCE A WEEK? like for instance monday, chest/shoulders, tues, legs, thursday, back/biceps, friday arms.

can someone please explain to me how I CAN ONLY WORK OUT EACH BODYPART ONCE A WEEK AND STILL SEE BENEFITS? ESPECIALLY ME BEING NEW? i understand when you have been lifting for years and years, how you can do a 3 day, 1 day off or 2 day, 1 day off, or 5 days on or what have you and workout each bodypart 1 time a week, don't understand though how as a newbie less than a year or hell even under 2 years of working out can see how much gain from working out each bodypart only 1 time a week?

trust me even if i did a bunch of exercises and sets for instance for my chest on a monday, i don't think it would take me 6 more days later to be able to workout the chest again? and in that 6 days wouldn't my strength and stimulation go away after a couple of days?

please help me out here guys! thanks in advance for the replies!

[wild willie]

training each bodypart once a week is ideal......IMHO


anything more and you are just not letting that muscle recover from the stimulation you have given it.

when you work shoulders you are hitting tris.....when you hit chest you are working the tris......when you work chest you are getting some delts in there as well.....it is very easy to over train.

when you stop and think about it......you will become aware how different body parts are worked indirectly......train each muscle once a week......make sure you are recovering and you will see development.......you will benefit mentally as well.......remember..... growth and development takes place outside the gym!

[dyslexic]

I also do one bodypart a week. I will usually do a compound movement and an isolation-type exercise (or two)

In reality, bodyparts are being exercised far more often than most believe. There is a hardly anything out there that does not require the shoulders to do something. They are never completely immobile...

[Montague]

Dyslexic is right.
Many muscles receive indirect stimulation from secondary involvement in various movements.

My body has responded best to high(er) volume with lots of recovery time.
Hence, I train each body part direclty this way once every seven days.

HIT-style protocols work well for a lot of people.
Training specific muscles more than once / week works well for a lot of people.
I'm not one of them.

I don't think there's a right or wrong method - only what works best for you.

[tallandfat]

try training every bodypart once a day

[bearn8v]

Not taking anything away from the guys who have answered already. But is there any actual studies or is this just opinions. Just cause I've always been told that you only need about 48 hrs rest between workouts

[Montague]

I’m basing mine on experience.
It works best for me, but everybody’s different.
I would think that recovery time depends a lot on the amounts of intensity & volume used. 

I still say the best way is to try it for yourself for a while and see.
Then you'll have peace of mind knowing if you're missing out on anything by not doing it.

[The Ugly]

Simple.


M - Chest/Delts/Tris
W - Back/Bis
F - Legs

Or

T - Chest/Arms
Th - Legs
S - Back/Delts

Switch up days however, just get everything done once. Keep it simple. Cardio on off days.

[jpm101]

One muscle group a day, per week, has worked very well for a lot of men. In the past and present.  Usually 15 sets were done each workout, broken down to 3 exercises of 5 sets each for a specific muscle area. Mainly 6 days a week.

Giving a loose example here. Change to whatever suits ones needs. Important to remember that no two major muscle groups were ever worked together or on the same day. Pretty basic stuff really.

Monday...chest- bench, incline, flys
Tuesday...biceps- BB curl, DB curl, incline curl
Weds....Legs- squats, leg press, leg curls
Thurs....Shoulders- front press, DB press, lateral raise
Friday...Back- lat pulldown, DB row, DL
Saturday...Tricep- press downs, DB French press, Skull Crushers

Would throw in abs and calves probably twice to three times a week unless a special program was designed for them.

Also doing things like GVT (10X10's) worked well. With only one major compound exercise being done on a workout day.

 Example:

Monday...chest- bench
Wed...legs-squat
Fri..back-DL
Weekends rest.

Good Luck.

[tonymctones]

Ive been on a once a week each body part routine for a while now and I agree that ive seen some marked improvements.

one thing that does suck is when you have a bad workout you have to wait an entire week to hit that body part again...

JPM what are you thinking about reps for the 5 sets? are you pyramiding down?

i generally do 3 sets per exercise and do anywhere from 3 to 5 exercises 6 for arms but I don bi's and tri's on the same day but Ive been thinking about adding more sets to the workouts with less sets.

