YAWT: How many days a week to lift?

[Amused]

My current WT routine:

Mon: Chest and tris
Tue: Back
Wed: off
Thur: Shoulders and bis
Fri: Legs

My routine changes every few months to keep things interesting and focus on areas that are lagging. No one routine is the "holy grail" and if anyone tells you it is, it's obvious they haven't been at this very long.

A few things that never change:

Make the basic compound movements the core of your workouts. Flat, incline, decline and military presses. High, low and vertical rows. Pull-ups/pull-dows. Squats, deadlifts and leg presses. These should be at the core of your workout no matter what routine you follow.

Lifting heavy until complete muscle failure within 6-10 reps should also be another core part of your routines. With strength training, less is more. The only thing you want to maximize is intensity. You want to minimize reps and sets. Two sets at maximum intensity are better than four sets at less than maximum intensity.

Do your cardio AFTER you lift. This way you can give maximum intensity to your sets.

Finally, your size and strength is determined in the kitchen, not the gym. A person seeking to get toned should not lift any differently than a body builder seeking massive size. You determine your goals by how you eat, and how much cardio you do. A body builder rarely changes his routine between bulking and cutting. What he changes is his diet and cardo.

 

[Soccer55]

IMO, one of the most underrated things with respect to working out is spending a few minutes warmimg up before you lift. Just a little run/jog or maybe even a few minutes of basketball before you lift would be good enough. Nothing too intense, just enough activity to sweat a little bit and get the blood flowing.

-Tom

 

[Amused]

Originally posted by: Soccer55
IMO, one of the most underrated things with respect to working out is spending a few minutes warmimg up before you lift. Just a little run/jog or maybe even a few minutes of basketball before you lift would be good enough. Nothing too intense, just enough activity to sweat a little bit and get the blood flowing.

-Tom

Good point. I spend 5-10 minutes on an eliptical trainer before every workout. I also do a light set of 15 reps before lifting heavy for each body part.

 

[Spamela]

Originally posted by: PaperclipGod

Originally posted by: Krassus
It wasn't my intention to sound hostile. But i've seen some downright horrible advice offered on these forums, hence the warning. I'm very particular about whom i listen to when it comes to workout advice. I would never take advice from a personal trainer unless he met the criteria outlined above, and i had complete faith in him as a result. And i would definitely not take advice from most guys at the gym. Don't forget that while knowledge equals muscle, muscle doesn't equal knowledge. There are guys with awesome physiques that pump steroids and can deviate from every known principle and still get awesome results. Others just have incredible genetics. There are people out there that can eat anything and easily gain muscle and hardly ever gain fat, and people who have to follow very percise diets to achieve those results (such as myself). As for his goals, i obviously don't know what they are, which is why i didn't provide specific advice. Finally, there are two types of people at the gym: people who go there to get results, and people who go there to tell their friends/girlfriends/conscience that they go there. The first are known as bodybuilders, the rest are known as everyone else. If you go to the gym with a specific purpose porpuse and knowledge to achieve it, you ARE a bodybuilder, whether or not you compete, take steroids, or talk about bodybuilding outside the gym. As opposed to people who go there when they feel like it and use whatever's in sight for no particular reason: they don't even know if they're trying to gain muscle or lose fat.

Don't forget powerlifters.

or else we'll rip your arms off!!!!

 

[Krassus]

Originally posted by: Amused

Originally posted by: Soccer55 IMO, one of the most underrated things with respect to working out is spending a few minutes warmimg up before you lift. Just a little run/jog or maybe even a few minutes of basketball before you lift would be good enough. Nothing too intense, just enough activity to sweat a little bit and get the blood flowing. -Tom

Good point. I spend 5-10 minutes on an eliptical trainer before every workout. I also do a light set of 15 reps before lifting heavy for each body part.

Since i do one muscle group / day, i make it a point to warm it up well before working it out. This is what i do. Only after this do my heavy sets begin at 100% weight 4-6 reps.

