Full body workout 2-3x a week a bad idea?

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mazeroth

Golden Member
Jan 31, 2006
1,821
2
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Trust me, I would love to be able to hit the gym 3-4 days a week and work on different muscle groups on different days but the way my job takes up all my time along with my wife (not a bad thing) there's no way I can make it to the gym enough to justify only working out certain muscles certain days. What I'd like to do is work out my whole body and take two to three days of rest in between, then hit the whole body workout again. Is there anything wrong with doing this aside from tiring out quicker and not getting as many sets in as I could if I had split days?

Also, with a regimen like this should I take protein supplements every day, and if so, how many a day? I also have a few jugs of the weight gainer crap I bought 2 years ago that's still good so when should I take that? I probably should have mentioned this before but I haven't lifted for almost 8 years (I'm 27), if that matters at all.

Thanks in advance.
 
Jinru

Jinru

Senior member
Feb 6, 2006
671
0
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If your fairly new to lifting or haven't been fully dedicated then you can start off with Rippetoe's Starting Strength routine.
http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showthread.php?t=998224

The routine basically looks like this.
Workout A
3x5 Squat
3x5 Bench Press
1x5 Deadlift

Workout B
3x5 Squat
3x5 Standing military press
3x5 Power cleans

You train on 3 nonconsecutive days per week.

So week 1 might look like:
Monday - Workout A
Wednesday - Workout B
Friday - Workout A

Week 2:
Monday - Workout B
Wednesday - Workout A
Friday - Workout B

If your intermediate and have been lifting for awhile then you can do KoolDrew's MadCow 5x5 routine.
 
B

brikis98

Diamond Member
Jul 5, 2005
7,253
8
0
good responses in this thread. if you're a newbie, definitely give the Rippetoe program (linked to by Jinru) a shot. It was developed by people who know a whole lot about strength training, it's designed for a beginner, and countless people will attest to its effectiveness.

if you're an intermediate lifter, the Bill Star 5x5 program (linked to by KoolDrew) is a good choice. it doesn't work for everyone, and if you're truly intermediate you probably know what will/won't work for you, but it's a very solid program for most people.
 
crt1530

crt1530

Diamond Member
Apr 15, 2001
3,194
0
0
Originally posted by: Jinru
If your fairly new to lifting or haven't been fully dedicated then you can start off with Rippetoe's Starting Strength routine.
http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showthread.php?t=998224

The routine basically looks like this.
Workout A
3x5 Squat
3x5 Bench Press
1x5 Deadlift

Workout B
3x5 Squat
3x5 Standing military press
3x5 Power cleans

You train on 3 nonconsecutive days per week.

So week 1 might look like:
Monday - Workout A
Wednesday - Workout B
Friday - Workout A

Week 2:
Monday - Workout B
Wednesday - Workout A
Friday - Workout B

If your intermediate and have been lifting for awhile then you can do KoolDrew's MadCow 5x5 routine.
Click to expand...

It's 5 sets of 3 reps for the power cleans.
 
R

RagingBITCH

Lifer
Sep 27, 2003
17,618
2
76
Does anyone have any recommendations for HST vs the 5x5 for a full body workout? I must say, I've always been a proponent of the once a week thing, but KoolDrew and others lately have gotten me intrigued by the full body workouts. (Think he mentioned HST too)
 
presidentender

presidentender

Golden Member
Jan 23, 2008
1,166
0
76
There's a lot of legitimacy to powerlifting, even for non-powerlifters. The type of explosive, fast-movement strength involved is a good way to confuse your muscles and break through a plateau or add mass and strength in a hurry. However, there are other ways to work the muscles involved in a power clean; in some cases, power cleans by themselves aren't the best way to get stronger, healthier, or better looking. I wouldn't call doing other exercises "pussified," but I would say excluding or favoring certain exercises based on what other people do or avoid is an excellent way to rob yourself of good gains and massive muscularity.
 
K

KoolDrew

Lifer
Jun 30, 2004
10,226
7
81
Originally posted by: RagingBITCH
Does anyone have any recommendations for HST vs the 5x5 for a full body workout? I must say, I've always been a proponent of the once a week thing, but KoolDrew and others lately have gotten me intrigued by the full body workouts. (Think he mentioned HST too)
Click to expand...

Both are great programs. Both follow very similar principles and work so just look at both and decide for yourself what you'd prefer. I personally like sticking with low reps for the compounds and a little higher for isolation stuff, so I really enjoyed Bill Starr's 5x5 routine and got very good results on it. Haven't tried HST though. The whole 15 reps, then 10 reps, then 5 reps didn't interest me at all. I much preferred sticking with 5x5, ramping the weight up each set. Then at the end of the week you'd up the weight, do it for 3 and then come back on Monday and try that same weight for 5. I saw incredible strength gains doing the routine and definitely enjoyed it.
 
R

RagingBITCH

Lifer
Sep 27, 2003
17,618
2
76
Originally posted by: KoolDrew
Originally posted by: RagingBITCH
Does anyone have any recommendations for HST vs the 5x5 for a full body workout? I must say, I've always been a proponent of the once a week thing, but KoolDrew and others lately have gotten me intrigued by the full body workouts. (Think he mentioned HST too)
Click to expand...

Both are great programs. Both follow very similar principles and work so just look at both and decide for yourself what you'd prefer. I personally like sticking with low reps for the compounds and a little higher for isolation stuff, so I really enjoyed Bill Starr's 5x5 routine and got very good results on it. Haven't tried HST though. The whole 15 reps, then 10 reps, then 5 reps didn't interest me at all. I much preferred sticking with 5x5, ramping the weight up each set. Then at the end of the week you'd up the weight, do it for 3 and then come back on Monday and try that same weight for 5. I saw incredible strength gains doing the routine and definitely enjoyed it.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the info. After reading more about it, I figure I need to try something new. Your post in an earlier post, despite me disparaging it, actually got me intrigued. :)
 
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