[K-1]

one body part a week is ideal.

if you really want to fu*k yourself up...try full bodies HARD all week or even take a day off in between while going HARD. That sh*t is insane.

Overall I looked like a GOD but I simply do not have the down time (sleep time) to recover from that sh*t.....it's insane.

[jpm101]

T-tones:  The rep scheme, and how you preform them, would be up to you. Generally the normal BB'ing rep range done is 8-10. But always good to experiment. Pretty much any workout is all about how many reps are done total, broken up into sets.

 Most of the guy's I've seen and heard about doing this one muscle group per day did the 8-10 rep thing. Usually 90 to 120 seconds between sets and exercises. Trying for a faster pace in the workout. But feel free  using your own exercise style. I would think that even doing 3 reps per set could induce increases in strength overall. There are programs like that, but use less exercises per muscle group.

Good Luck.

[dyslexic]

Bearn8v,

There have been so many different studies it makes your head fuzzy. Everything you can think of is under constant scrutiny these days. Every type of training, rep scheme, regimen, TT, you name it.


To summarize: Nobody has really concluded anything that has been 100% objective. Although many dogmas have been created (HIT is a great example)- what works for one guy may not work so well for the rest. There are so many other variables to consider, even in the process of accurately gauging your progress.


You gotta give everything a try. Basically, just use what works for you until it stops working. Some guys say certain exercises always work for them while others say that they have to constantly change things around. How are they gauging their progress?



Yes, there are studies. Go book hunting. Pick up a copy of Fred Hatifields "scientific bodybuilding" Mike Mentzers H.I.T, Yessis, Kinesiology of exercise, Louis Simmons Westside Barbell philosophy, Serious strength training by Pasquale, the list goes on and on... oh yeah , ad Arnies original Encyclopedia of Bodybuilding while yer at...







Get a book on anabolics while yer at it... just to ad some more variable objectivity to the whole shebang.

[jpm101]

Agree with Dylex. 3 reps will do or you what 20 will not and vice versa. Any gym (home, garage, etc) is like an experimental lab, with you the main subject. One man's successful workout plan may be another man's Waterloo.

No workout system is "can't miss". But I do believe that compound movement are part of the key. Even with moderate weight and higher reps.. Also believe that short, to the point workout are better for most people. And based on no more than 3 times a week in the gym. Any workout should be approached with serious intent or else you just wind up doing manual  labor in the gym. Good Luck.

[FREAKgeek]

can someone please explain to me how I CAN ONLY WORK OUT EACH BODYPART ONCE A WEEK AND STILL SEE BENEFITS? ESPECIALLY ME BEING NEW? i understand when you have been lifting for years and years, how you can do a 3 day, 1 day off or 2 day, 1 day off, or 5 days on or what have you and workout each bodypart 1 time a week, don't understand though how as a newbie less than a year or hell even under 2 years of working out can see how much gain from working out each bodypart only 1 time a week?

If you're a noob, how do you know what will give you gains in the first place?

Most people who train the same exercises multi times per week aren't going all out intensity, for whatever reasons.
If you go all out, esp. full body compound stuff for higher reps, you will soon realize that it takes more than the typical 48 - 72 hours or whatever bullshit de facto standards they make up to recover from, that is, you will not be able to return and improve upon what you did previously. Maybe you can get away with it for a few sessions, but it will lead to overtraining.

[FREAKgeek]

Not taking anything away from the guys who have answered already. But is there any actual studies or is this just opinions. Just cause I've always been told that you only need about 48 hrs rest between workouts

Try one set of deadlifts for 20 reps, with the max weight you can handle. Get 20 reps. You tell me if you are recoverd from that in 48 hours.

[bearn8v]

Try one set of deadlifts for 20 reps, with the max weight you can handle. Get 20 reps. You tell me if you are recoverd from that in 48 hours.

I've done it. And no didn't recover in 48. But that's y I only do deads once a week.  Does this apply to isolated lifts. As well as compound lifts that's y I was asking about studies

[kevcat]

Everyiones diff mate as mentioned.Ive tried alot of diff routines, and ive always kept a good diet and plenty of sleep. My current conclusion from training is very basic movements, just keep trying to keep good form, and better what you done the week before.that wont always happen but progressive resistance is the simplest thing u can do and it works.U dont need to be there for 2 hours a night doing all sorts of fancy machines and pumping the muscle up all night.Just get in there do 1 or 2 different exercises for 3-4 sets each, with total failure on the last set and get out of there and recover. that works for me.Im a big fan of HIt style training and switch to that sumtimes for a couple of months.training high volume with loads of sets and reps just makes me run down.Training this way im the strongest ive ever been, and i dont seem to feel run down or catch colds anymore ( touch wood lol ).
Conclusion = stick to heavy basics and dont overtrain.You will know when you are

[coltrane]

Once per week is great.