50% weight @ 12 reps (warm-up)
120 seconds rest
50% weight @ 10 reps (warm-up)
120 seconds rest
60% weight @ 6 reps (warm-up)
120 seconds rest
70% weight @ 3 reps (weight acclimation)
60 seconds rest
80% weight @ 1 rep (weight acclimation)
60 seconds rest
90% weight @ 1 rep (weight acclimation)
60 seconds rest

 

[PaperclipGod]

Originally posted by: NightCrawler

Originally posted by: PaperclipGod

Originally posted by: NightCrawler
Phase one:

Day 1. Squat (heavy)
Day 2. day off
Day 3. Bench (heavy)
Day 4. curls (heavy)
Day 5. Squat (light)
Day 6. Bench (light)
Day 7. curls (light)

Bigger and Stronger is the purpose of the routine do it for 3 to 4 months before moving on to more advanced routines.

R O F L

I guess Krassus was right. Syringer, run away from ATOT as fast as you can. The stupid runs thick here.

A friend came asking for advice about bodybuilding and he wanted to workout but didn't have a lot of time so he asked what he could do to get bigger and stronger and look reasonable good. So I recommended he just do Bench and Squat 4 days a week maybe 30 to 40 minutes a workout.

He's been doing it for 2 years now and can Bench 400+ and Squat 600, he looks reasonable well shaped for only doing those two lifts and he loves that it only takes him 2 hours a week of his time.

Are you that retarded? Did you even read the first post in this thread? The OP has JUST STARTED TRAINING. He probably doesnt even know WHAT a squat is... let alone if he should be doing heavy or light weight. On top of that, you dont even list what kind of volume or rep range he should be training in.

It's people like you that really make me irate. So anxious to spew anything they've heard about training in a futile effort to look knowledgable.

 

[Rudee]

Originally posted by: Krassus
First of all, and no offence to anyone, but NEVER EVER ASK FOR WORKOUT ADVICE HERE AGAIN! If you're getting workout tips from techies or tech tips from bodybuilders, you're gonna get hurt. Period. Go to forums.bodybuilding.com. As for the number of days, it depends on how advanced you are. Back when i started, i was falsely lead to believe that 8-12 reps / set is the way to go. It was only then that i got in touch with real bodybuilders and physiologists who taught me to do 6-8 until i'm physically and mentally ready to do 4-6 without serious risk of injury

That in itself is bad advise. First of all, just because you responded well to reps in the 6-8 range, doesn't mean that 8-12 reps is bad. I've been bodybuilding since the mid 80's and have a developed a very pleasing physique over the years I've been training. Note I said "bodybuilding" not "weightlifting" which are two different things. Secondly, the type of responses you will get on bodybuilding forums varries from individual to individual, so don't expect to get the facts. What you will get is opinions, and many of them. Just like you get here. If you're training for strength gains then lower reps will help build the tendon strength you need to accomplish the heavy lifts. If you are training for muscular development, you need a variety of reps to work your slow and fast twitch muscle fibers. Finally, you need to understand the most important thing about making progress in bodybuilding, and that is pro-active observation. You need to constantly observe how your body is responding to certain exercises, repetition schemes, rest periods and diet. If all you do is go into the gym and do the same exercises day after day, month after month, and year after year, you will make little progress. You need to be constantly evaluating your routines and making changes when neccessary.

 

[Geekbabe]

I did 20 minutes on the elliptical trainer,then did upper and lower body,including abs.Upper was really hard,I could only manage 2 sets of 12 before my biceps were refusing to move another inch.

 

[NightCrawler]

Originally posted by: PaperclipGod

Originally posted by: NightCrawler

Originally posted by: PaperclipGod

Originally posted by: NightCrawler
Phase one:

Day 1. Squat (heavy)
Day 2. day off
Day 3. Bench (heavy)
Day 4. curls (heavy)
Day 5. Squat (light)
Day 6. Bench (light)
Day 7. curls (light)

Bigger and Stronger is the purpose of the routine do it for 3 to 4 months before moving on to more advanced routines.

R O F L

I guess Krassus was right. Syringer, run away from ATOT as fast as you can. The stupid runs thick here.

A friend came asking for advice about bodybuilding and he wanted to workout but didn't have a lot of time so he asked what he could do to get bigger and stronger and look reasonable good. So I recommended he just do Bench and Squat 4 days a week maybe 30 to 40 minutes a workout.

He's been doing it for 2 years now and can Bench 400+ and Squat 600, he looks reasonable well shaped for only doing those two lifts and he loves that it only takes him 2 hours a week of his time.

