workout advice

[rpb161]

recently i changed from a hitting the bodyparts twice a week to just hitting them once a weekend routine. When i was doing the 2x a week it was from a manual called 52 week football training.
Monday - Chest Arms Shoulders Calves
Tueday - Back and Legs
Wednsday - off
Thursday - Chest Arms Shoulders Calves
Friday - Back and Legs

Now I'm doing:
Monday - Legs
Tuesday - Chest
Wednesday - Back
Thursday - SHoulders/Calves
Friday - Arms (Tri's, Bi's, Forearms)

When i was hitting each muscle group twice a week I put on some good mass, I was around 193 and stayed cut. However, now i've lost about 10 lbs. My strength has stayed the same though. I'm guessing theres something to the higher frequency of working the muscles in a week. I'm just hoping for some enlightenment on the subject, and maybe some help for building a routine. Any input would be greatly appreciated.

I guess should just give you my general goals. I'm not looking to get freaky huge at all. I just wanna get back to the 190 and maybe eventually get to 195-200 and be lean(which isn't a big problem for my fast metabolism).

 

[Itsadeepburn]

If im not incorrect working out everyday, even if its different body parts doesnt give your body enough time to repair.......There is a better explanation for this, and im sure someone on here can help finish this for me. Also the first thing they are gonna ask you is for your diet....So post up what you are eating, and when.

 

[WR66215]

I dont think there's anything wrong with a five day schedule. That gives you sat. and sunday to recover and for most that is plenty of time. However, I would try and put legs somewhere in the middle of the week to take some focus off of the upper body for 4 consecutive days. Chest,back,legs,shoulders,arms would be a better order maybe. Also, you need to work calves and abs more than once a week(even twice a week probably isnt enough). Like deepburn said though when bulking it is mostly about the diet. With you being around 180-185 you would need between 3000-4000 cals at least, around 1-2 grams of protein per lb(around 300-400 grams would be okay)and carbs need be to around 2 grams per lb. Fats need to only be essential fats(i.e. flaxseed oil, lean beef, etc...). Hope all of that is helpful! Good luck man!

 

[sidney61199]

I was thinking about this and if to post or not and figured I would. My opinion is come up with a work out routine you like and that works all body parts out correctly and stick with it untill you hit a wall then switch it up with another work out routine you like. My point is, if I told you do this, this, and this, x amount of times, in this set time frame, with x amount of reps, this many times a week. If it was a routine you hated and didn't enjoy you may find our self slacking in your work outs cause you don't enjoy it any more. Just an idea but you have to think, why do so many people stop going to the gym after only a couple weeks? Cause they simply don't enjoy it.

 

[rpb161]

i forgot to mention...i hit abs monday tuesday thursday friday, i'll have to add some more calves in there though...

 

[al420]

I dont think there's anything wrong with a five day schedule. That gives you sat. and sunday to recover and for most that is plenty of time. However, I would try and put legs somewhere in the middle of the week to take some focus off of the upper body for 4 consecutive days. Chest,back,legs,shoulders,arms would be a better order maybe. Also, you need to work calves and abs more than once a week(even twice a week probably isnt enough). Like deepburn said though when bulking it is mostly about the diet. With you being around 180-185 you would need between 3000-4000 cals at least, around 1-2 grams of protein per lb(around 300-400 grams would be okay)and carbs need be to around 2 grams per lb. Fats need to only be essential fats(i.e. flaxseed oil, lean beef, etc...). Hope all of that is helpful! Good luck man!

What formula do you use to determine # of calories needed while bulking?

 

[liegelord]

I did HIT for years and while I gained 40 pounds in about 6 months, I lost most and was never able to gain the majority back. Good strength gains blinded me from doing a better routine.

I have been using HST for over a year now, great gains in mass and strength. I've always trained full body 3 times a week and even 6 (2x a day AM/PM MWF) for 2 cycles. I'm lifting 6 days a weeks now full body.

Overtraining refers to the CNS, not the muscle, muscles can be worked again before they are recovered and continue to grow. I have a mild soreness for the entire 8-9 week HST cycle, except for the 2-3 weeks of negatives where the soreness is moderate.

Too much volume and training to failure are the problem. There is no need to train to failure to increase size and strength.

 

[al420]

There is no need to train to failure to increase size and strength.

That is exactly the opposite of true - FALSE. If you do not train to failure you are one.

 

[s8nlilhlpr]

That is exactly the opposite of true - FALSE. If you do not train to failure you are one.

Gee, that seems to disagree with most "good" routines I've seen. Russians advocate failure training? no. Madcow? no.

Muscle and Fitness? yes. Flex? Yes......


I'll stick with not training to failure, and increasing my lifts each month.

 

[sidney61199]

I don't know if you would want to train to failure every time but I think you should do it at least every other time for that body part. When you train to failure you have actually damaged the muscle tissue, thats when you get real sore and when it heals it is bigger and stronger. If don't train to failure you are more conditioning the muscle to handle the weight you throw at it instead of completly destroying the muscle (in a good way). I go to the point of failure some times when I'm only benching the bar untill I can't hardly get it up. You don't know muscle soreness until you lift until you actualy can't lift any more at all. I don't mean go to failure with a decent load, I mean go to failure where you can't hardly lift your arms alone. It's realy an amazing feeling.