Monday:  Chest/calves
Tuesday:  Back/abs
Weds:  Quads/hams/calves
Thurs:  Shoulders/abs
Fri:  Arms


Ideal once per week workout.

[tonymctones]

Once per week is great.

Monday:  Chest/calves
Tuesday:  Back/abs
Weds:  Quads/hams/calves
Thurs:  Shoulders/abs
Fri:  Arms


Ideal once per week workout.

LOL mine is alot like this

monday: shoulders/calves
tuesday: back/abs
wednesday: chest
thursday: quads/hams/calves/abs
friday: bis/tris

[kevcat]

I go 3 times a week in between my martial arts training

Tuesday chest biceps and calves

Thursday shoulders and quads

Sunday Back triceps and hamstrings

Works for me

[JBGRAY]

Ok, I'm going to say something a bit unconventional here.  I used to do that routine, the old chest, then back, then legs, then shoulders/arms, rest, repeat......BORING!  I went out on a limb and made my own training regimen with great results.  For example, if you do back, its a large muscle.  Your biceps and forearms will go out before your back muscle is fully worked out.  After you've done two heavy back exercises, by the time the next exercises are up, you can't go at them 100%(for most people, anyways) like you'd be able to if you did those movements first.  Shoulders/triceps can be applicable to chest.  So, you end up having to do lighter weight half-assed but your larger muscle never get a full workout before your ancilliary muscles give out.

Day 1 - all upper body.  Max effort chest, then back, arms, shoulders, and I like to do traps
Day 2 - upper body, 3 lower body exercises.  I start with heavy squats, then go to an upper body exercise, back to legs, then upper, back to legs, finish with an upper.
Then....repeat.

I accompany all this with out 4 cardio/bodyweight exercises throughout the week.

NEVER think about overtraining.  It doesn't apply to you since you're not a pro bodybuilder.  That term is thrown around too much.  Simply know how to listen to your body.  NEVER plan your rest days. Sometimes you can lift for 10 days straight, sometimes you can only do 4.  Your body will tell you when you need to rest, just as you should be able to differentiate from muscle soreness from pain.

[TrapsMcLats]

Mine (I do legs at end of week now because I am losing weight and want my legs fresh for cardio. But if this was during a non cut, legs would be at the start of week):

Mon: Chest/forearms
Tues: Back/calves
Wed: Shoulders/abs
Thurs: Arms/forearms
Fri: Quads/hams
Sat: Calves/abs

[Straw Man]

I'm starting to think training each bp once every 7 to 10 days might be best for me.

Every time I go a few days past 7 days I seem to always be stronger than my last workout and when  I skip a bp one week I notice I'm usually stronger the following week.

[dirtydog]

StrawMan, I'm with you, i'll even take it further. I'm 36, been training on and off for the last 15yrs. I fell into a bad slump over the summer and got plain ol lazy and for the majority of the summer didn't do much with the exception of a morning jog here and there. needless to say i packed on a few & now the drive came back to get back to they gym, unfortunately my time is extremely limited. I wanted to get weights in as well as the much needed cardio.

So what i've started doing about a month ago is going to the gym mon,tues,thurs,fri and alternating days between lifting & cardio. For instance:

week #1
Mon - Abs & cardio
Tues - Chest & tris
Wed - off
Thurs - forearms & cardio
Fri - back & bis

Sat & Sun off

Week #
Mon - Abs & cardio
Tues - shoulders & traps
Wed - off
Thurs - calves & cardio
Friday - Legs

I'm not a body builder by any means, but doing this routine allows me to lift heavier & gives me substantial rest time until i hit that bodypart again. Plus it forces me to make sure i really beat the hell out of that body part knowing i won't visit it again for 2 weeks.

I'm sure you guys will kick my ass over this routine, unfortunately i don't have much of any option with such limited time.