Are you that retarded? Did you even read the first post in this thread? The OP has JUST STARTED TRAINING. He probably doesnt even know WHAT a squat is... let alone if he should be doing heavy or light weight. On top of that, you dont even list what kind of volume or rep range he should be training in.

It's people like you that really make me irate. So anxious to spew anything they've heard about training in a futile effort to look knowledgable.

I was to tired to write up a whole routine, also I've been lifting weights for years so I know a lot about it and what it takes to be successful.

 

[BigKev]

Here's my weight training split ... I lift 4 days per week very hard. I also do cardio twice a week to stay in shape.

Monday: Chest
Tuesday: Legs
Wednesday: Off
Thursday: Shoulders, Triceps
Friday: Back, Biceps
Saturday: Cardio
Sunday: Cardio

Not sure what others do, but I've found that 4 days per week works for me the best in terms of muscle recovery and gains.

 

[Krassus]

Originally posted by: Rudee

Originally posted by: Krassus First of all, and no offence to anyone, but NEVER EVER ASK FOR WORKOUT ADVICE HERE AGAIN! If you're getting workout tips from techies or tech tips from bodybuilders, you're gonna get hurt. Period. Go to forums.bodybuilding.com. As for the number of days, it depends on how advanced you are. Back when i started, i was falsely lead to believe that 8-12 reps / set is the way to go. It was only then that i got in touch with real bodybuilders and physiologists who taught me to do 6-8 until i'm physically and mentally ready to do 4-6 without serious risk of injury

That in itself is bad advise. First of all, just because you responded well to reps in the 6-8 range, doesn't mean that 8-12 reps is bad. I've been bodybuilding since the mid 80's and have a developed a very pleasing physique over the years I've been training. Note I said "bodybuilding" not "weightlifting" which are two different things. Secondly, the type of responses you will get on bodybuilding forums varries from individual to individual, so don't expect to get the facts. What you will get is opinions, and many of them. Just like you get here. If you're training for strength gains then lower reps will help build the tendon strength you need to accomplish the heavy lifts. If you are training for muscular development, you need a variety of reps to work your slow and fast twitch muscle fibers. Finally, you need to understand the most important thing about making progress in bodybuilding, and that is pro-active observation. You need to constantly observe how your body is responding to certain exercises, repetition schemes, rest periods and diet. If all you do is go into the gym and do the same exercises day after day, month after month, and year after year, you will make little progress. You need to be constantly evaluating your routines and making changes when neccessary.

You've been reading T-Mag a lot, haven't you? Those guys are like crewmen of a sunken ship, stuck on a lifeboat without a compass in the middle of the ocean. I gotta give T-Mag credit for originally getting me started in bodybuilding, but i've also gotten some horrible advice from there. I haven't really started making real gains, both strenght and size, until i started lifting heavy. Now my muscles are EXPLODING! I've only been lifting real heavy for 2-3 months, and already have the best body of everyone i know. At this rate, i'll look good enough for mag covers by 2005. I don't doubt that you have a 'pleasing physique' after 20 years of bodybuilding, but i'm not willing to wait that long. I've finally found a way that gives me incredible gains amd will stick to it until the world ends. As for fast twitch fibers, the only ones i can think of are abs and calves, on which i do higher reps. However, that has nothing to do with the rest of the body, and is no reason to do 8-12 for all/most groups.

 

[NightCrawler]

Originally posted by: Krassus

Originally posted by: Rudee

Originally posted by: Krassus First of all, and no offence to anyone, but NEVER EVER ASK FOR WORKOUT ADVICE HERE AGAIN! If you're getting workout tips from techies or tech tips from bodybuilders, you're gonna get hurt. Period. Go to forums.bodybuilding.com. As for the number of days, it depends on how advanced you are. Back when i started, i was falsely lead to believe that 8-12 reps / set is the way to go. It was only then that i got in touch with real bodybuilders and physiologists who taught me to do 6-8 until i'm physically and mentally ready to do 4-6 without serious risk of injury

You've been reading T-Mag a lot, haven't you? Those guys are like crewmen of a sunken ship, stuck on a lifeboat without a compass in the middle of the ocean. I gotta give T-Mag credit for originally getting me started in bodybuilding, but i've also gotten some horrible advice from there. I haven't really started making real gains, both strenght and size, until i started lifting heavy. Now my muscles are EXPLODING! I've only been lifting real heavy for 2-3 months, and already have the best body of everyone i know. At this rate, i'll look good enough for mag covers by 2005.

