Lifting every day?

Adamo · July 4th, 2008, 11:44 PM

I've been lifting for about 6 months and I just recently switched over to a 3 day split (from a full-body routine) and I was wondering if I should be lifting every day or should it be something like--Monday, Wednesday, Friday, with cardio interspersed on rest days.

I'm doing Shoulders/Biceps on one day, Chest/Triceps on another day and Back/Legs on another day and Abs I do every other lifting day.

**Insex** · July 5th, 2008, 04:16 AM

You should do whatever you're capable of doing. I know it's kind of a bland answer, but everyone is different; only you know your body best--not some guy on the other side of a computer screen.

Although, I think your three-day split sounds good. That should allow you to put in enough hard work and time in gym, and enough time for rest and recovery outside of the gym. Although, if I were using your same three-day workout split, I would change it up a bit. Your legs and back are your largest body parts, and you're going to attempt to train them hard on the same day. I would trade Back for Shoulders, that way when you train your Back you'll already be training your Biceps then you can finish off the day by doing one or two Biceps exercises. You're going to be awfully tired after training Legs, and you might not have enough energy to train Back on the same day with one-hundred percent focus and intensity.

One of the first mistakes people make when transitioning over to a new workout program is that they feel overconfident in themselves at the beginning. They might feel that the workout is too easy to begin with, so they may do too much extra work. Then after a few weeks, they're sucking gas because they haven't factored in enough time for rest and recovery into the equation. I'm assuming that you're an all-natural and not on AAS. Therefore, your body will definitely need plenty of time for rest and recovery.

Good things come with time. Don't rush success, because success requires time.

**TommuGuns** · July 5th, 2008, 05:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Adamo

I've been lifting for about 6 months and I just recently switched over to a 3 day split (from a full-body routine) and I was wondering if I should be lifting every day or should it be something like--Monday, Wednesday, Friday, with cardio interspersed on rest days.

I'm doing Shoulders/Biceps on one day, Chest/Triceps on another day and Back/Legs on another day and Abs I do every other lifting day.

It depends on your goals, if you play sport like football or soccer a 3 day split routine would be perfect for you, it would help you build a little strength and a little muscle and strengthen your core for balance etc.. Or if you are just training to pass time and try 2 lose a little weight and lean up, a 3 day split routine is good.
In saying that if your goals are like mine which is to be really big, muscular and strong, a 3 days split would be a waste of time and near pointless.

It all depends on your goals!

Adamo · July 5th, 2008, 11:18 AM

Thanks for the input guys. So far, the 3 day split is working out great but I just can't help but wonder whether working each body part only once a week is sufficient. It feels odd that I'll train my chest, for instance, on Monday and then won't hit it again until next Monday.

You guys mentioned goals and I guess that's the big factor here. I'm lifting because I want to look better and be healthier. Because of that, I think my 3 day split is probably fine. Probably at some point I may want to ramp it up a bit and maybe workout 2 days back to back once a week so I'm hitting each body part maybe once every 5 days instead of every 7 days, or something like that.

thanks

**wil** · July 5th, 2008, 12:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Adamo

Thanks for the input guys. So far, the 3 day split is working out great but I just can't help but wonder whether working each body part only once a week is sufficient. It feels odd that I'll train my chest, for instance, on Monday and then won't hit it again until next Monday.

You guys mentioned goals and I guess that's the big factor here. I'm lifting because I want to look better and be healthier. Because of that, I think my 3 day split is probably fine. Probably at some point I may want to ramp it up a bit and maybe workout 2 days back to back once a week so I'm hitting each body part maybe once every 5 days instead of every 7 days, or something like that.

thanks

As others have said, it all depends on how your body responds. Full-body workouts will hit each bodypart more than once a week, but using a 3-day or 4-day split will allow you to do more per bodypart on the day you train. You'll sort of have to experiment with different plans and see which gives you the best results.

**tooncesthecat** · July 5th, 2008, 12:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Adamo

I just can't help but wonder whether working each body part only once a week is sufficient. It feels odd that I'll train my chest, for instance, on Monday and then won't hit it again until next Monday.

Don't forget that you really hit multiple muscle groups each time you workout. For example, if you do dips or close grip bench for triceps, your chest is getting a good workout also. Doing rows for back or bench for chest also hits shoulders. Arms pretty much get hit every day except leg day.

So what I am saying is that you really don't give as much rest to body parts in between workouts as you might imagine. So go with what's already been said, try different workouts and see how your body responds. Try a workout for a few weeks to determine the effectiveness by watching for changes in your appearance. Notice muscle soreness and how long it takes to recover from it. Keep a log so you know what exercises, number of sets, frequency per week, etc leads to which changes.

Lastly, DIET! Eat good and often! Search this forum for dieting tips because I'm getting too tired to type

**wildstang** · July 5th, 2008, 01:45 PM

all good advice given here. as far as the 3 day workout goes you can workout every other day but that meens one week it will be chest 4 example on monday and following week chest falls on sunday and so on.

Adamo · July 5th, 2008, 03:05 PM

Thanks guys! All great advice.

**Carnitas** · July 5th, 2008, 03:05 PM

Every day could work, if you broke it down to one body part per day, that way you won't get burned out. But anything more and you are highly likely to burn yourself out and have all that hard work be almost for nothing.

**Hans_Rachid** · July 5th, 2008, 05:46 PM

Personnally, if I was doing a three day split I would train 4-5 times per week instead of only three. If you're to workout 3 days/week, then full body workouts or 2 day splits are probably more efficient. As you said, having to wait a full week before you target a specific bodypart again is a bit long. But the truth is, there's no formula that can be applied to anyone, a lot of it is trial and error, so take my advice for what it's worth... not much!

