Muscle question.

[dxkj]

Is waiting one week between workouts too long?

Im jogging 3-4 days a week about 2 miles each time (and increasing), and I have been randomly adding muscle workouts when Ive had the time.

I decided to set down and make a plan to do 6 exercises in a week, one each day.


The question at hand! Will working out one muscle group a week result in increased strength, or is 1 week too long of a rest.

 

[Amorphus]

Your muscles will still grow, and 1 week isn't enough for them to atrophy back into what they used to be, with normal use, anyways.

 

[StageLeft]

The old train of thought used to say that muscles recovered in 48 hours, but it's not really true. If you're into cardio you can afford to do it two consecutive days, with the same muscle group. However, if you're training for maximum muscle size and/or strength it's better to be closer to a week than 48 hours. A lot of people now follow routines where their muscle groups are given a full 7 days between workouts, and they benefit from it well.

Obviously, you shouldn't follow any routines from most bodybuilding mags, since the average body doesn't respond to weight training as a big super-roids man does.

Personally I go 7 days. If I wasn't so lazy I'd work a body part every 5-6 days. Also, this presumes that you're really blasting the bodypart quite well with enough sets and weight to give it the punishment it needs to grow.

 

[PunDogg]

yeah thats good, but if u have a week break u had better be working those muscles really hard, to exhuastion. otherwiser it might be too long, but also if u shorter the rest by too much u will hurt self. so i guess i would stay with what u said better safe than sorry.

Dogg

 

[TranceNation]

i do it every other day.... one week seems to long

 

[dxkj]

Originally posted by: Skoorb
The old train of thought used to say that muscles recovered in 48 hours, but it's not really true. If you're into cardio you can afford to do it two consecutive days, with the same muscle group. However, if you're training for maximum muscle size and/or strength it's better to be closer to a week than 48 hours. A lot of people now follow routines where their muscle groups are given a full 7 days between workouts, and they benefit from it well.

Obviously, you shouldn't follow any routines from most bodybuilding mags, since the average body doesn't respond to weight training as a big super-roids man does.

Personally I go 7 days. If I wasn't so lazy I'd work a body part every 5-6 days. Also, this presumes that you're really blasting the bodypart quite well with enough sets and weight to give it the punishment it needs to grow.

Im just doing 3 sets of 10 for now. starting at 35% of goal and working up each week. So for example with curls. My goal is 50 10 reps 3 sets, so the first week Im at ~ 18lbs. I just threw this method together, because I wanted to build up, but also give me a chance to get used to moving weights.


If anyone has any alternative suggestions im always open.

 

[Koing]

Originally posted by: dxkj

Originally posted by: Skoorb
The old train of thought used to say that muscles recovered in 48 hours, but it's not really true. If you're into cardio you can afford to do it two consecutive days, with the same muscle group. However, if you're training for maximum muscle size and/or strength it's better to be closer to a week than 48 hours. A lot of people now follow routines where their muscle groups are given a full 7 days between workouts, and they benefit from it well.

Obviously, you shouldn't follow any routines from most bodybuilding mags, since the average body doesn't respond to weight training as a big super-roids man does.

Personally I go 7 days. If I wasn't so lazy I'd work a body part every 5-6 days. Also, this presumes that you're really blasting the bodypart quite well with enough sets and weight to give it the punishment it needs to grow.

Im just doing 3 sets of 10 for now. starting at 35% of goal and working up each week. So for example with curls. My goal is 50 10 reps 3 sets, so the first week Im at ~ 18lbs. I just threw this method together, because I wanted to build up, but also give me a chance to get used to moving weights.


If anyone has any alternative suggestions im always open.

Don't work at such a low %.

Work at WHAT you CAN ACTUALLY do for 10reps. For say 2 and a half sets or so. So on the 3rd set you get say 5 or 6reps in. Then train at this weight until YOU CAN hit 10reps and 3 sets properly. Then stay for the next 5 or 7 sessions or so. Then move up the weight.

Setting a goal and working towards it like how your doing isn't affective. Work at what you CAN DO NOW instead. Then build from that. Is this 50lbs in each hand on a db or is it on a barbell? As 50lbs in each hand for 10reps and 3sets is quite heavy man for anyone under 170lbs!