Lift big to get big what a concept....kinda common sense.....most heavyweight bodybuilders can Bench 400 to 500 pounds and Squats are a must to get the anabolic engine primed !

 

[PaperclipGod]

Coleman can do 225lbs for 75 reps... :Q

 

[Rudee]

Originally posted by: Krassus

Originally posted by: Rudee

Originally posted by: Krassus First of all, and no offence to anyone, but NEVER EVER ASK FOR WORKOUT ADVICE HERE AGAIN! If you're getting workout tips from techies or tech tips from bodybuilders, you're gonna get hurt. Period. Go to forums.bodybuilding.com. As for the number of days, it depends on how advanced you are. Back when i started, i was falsely lead to believe that 8-12 reps / set is the way to go. It was only then that i got in touch with real bodybuilders and physiologists who taught me to do 6-8 until i'm physically and mentally ready to do 4-6 without serious risk of injury

That in itself is bad advise. First of all, just because you responded well to reps in the 6-8 range, doesn't mean that 8-12 reps is bad. I've been bodybuilding since the mid 80's and have a developed a very pleasing physique over the years I've been training. Note I said "bodybuilding" not "weightlifting" which are two different things. Secondly, the type of responses you will get on bodybuilding forums varries from individual to individual, so don't expect to get the facts. What you will get is opinions, and many of them. Just like you get here. If you're training for strength gains then lower reps will help build the tendon strength you need to accomplish the heavy lifts. If you are training for muscular development, you need a variety of reps to work your slow and fast twitch muscle fibers. Finally, you need to understand the most important thing about making progress in bodybuilding, and that is pro-active observation. You need to constantly observe how your body is responding to certain exercises, repetition schemes, rest periods and diet. If all you do is go into the gym and do the same exercises day after day, month after month, and year after year, you will make little progress. You need to be constantly evaluating your routines and making changes when neccessary.

You've been reading T-Mag a lot, haven't you? Those guys are like crewmen of a sunken ship, stuck on a lifeboat without a compass in the middle of the ocean. I gotta give T-Mag credit for originally getting me started in bodybuilding, but i've also gotten some horrible advice from there. I haven't really started making real gains, both strenght and size, until i started lifting heavy. Now my muscles are EXPLODING! I've only been lifting real heavy for 2-3 months, and already have the best body of everyone i know. At this rate, i'll look good enough for mag covers by 2005. I don't doubt that you have a 'pleasing physique' after 20 years of bodybuilding, but i'm not willing to wait that long. I've finally found a way that gives me incredible gains amd will stick to it until the world ends. As for fast twitch fibers, the only ones i can think of are abs and calves, on which i do higher reps. However, that has nothing to do with the rest of the body, and is no reason to do 8-12 for all/most groups.

First of all, I have no idea what "T-mag" is. Secondly, your body is going to adapt to the low reps soon enough, thus you'll need to shake things up by increasing your rep range for continued gains. By the way, mucles have a combination of fast twitch and slow twitch fiber, not purely one type. Legs can have over 80% fast twitch fiber, thus some sprinters can get pretty big legs quickly. You have lot's to learn grasshopper

 

[Krassus]

Originally posted by: Rudee

Originally posted by: Krassus

Originally posted by: Rudee

Originally posted by: Krassus First of all, and no offence to anyone, but NEVER EVER ASK FOR WORKOUT ADVICE HERE AGAIN! If you're getting workout tips from techies or tech tips from bodybuilders, you're gonna get hurt. Period. Go to forums.bodybuilding.com. As for the number of days, it depends on how advanced you are. Back when i started, i was falsely lead to believe that 8-12 reps / set is the way to go. It was only then that i got in touch with real bodybuilders and physiologists who taught me to do 6-8 until i'm physically and mentally ready to do 4-6 without serious risk of injury

