types of muscles

[Ryno23]

are there some muscles that it is ok to work everday? such as: calves, forearms, triceps, abs....i have had some people tell me you can work some muscles everyday and it wont hurt and some people tell me just the opposite...so maybe someone on here knows for sure

 

[SaladFork]

Calves and Abs are up for debate. I hear calves and abs you can work every day. I do abs daily and have for awhile now, it works for me. But who ever said Triceps daily is incorrect.

 

[DanBoyle]

No you can't workout any muscles everyday... well you can but it will hurt any progress you are trying to make.

If you seriously workout muscles, you need to give them time to repair, rest, and build. If you do not do this then they will become over trained and you will see zero or even negative results.

 

[bottleneckblooz]

I think the truth is somewhere in between. For example I split leg training up into two consecutive days. Day1 I do calves and quads, and day 2 I do calves and hams. So calves are hit two days in a row but then not hit again for a week. So my calves have a week to recover from being hit twice in a row. I have been getting good results with this type of training. I want to try doing a similar type workout with other muscle groups and see how it works. I was thinking for biceps I would do mainly the basic mass building excercises on day 1, and day two I would do excercises that work the peak. The key would be to hit different parts of the muscle on consecutive days. Like for triceps you could do exercises that work the long head one day, and exercises that work the shorter head the next day. But then you would have to give your muscles a good rest to recuperate.

 

[jumpmaster82]

Calves and Abs are up for debate. I hear calves and abs you can work every day. I do abs daily and have for awhile now, it works for me. But who ever said Triceps daily is incorrect.

yep. i dont know for sure, i dont think anyone does. but calves and abs are the only two i would consider doing ED. never anything else

 

[fortunatesun]

Definitely it depends-

Taken from the westside-barbell.com website (June 01; L. Simmons):

The muscles can be trained very hard and often, large muscle groups every 72 hours and smaller muscle groups every 24 hours or less.

There's a lot of scientific study that back this as the optimal muscle recovery window.

On the other hand, the Russians are often believers in high volume training and may squat or bench 4x-5x a week. This is because there are other factors besides frequency:
intensity- how heavy and for how many sets? Fatigue is greater immediately after a maximal lift but recovery time is shorter. Immediate fatigue less but recovery longer after higher reps sets.
experience- do you have the conditioning and neuromuscular skill to handle increased workloads. In other words - beginners shouldn't apply.
exercise selection- frequently changing exercises reduces fatigue

Of course their system is primarily designed for strength training. I don't know how effective the application is for bodybuilding. (This is something I've often wondered.)

If you want to train more frequently a few basics to consider:
Don't jump in right a way. Start basic and add an exercise or 2 when you're ready.
Keep it short and simple. No long fatiguing sessions.
If the weights start feeling heavy you need to back off.
You can also cycle: heavy work followed by a few lighter days to recover.
It doesn't hurt to miss a day or two if you feel you need it. It's simple math- 2x a week is 112x a year. 4x is 224. A smaller % of your actual time will be missed.
This type of training isn't for everyone. Some people just do better with less frequency.

 

[Ryno23]

so you're saying working the same muscle group often is for strength training?...but i know alot of people who circuit train and it helps their endurance more than strength...it more less cuts them up

 

[Scotsman]

No you can't work a muscle every day. Muscle fiber is muscle fiber no matter where on the body it is. Calves and abs get a high volume of work from everyday activity (walking, stairs, etc..) so they typically don't fatigue as easily as other muscles. Still it requires a minimum of 48 hours for a muscle to recover fully. If you want you calves to grow try hitting them with heavy weights and moderate reps 6-8, same with abs. Only problem with hitting abs heavy (for bb'ers) is that it will thicken your midsection as your abs grow bigger.

You have to remember on the russian/eastern block training schedules that they are the true pharmacuetical powerhouses and are years ahead of the rest of the world drug wise. Also they may work the same muscle every day but probably only heavy once per week the rest of the days are form work or active recovery.

If you start banging away at your body everyday very soon you will have an overtrained CNS and a perfect catabolic state.

The reason that circuit training cuts people up is it burns lots of calories. You can't effectively build strength doing it unless you take longer rests then you can't do the cardio portion.

Cheers,
Scotsman

 

[fortunatesun]

so you're saying working the same muscle group often is for strength training?...

Just to add to what Scots said-

Their schedule may look like 5-8 sets x 3-5 reps. Often poundages are cycled (low to high- called wave training) 2-4 weeks and/or day to day. Then a 8-10 week run at peaking for competition. I don't know of many bodybuilders that would train this way.
Performance enhancers aside, it still depends on a high level of conditioning and adequate recovery.

One thing I ran across- from Tudor Bompa, one of their star experts:

The energy source used during training is probably the most important factor to consider when planning the RI between sessions. For example, during the maximum-strength phase, when you are primarily taxing the ATP/CP system, daily training is possible because ATP/CP recovery is complete with 24hours.

They get around the fatigue factor by constantly changing the variables- exercise selection, order of exercises, amount of weight used, tempo, rest between sets, anything else I haven't listed.

From personal experience I did try their famous 4x a week squat program once (in a non-steroidal sort of way). I only achieved good definitely not spectacular results in 6 weeks, but high immersion made me a much better squatter. For that reason alone I'd do it again.

 

[sixxxshoooter]

I would say the Abs and Calves. Only because as a track athlete, you are using them everyday regardless. Even as an non-athlete, you work your abs and calves everyday. You have to walk and use your abs to do certain everyday movements. So Yes...ABS and Calves only.