Koing

 

[StageLeft]

Koing, what's your opinion on failure? Until last year I'd always done sets to failure. If I was doing 4 reps in a set or 12 reps in a set each and every set of every workout would be to failure. Recently though for a switch up I'm doing, if 8 sets for a body part, only two to failure. So:

Bench press:
8 reps at 60%
8 reps at 70%
8 reps at 80%
8 reps at 100% <- 8 being the absolute last rep I can get, and the only failure set for bench
Incline Dumbell press:
same thing, 60,70,80,100

Those percentages are not set in stone, but illustrate that I'd only do a failure set on the last set of a particular excercise. I rarely do more than two excercises per body part, and rarely more than 8 sets per body part. I think I've had some benefits from this.

 

[dxkj]

Originally posted by: Koing

Originally posted by: dxkj

Originally posted by: Skoorb
The old train of thought used to say that muscles recovered in 48 hours, but it's not really true. If you're into cardio you can afford to do it two consecutive days, with the same muscle group. However, if you're training for maximum muscle size and/or strength it's better to be closer to a week than 48 hours. A lot of people now follow routines where their muscle groups are given a full 7 days between workouts, and they benefit from it well.

Obviously, you shouldn't follow any routines from most bodybuilding mags, since the average body doesn't respond to weight training as a big super-roids man does.

Personally I go 7 days. If I wasn't so lazy I'd work a body part every 5-6 days. Also, this presumes that you're really blasting the bodypart quite well with enough sets and weight to give it the punishment it needs to grow.

Im just doing 3 sets of 10 for now. starting at 35% of goal and working up each week. So for example with curls. My goal is 50 10 reps 3 sets, so the first week Im at ~ 18lbs. I just threw this method together, because I wanted to build up, but also give me a chance to get used to moving weights.


If anyone has any alternative suggestions im always open.

Don't work at such a low %.

Work at WHAT you CAN ACTUALLY do for 10reps. For say 2 and a half sets or so. So on the 3rd set you get say 5 or 6reps in. Then train at this weight until YOU CAN hit 10reps and 3 sets properly. Then stay for the next 5 or 7 sessions or so. Then move up the weight.

Setting a goal and working towards it like how your doing isn't affective. Work at what you CAN DO NOW instead. Then build from that. Is this 50lbs in each hand on a db or is it on a barbell? As 50lbs in each hand for 10reps and 3sets is quite heavy man for anyone under 170lbs!

Koing

I weigh 220. I can do 30 x 10 x 3 right now was hoping 14 weeks would be enough to get 50x 10 x 3

 

[Koing]

Originally posted by: Skoorb
Koing, what's your opinion on failure? Until last year I'd always done sets to failure. If I was doing 4 reps in a set or 12 reps in a set each and every set of every workout would be to failure. Recently though for a switch up I'm doing, if 8 sets for a body part, only two to failure. So:

Bench press:
8 reps at 60%
8 reps at 70%
8 reps at 80%
8 reps at 100% <- 8 being the absolute last rep I can get, and the only failure set for bench
Incline Dumbell press:
same thing, 60,70,80,100

Those percentages are not set in stone, but illustrate that I'd only do a failure set on the last set of a particular excercise. I rarely do more than two excercises per body part, and rarely more than 8 sets per body part. I think I've had some benefits from this.

Opinions on failure:

They are not required really to ge the same strength gains as a structured program that doesn't have failure.

Well i'd say this:
Bench press:
8 reps at 60% too light, should be called a 'warm up set' and why do you need to do 8reps at 60%? You can surely lift more right? Thought so, so don't do 8reps at 60%!
8 reps at 70% same again. This is just a bit too light imo. Try 75% off 1RM
8 reps at 80%
8 reps at 100%

The way I train is I work off percentages. Work off a 1RM. Test a 1RM strict for BP with a spotter about that you trust.

Then you can work off that.

I bench press off: 80% x 6r x 5s. This is all training sets and reps. I do some with just the bar to warm up and to work speed, the move up to 88lbs, 100lbs, 120lbs and pyramid up to my 'training' set. I pyramid up as there is no point in doing reps at a lower weight that you can easily push.

I train at 80% as it is a good training goal you can do for reps and it produces good gains towards a 1RM. I also for a mix up at times on my 5th set go to failure and need my spot to actually help lift the bar up. But as you can see I have already gotten in a solid 6reps x 5sets at training weights. Anything else is a bonus.

Working at 8reps try to hit 75% of even 80% if you can mange. I stress to people that you got to work hard and don't need to work many reps at the lower range at all. Only do them to warm up and to not injure yourself. BUT to NOT count them in towards your total reps and sets.