That in itself is bad advise. First of all, just because you responded well to reps in the 6-8 range, doesn't mean that 8-12 reps is bad. I've been bodybuilding since the mid 80's and have a developed a very pleasing physique over the years I've been training. Note I said "bodybuilding" not "weightlifting" which are two different things. Secondly, the type of responses you will get on bodybuilding forums varries from individual to individual, so don't expect to get the facts. What you will get is opinions, and many of them. Just like you get here. If you're training for strength gains then lower reps will help build the tendon strength you need to accomplish the heavy lifts. If you are training for muscular development, you need a variety of reps to work your slow and fast twitch muscle fibers. Finally, you need to understand the most important thing about making progress in bodybuilding, and that is pro-active observation. You need to constantly observe how your body is responding to certain exercises, repetition schemes, rest periods and diet. If all you do is go into the gym and do the same exercises day after day, month after month, and year after year, you will make little progress. You need to be constantly evaluating your routines and making changes when neccessary.

You've been reading T-Mag a lot, haven't you? Those guys are like crewmen of a sunken ship, stuck on a lifeboat without a compass in the middle of the ocean. I gotta give T-Mag credit for originally getting me started in bodybuilding, but i've also gotten some horrible advice from there. I haven't really started making real gains, both strenght and size, until i started lifting heavy. Now my muscles are EXPLODING! I've only been lifting real heavy for 2-3 months, and already have the best body of everyone i know. At this rate, i'll look good enough for mag covers by 2005. I don't doubt that you have a 'pleasing physique' after 20 years of bodybuilding, but i'm not willing to wait that long. I've finally found a way that gives me incredible gains amd will stick to it until the world ends. As for fast twitch fibers, the only ones i can think of are abs and calves, on which i do higher reps. However, that has nothing to do with the rest of the body, and is no reason to do 8-12 for all/most groups.

First of all, I have no idea what "T-mag" is. Secondly, your body is going to adapt to the low reps soon enough, thus you'll need to shake things up by increasing your rep range for continued gains. By the way, mucles have a combination of fast twitch and slow twitch fiber, not purely one type. Legs can have over 80% fast twitch fiber, thus some sprinters can get pretty big legs quickly. You have lot's to learn grasshopper

That's hilarious. Your muscle doesn't adapt to a rep range. It adapts to the weight. That's why you have to keep increasing it to keep overloading the muscle. The only thing increasing the rep range (read: lightening the load) will do is give muscle a reason NOT to grow. You need a new source of info my friend.

 

[akodi]

Alright here are my stats and my schedule:
5'6" 130lbs 4-6% body fat
Bench max: 225
Bench reps: 185
Deadlift: 315
Goodmornings: 235
Squats: 245

Day 1: "Beach muscles" chest and bi's
Day 2: Back and Triceps
Day 3: Legs and Shoulders
Rest Day
Then restart the cycle

I do not take steroids or any other supplement that is considered illegal (only take whey protein shake). I monitor everything that I eat and how often I eat. Krassus is being overly harsh and I don't believe it's fair to classify people as "bodybuilders" or "i went to the gym to go" types, each person can do whatever they want. If hanging out at the gym is what they want to do, let them. And another thing personal trainers DO know more than you!

 

[PaperclipGod]

Originally posted by: Krassus
That's hilarious. Your muscle doesn't adapt to a rep range. It adapts to the weight. That's why you have to keep increasing it to keep overloading the muscle. The only thing increasing the rep range (read: lightening the load) will do is give muscle a reason NOT to grow. You need a new source of info my friend.

Actually... your body will adapt to everything. Rest intervals, rep range, weight, volume, etc. One of the best types of routines is one which can manipulate all of those variables every few weeks. You should give your body more credit... it's smarter than you think.

 

[dfi]

Asking for a hard and fast rule for working out is like asking what the best chocolate in the world is: you'll get as differing opinions are there are stars in the sky.