**torofuerte** · July 5th, 2008, 09:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Adamo

Thanks for the input guys. So far, the 3 day split is working out great but I just can't help but wonder whether working each body part only once a week is sufficient. It feels odd that I'll train my chest, for instance, on Monday and then won't hit it again until next Monday.

Sufficient for what, my friend? For what purpose?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Adamo

You guys mentioned goals and I guess that's the big factor here. I'm lifting because I want to look better and be healthier. Because of that, I think my 3 day split is probably fine. Probably at some point I may want to ramp it up a bit and maybe workout 2 days back to back once a week so I'm hitting each body part maybe once every 5 days instead of every 7 days, or something like that.

thanks

But that still does not answer the question brother. Someone may get a better look and better health by losing fat while retaining muscles, for others by dropping weight regardless, for others by altering their weight and body composition for a particular activity, and for others it would be by gaining muscle mass, and, surprisingly for some, body fat (some people aren't just build to operate without a certain amount of fat... must be a throwback gene from the time our ancestors used to roam glaciers, killing mammoths and other hairy, fat and mean mammals and shit with spears and other pointy thingies.)

If it's working for you, then keep doing what you are doing. Please understand, however, that no one here can really answer your questions, because, as of yet, we really don't know precisely what your goals are.

Good luck.

westsidesneo · July 6th, 2008, 03:53 PM

Quote:

It feels odd that I'll train my chest, for instance, on Monday and then won't hit it again until next Monday.

If it doesn't feel like you're training a particular muscle group enough, then you probably aren't. PERIOD. lol, Once you train to "that point" it's easy to know for sure if you're training enough or not.

BOTTOM LINE. Looking "better and healthier" isn't difficult to acheive: I disagree with you, Torofuerte (to a degree), but you are right also. Adamo, we need info about you! Body type, height, etc. so we can guide you in the right direction. And just so long as you don't pull anything, eat well, and use proper form, heck! you can work out as often as you like, up to 2 times a day.

**tooncesthecat** · July 6th, 2008, 04:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by westsidesneo

If it doesn't feel like you're training a particular muscle group enough, then you probably aren't. PERIOD. lol, Once you train to "that point" it's easy to know for sure if you're training enough or not.

BOTTOM LINE. Looking "better and healthier" isn't difficult to acheive: I disagree with you, Torofuerte (to a degree), but you are right also. Adamo, we need info about you! Body type, height, etc. so we can guide you in the right direction. And just so long as you don't pull anything, eat well, and use proper form, heck! you can work out as often as you like, up to 2 times a day.

Although I agree about needing to know more about your body, age, goals, etc. However, I must disagree with the theory that you can workout as often as you like, up to 2 times a day. Overtraining can be an issue. REST is when GROWTH takes place! Proper form and good diet are essential as you mentioned, but unless our boy Adamo is 18 years old or on AAS, training every day, twice per day will send him into oblivion!

**torofuerte** · July 6th, 2008, 05:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by westsidesneo

If it doesn't feel like you're training a particular muscle group enough, then you probably aren't. PERIOD. lol, Once you train to "that point" it's easy to know for sure if you're training enough or not.

BOTTOM LINE. Looking "better and healthier" isn't difficult to acheive: I disagree with you, Torofuerte (to a degree), but you are right also.

In what you disagree with me?

Quote:

Originally Posted by westsidesneo

Adamo, we need info about you! Body type, height, etc. so we can guide you in the right direction. And just so long as you don't pull anything, eat well, and use proper form, heck! you can work out as often as you like, up to 2 times a day.

This runs counter to almost anything we know about human anatomy and sports science. For the most part, and without the use of anabolic steroids or HGH, the average person has a capacity of concentrated physical work of about 1-2 hours a day, whether that's accumulated in one session or in multiple sessions a day. This is not counting the rest time required during a work week.

Not even pro bodybuilders using anabolic steroids can train with such frequency continously.

The only people who can go beyond this are top athletes whose entire occupation is to train. For the rest of us, there are limiting physical and psychological factors that would preclude us from training with such frequency, unless the workout sessions are devoid of intensity and/or volume.

There is a reason why there is periodization, tapering and crap like that.

There is working out and there is training. Working out is simply busy time spent at the gym. You can do that as often as you like. Any gains, if any, are obtained despite of this, not because.

Training, that's a different matter. If a person claims to be able to "train" (err... workout) twice a day every day continuously, unless that person's occupation is that and nothing else, either that person is bullshitting or the twice-a-day workout sessions are not getting even close to reach of going over that person's capacity to do physical work (which means they will stop producing any desired physical adaptions after a while.)

Adamo · July 7th, 2008, 07:29 PM

I know for a fact that I could not train twice a day and may even have a hard time training every day. I did legs this morning and I'm walking up and down stairs very slowly this evening-----rest day tomorrow!

**TommuGuns** · July 7th, 2008, 07:36 PM

i once trained twice in a day on AS. I was doing 2 muscle groups a day 6 times a week. I was unable to attend the gym on the saturday as i was going away 4 a weekend so i thought i would do 4 muscle groups on the Friday. Back Tries in the morning and Biceps Legs at afternoon. Each workout consisted of about 70 sets. I done both workouts quite well. But that friday night i slept for about 13 hours. Even on AS training twice a day like that was 2 much for me.