Same goes with the DB press.

Failure in every set is not recommended for non roiders! The benefits are slow as you are destroyed and not roided up.

The 75%-80% for 6+reps x 4-5sets is killer. After about 12 sessions I can almost gurantee you can add another 11lbs on to your bench press and work towards training at the 6reps x 5sets. Or 8reps x 4sets.

 

[Koing]

Originally posted by: dxkj

I weigh 220. I can do 30 x 10 x 3 right now was hoping 14 weeks would be enough to get 50x 10 x 3

Well asking for a 66% increase in strength is asking A LOT in a person in 14 weeks. But if you are new to training 6months is a better time frame to achieve it.

But if you can manage to hit your goal of 50lbs x 10r x 3s in 15 weeks that would be amazing. I sure as hell know I couldn't even imagine a 30% increase in arm strength in 14 weeks.

The strength curve is like an S that has been pulled along and the top end a bit cut off. You can get amazing returns fast within a few years of training. Once you hit about 5yrs or so the returns are slower. Some people struggle to add 10% and later about 5% on in strength. But then they have trained for over 10yrs so gains are hard.

Oh yeah is that 50lbs in one db in each hand or is that 50lbs on a barbell using both hands?

Koing

 

[StageLeft]

Thanks, Koing...So, let's say your 1 RM is 100 lbs. You're doing 80 pounds X 6 reps, for 5 sets... I guess that first set is pretty easy, but the last set you must be getting close to the point of failure, even if you're not there, simply due to fatigue. I can hardly imagine a workout without going to failure at least a bit, but then a friend of mine - a good bit larger - hasn't gone to failure in quite a while, and when I looked around at people in the gym a while back I noticed the same thing. Funny what one notices when they actually look, because I used to always workout in my own little world with music. I will give the non-failures a shot for sure.

 

[dxkj]

Originally posted by: Koing

Originally posted by: dxkj

I weigh 220. I can do 30 x 10 x 3 right now was hoping 14 weeks would be enough to get 50x 10 x 3

Well asking for a 66% increase in strength is asking A LOT in a person in 14 weeks. But if you are new to training 6months is a better time frame to achieve it.

But if you can manage to hit your goal of 50lbs x 10r x 3s in 15 weeks that would be amazing. I sure as hell know I couldn't even imagine a 30% increase in arm strength in 14 weeks.

The strength curve is like an S that has been pulled along and the top end a bit cut off. You can get amazing returns fast within a few years of training. Once you hit about 5yrs or so the returns are slower. Some people struggle to add 10% and later about 5% on in strength. But then they have trained for over 10yrs so gains are hard.

Oh yeah is that 50lbs in one db in each hand or is that 50lbs on a barbell using both hands?

Koing

One 50lb in each hand..

 

[Koing]

Originally posted by: Skoorb
Thanks, Koing...So, let's say your 1 RM is 100 lbs. You're doing 80 pounds X 6 reps, for 5 sets... I guess that first set is pretty easy, but the last set you must be getting close to the point of failure, even if you're not there, simply due to fatigue. I can hardly imagine a workout without going to failure at least a bit, but then a friend of mine - a good bit larger - hasn't gone to failure in quite a while, and when I looked around at people in the gym a while back I noticed the same thing. Funny what one notices when they actually look, because I used to always workout in my own little world with music. I will give the non-failures a shot for sure.

Yup that is how it works. You do need to go to failure every set. If you want to get stronger you don't need it. If you want to feel the pump then add it in every now and then. Smarter way to train if you want to get stronger.

By the 4th or 5th set you are struggling but you can do it. Your body adapts quickly if you have trained for a while. You can get yourself to do the 4th and eventually the 5th set. Once I can get the 5th set I'll stay for 8 sessions on that. Then on the 8th session on it on the 5th set I'll aim to go to failure and if I manage 9reps at that weight I move up 5kg to and do the 6reps x 5sets on that. Sure I'll only get about 3 or 4 full sets and the rest will be not as good. This will be for a bit while my body gets use to the extra 5kg. Then it will get easier. Once can train on 6repx 5 sets I stay and do the same thing. This has worked well for me.

Current PB:209lbs
Target PB at end of year: 253lbs

Should be able to do it 😀

dxkj Good luck man! Train hard and after a year or so you can get the 50lbs.

Koing