My advice is to find a routine that sounds reasonable at this stage. If you think it sounds reasonable and feel it's something you can stick with, then do it. After a while, evaluate the results, keep what you like and ditch what you don't. Knowing what works for you is the most valuable lesson you can learn.

dfi

 

[dfi]

Originally posted by: Krassus

You've been reading T-Mag a lot, haven't you? Those guys are like crewmen of a sunken ship, stuck on a lifeboat without a compass in the middle of the ocean. I gotta give T-Mag credit for originally getting me started in bodybuilding, but i've also gotten some horrible advice from there. I haven't really started making real gains, both strenght and size, until i started lifting heavy. Now my muscles are EXPLODING! I've only been lifting real heavy for 2-3 months, and already have the best body of everyone i know. At this rate, i'll look good enough for mag covers by 2005. I don't doubt that you have a 'pleasing physique' after 20 years of bodybuilding, but i'm not willing to wait that long. I've finally found a way that gives me incredible gains amd will stick to it until the world ends. As for fast twitch fibers, the only ones i can think of are abs and calves, on which i do higher reps. However, that has nothing to do with the rest of the body, and is no reason to do 8-12 for all/most groups.

I used to do 4-6 rep workouts, did it for around a year. It worked really well in the beginning, but for me it led to stagnation. If it's working for you now, great. Sometimes it's good to do something different. And everyone's different. Besides, even proponents of going heavy will do things like 20 rep squats and occasionally do super high volume routines (i.e. 10x10).

Just look at an old time bodybuilder like Reg Park; he has done anything from 5x5 to 20 set splits. Second man to bench 500 lbs and has a great physique. I seem to recall him saying that he has tried every routine and they can all work. It's best to recognize what works for you, and realize other may make great gains on a completely different routine. Arguing what is "best" is futile, imho.

dfi

 

[khlee]

mon: chest/back
tues: rest
wed: legs or rest
thurs: rest
fri: shoulders/biceps/triceps

if you wana get big, start eating nonstop! 4-5 meals per day is recommended.

and if you're a beginner start with 3x10-12. then gradually work your way to 2x6-8.

have fun!

 

[akodi]

Originally posted by: khlee
mon: chest/back
tues: rest
wed: legs or rest
thurs: rest
fri: shoulders/biceps/triceps

if you wana get big, start eating nonstop! 4-5 meals per day is recommended.

and if you're a beginner start with 3x10-12. then gradually work your way to 2x6-8.

have fun!

sounds like a noooooob routine...too much action on fridays...doing high reps isn't going to help you too much

 

[Red Dawn]

Originally posted by: khlee
mon: chest/back
tues: rest
wed: legs or rest
thurs: rest
fri: shoulders/biceps/triceps

if you wana get big, start eating nonstop! 4-5 meals per day is recommended.

and if you're a beginner start with 3x10-12. then gradually work your way to 2x6-8.

have fun!

Why get big? How about just getting fit and muscular. Big Muscle Bound dudes look freakish in clothes.

 

[StageLeft]

Although I'm not one to take my own advice necessarily everything I've read by successful bodybuilders says to mix things up. I myself know that simply increasing weight and keeping to the same routine will not work. When I first started working out I had a horrible routine and it worked quite well (serious overtraining). I then changed and the new routine worked well. Unfortunately I stuck to it for too long, and only this year have I really tried messing around with different techniques.

You'll notice that a lot of well developed guys have different routines. The fact is most routines do work, at least for a while, and things do have to be mixed up.

There is ample evidence that the body can adapt not only to weight, but also to rep range, rest time, and number of sets, and even duration of rep, although a lot of these overlap in various ways.

 

[Regs]

Originally posted by: Anubis
every other day
off days do cardio

This was also explained to me by fitness trainers. Especially for beginners. I like to do both cardio and weight training on the same day though. However I'm one crazy Sob and I'm not going for bulk.

 

[akodi]

Originally posted by: Red Dawn

Originally posted by: khlee
mon: chest/back
tues: rest
wed: legs or rest
thurs: rest
fri: shoulders/biceps/triceps

if you wana get big, start eating nonstop! 4-5 meals per day is recommended.

and if you're a beginner start with 3x10-12. then gradually work your way to 2x6-8.

have fun!

Why get big? How about just getting fit and muscular. Big Muscle Bound dudes look freakish in clothes.

I don't think you understand how hard it is to get big, it's a combination of lifting and eating. 4-5 meals is usually to maintain size, for bulking one would need to eat every 2-3 hours and take in well over the suggested amount of calorie consumption for their weight. But the main thing to keep in mind is to eat clean, staying away from fried foods, "junk foods". And I don't think "big muscle bound dudes" look freakish, it shows dedication and someone who says "why get big" is an indication that they are a newb!