Group: Strength & Powerlifting

Created: 2012/01/01, Members: 38, Messages: 16459

Discuss the topic of Power lifting, Strength training and Strong Man training!

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how many times a week?

dan898
dan898
Posts: 37
Joined: 2004/08/18
Canada
2007/07/29, 12:45 PM
i just have a simple question. The people at the gym tell me diffrent things so i just need a straight answer. If your goal is to gain muscle and bulk up, then is it better to workout each muscle only once a week? or do it multiple times over the week?
somethin4mark
somethin4mark
Posts: 25
Joined: 2007/06/28
United States
2007/07/29, 12:50 PM
work each muscle group only once a week because your muscles grow by resting and healing days after your workout rather then the workout itself. know what i mean?

and if i am wrong someone please feel free to say so, but this is what i understand.

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Excusses are like a**holes, everyones got one, and they all stink
jbennett
jbennett
Posts: 1,558
Joined: 2001/02/28
United States
2007/07/29, 01:03 PM
Yes, rest. You also need to eat - that's how you grow.

Training is trial and error. If something isn't working for you, change it. What works for one person may not necessarily work for me or you. If you have a lagging muscle group you may need adjust your training schedule by increasing or decreasing the load and/or frequency.
:dumbbell:

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--JBennett
"I've up-ed my intensity.... now up yours!"
"Pain is only weakness leaving the body."
"Never think of how weak you are; think of how strong you're going to be."
dan898
dan898
Posts: 37
Joined: 2004/08/18
Canada
2007/07/29, 02:34 PM
thank you...i have another question....i am not happy with the size of my chest compared to the rest of my body, i feel like it is growing very slowly....should i try working it twice a week with alot of space between them?
big_j_scf
big_j_scf
Posts: 308
Joined: 2003/11/08
United States
2007/07/29, 11:37 PM
what do you do for chest as it is?
dan898
dan898
Posts: 37
Joined: 2004/08/18
Canada
2007/07/30, 12:03 AM
i do chest mondays...bench press...incline with dumbells...decline...and flys....3 sets each i try to go for 6 reps
ecle5c
ecle5c
Posts: 1,312
Joined: 2003/07/10
United States
2007/07/30, 09:14 AM
Don't do 3 sets of 6. Drop the reps on the last set and increase the weight. Shoot for 2 or 3 reps maybe. Easiest way to grow = lift heavier.
Tinnuk
Tinnuk
Posts: 291
Joined: 2005/12/19
Canada
2007/07/30, 05:56 PM
It depends how you're training; some low volume training only requires about 24 hours rest whereas bodybuilding routines would take alot longer.
blue77
blue77
Posts: 182
Joined: 2004/10/10
United States
2007/07/31, 02:11 AM
DAN898 I think you should train a bodypart twice a week,the larger muscles ten to twelve sets smaller groups five to six sets carry on.
Pemdas
Pemdas
Posts: 973
Joined: 2004/07/22
United States
2007/07/31, 09:57 AM
Just pick something and stay with it for a while. Everything works for little while. Personally, I have had the best results from full-body 3x a week and upper\lower splits 4x a week. Body part splits never really did it for me. Also, I think that you should aim for at least 24 reps for an exercise...8 sets of 3, 5x5, 4x6, 6x4, 7x4,

As for the chest question...I just read an interesting point of view on that from C. Thibaudeau over at t-nation.

3. Overlap/Redundancy

I often see guys doing the following:

A. Bench press
B. Incline bench press
C. Decline bench press
D. Dumbbell press
E. Flyes
F. Pec deck machine

The problem is that this is very redundant. You basically have four pressing exercises, including three which will basically hit the same region of the pectoral (bench press, decline bench, dumbbell press) and two "flying" movements which hits the pecs the same way. This leads to a lot of volume for nothing, and too much volume can lead to stagnation and overtraining.

Now, I'm not an anti-volume guy. But I do believe that if you add one exercise to your workout it should bring something that isn't already in there. Don't add exercises if you can't justify using them.

The following is an example of justifiable volume:

A. Wide-grip bench press to the neck
B. Low incline dumbbell press
C1. Gironda-style dips
C2. Cable crossover
D. Low position (partial) dumbbell flies

Each exercise brings something slightly new to the table. On the other hand, the following wouldn't be acceptable:

A. Bench press
B. Dumbbell bench press
C1. Low incline dumbbell press
C2. Dumbbell flyes
D. Low pulley cable flyes

Same number of exercises, but it's too redundant: bench press, dumbbell bench press, and dumbbell flyes/cable flyes are basically hitting the same muscle region.

Volume (within the realm of your adaptive capacity) isn't a bad thing; pointless volume is though.
rudk
rudk
Posts: 9
Joined: 2007/09/07
Estonia
2007/09/07, 07:02 AM
I would recomend 5 workouts per week and only one large muscle group per workout.

That of course is only my opinion, works for me.
Churchillboy
Churchillboy
Posts: 7
Joined: 2007/10/16
Canada
2007/10/16, 12:43 AM
Hey guys I work out 6 days a week circuit training on everything, and rest once a weekend.(Sundays)
2007/10/16, 05:08 AM
any reason why you brought up this month+ old post? did you want to ask a question?
Chr1s_R3dfield
Chr1s_R3dfield
Posts: 3
Joined: 2007/12/18
United States
2007/12/19, 08:51 AM
you need to let your muscles rest.they grow when you rest, not while you workout.If you want to get buffed, you need to eat lots of healthy shit, too.
If you force your muscles too much, it may come to a counter-effect.
If you are doing everything right, you should notice a difference right away, for about at least 2 weeks