each part once or twice a week?

[Dr.Dave1]

Currently I am working out each body part once a week on a 5 day split
M chest
Tu back
W legs
TH shoulders
F arms
I also do abs 3 of those days, depends on time. I have been enjoying this routine and seeing moderate progress

I am interested primarily in gaining strength/power but would also like to see some size gains . . . do you think I would benefit by switching to doing each part twice a week instead of once a week? If so what's a good way to combine the workouts.

Thanks for the input

[Sethva]

Dr. Dave,

I think it all depends on how you feel. Me for example, I do bi's twice a week because they are so damned reluctant to grow, so I have to blast them twice to see any sort of gains, which is sort of working But I have seen strength gains, can finally curl 135

I've also seen splits that do different parts of a body part once, then the other the other time. Like middle/lower back one day, then upper and lats the second day.

Just have listen to what dr dave's body says. What sort of recovery do you go through from your workouts now? I'm not sure if there is a magic number for # of days to rest a muscle before hitting it again?

[Dr.Dave1]

Dr. Dave,

I think it all depends on how you feel. Me for example, I do bi's twice a week because they are so damned reluctant to grow, so I have to blast them twice to see any sort of gains, which is sort of working But I have seen strength gains, can finally curl 135

I've also seen splits that do different parts of a body part once, then the other the other time. Like middle/lower back one day, then upper and lats the second day.

Just have listen to what dr dave's body says. What sort of recovery do you go through from your workouts now? I'm not sure if there is a magic number for # of days to rest a muscle before hitting it again?

Hey Sethva thanks for the thoughts, I appreciate it. I think you make a good point about listening to the body and structuring it based on how you respond. I too definitely have stubborn bicpes (and tend to be a hard gainer in general), not a bad idea hitting them twice a week.

As for recovery it depends on how intense my workouts are . . . after a good day I still feel it 3 days out (that's not to say I could not hit it again) but if I am beat and have a poor workout I am fine by the 2nd day. I also have a stress fracture of my knee so I have been going easy on the legs to aid recovery.

[Mr. Aries]

here's what i do...

day 1: chest/back
day 2: legs
day 3: arms/shoulders
day 4: rest
day 5: chest/back
day 6: legs
day 7: arms/shoulders
day 8: rest

I do two exercises per body part and 3 sets each exercise... been growing pretty nicely since i started doing this bout 4 weeks ago.

[Dr.Dave1]

here's what i do...

day 1: chest/back
day 2: legs
day 3: arms/shoulders
day 4: rest
day 5: chest/back
day 6: legs
day 7: arms/shoulders
day 8: rest

I do two exercises per body part and 3 sets each exercise... been growing pretty nicely since i started doing this bout 4 weeks ago.

Thanks for the input Mr. Aries . . . that looks like a solid routine AND I don't think I can argue with your results
I typically workout 5 days in a row and then take off the weekend but I still think your routine woud work well with that setup. . . My only prob would be deciding which 2 per body part to go with. Do you alternate your exercises or stick with the same? Any favorites?

[Mr. Aries]

Thanks for the input Mr. Aries . . . that looks like a solid routine AND I don't think I can argue with your results
I typically workout 5 days in a row and then take off the weekend but I still think your routine woud work well with that setup. . . My only prob would be deciding which 2 per body part to go with. Do you alternate your exercises or stick with the same? Any favorites?

I do alternate my exercises but i always look for compound movements that build muscle/strength the best...

What I love about this is that I never overtrain because my muscles are never beaten into the ground since I only do 2 exercises as opposed to the old days when i used to do 4 exercises per bodypart.. Back then it took twice as long to recover..

This is how I like to look at it... back then I had 52 workouts per bodypart in a year.. now i have 104 workouts per bodypart in a year...

52 vs. 104.. I'm guessing i grow better and faster with 104 workouts

[Mos Jeff]

here's what i do...

day 1: chest/back
day 2: legs
day 3: arms/shoulders
day 4: rest
day 5: chest/back
day 6: legs
day 7: arms/shoulders
day 8: rest

I do two exercises per body part and 3 sets each exercise... been growing pretty nicely since i started doing this bout 4 weeks ago.

I had asked you in your log, but I don't think you saw it...but do you feel that your getting enoguh recovery between you chest/back day and your arms day? I felt like my arms would still be sore sometimes when it would be time to train chest/back again. I don't know if this is just because due to my schedule my sleep isn't quite where it should be.

[Mr. Aries]

I had asked you in your log, but I don't think you saw it...but do you feel that your getting enoguh recovery between you chest/back day and your arms day? I felt like my arms would still be sore sometimes when it would be time to train chest/back again. I don't know if this is just because due to my schedule my sleep isn't quite where it should be.

hmmm... your diet and recuperation MUST BE IN TIP TOP FORM to attempt this type of stuff.. I regularly get 8+ hours of sleep and my diet is great.. I also supplement quite a bit with EAA and BCAA (CL PW and AI BCAA) so my recovery time is excellent.. Also to keep in mind is genetics... If your genetics just refuse to let your body recover in time, you have to allow more time in between sessions..

Basically I only do 6 sets per exercise now whereas I used to do like 12-14 sets easily per body part when i was doing everything once a week.. I now feel much better to say the least..

[Mos Jeff]

hmmm... your diet and recuperation MUST BE IN TIP TOP FORM to attempt this type of stuff.. I regularly get 8+ hours of sleep and my diet is great.. I also supplement quite a bit with EAA and BCAA (CL PW and AI BCAA) so my recovery time is excellent.. Also to keep in mind is genetics... If your genetics just refuse to let your body recover in time, you have to allow more time in between sessions..

Basically I only do 6 sets per exercise now whereas I used to do like 12-14 sets easily per body part when i was doing everything once a week.. I now feel much better to say the least..

Yeah, my diet was fine -- I'm thinking it's either due to the lack of sleep, genetics, or both.

[bis]

mon, weds, fri:
rack pulls
squats
leg extentions
SLDL's
incline dumbells
weighted dips
JM presses(or CGBP or Floor presses)
bent over rows
pull ups
pull downs
military presses (or push presses)
hammer curls( or some other sort of curls)
tri ext.
some core work

that works for me but not for alot of other people.

[pu12en12g]

Many variables.... stimulate as often as reasonably possible for max growth. This often means to power THROUGH the moderate soreness.

[Mos Jeff]

Many variables.... stimulate as often as reasonably possible for max growth. This often means to power THROUGH the moderate soreness.

see thats interesting -- i was worried that i was reworking a muscle that wasn't fully recovered, therefore having an adverse effect.

[Dr.Dave1]

I do alternate my exercises but i always look for compound movements that build muscle/strength the best...

What I love about this is that I never overtrain because my muscles are never beaten into the ground since I only do 2 exercises as opposed to the old days when i used to do 4 exercises per bodypart.. Back then it took twice as long to recover..

This is how I like to look at it... back then I had 52 workouts per bodypart in a year.. now i have 104 workouts per bodypart in a year...

52 vs. 104.. I'm guessing i grow better and faster with 104 workouts

Care to share some of your exercise routine, aka what you find works well? . . . please

[Mr. Aries]

Care to share some of your exercise routine, aka what you find works well? . . . please

if you promise me you'll prescribe GH to me as soon as you get out of residency

[Dr.Dave1]

if you promise me you'll prescribe GH to me as soon as you get out of residency

We'll just have to see . . .