Benefit of training different body parts on different days?

[SparkleJack]

Hi All!
Newbie here with a basic body building question. Is there an advantage to training different body parts on different days. Up until now I've always done my strength training all on one day, then cardio the next, then strength....etc...

I might mention that I work out at home with Cathe Fr. and other advanced home workout dvds.

I had my first baby 10 months ago and while I'm back to my pre-preg weight - I seem to have lost alot of muscle and gained a lot of fat around my belly.

So of course my goal is to lost this fat and get my muscle back....my upper body (arms) and legs are coming along nicely but my core area doesn't seem to want to budge.

I'm 5'6"
145 lbs
I eat between 1400-1700 calories a day with a macro breakdown of 40/40/30

I think my diet is ok...I'm just thinking I must be lacking something in my workouts. Any advice is appreciated. :)

[smkenne2]

You are supposed to focus on one/two body parts a day and switch them up everyday so your muscles have a chance to rest and rebuild. Working out everything on one day is really bad, since it is really hard to focus and develop the core area of a certain body part.

[BuffedWildCat]

Most newbies to working out and diet THINK that their diets are okay but usually they're not. So you might want to post up your diet, it can only help you. Right off the bat, you cannot be doing a 40/40/30 since that adds up to 110, typo maybe? And 1400-1700 cals sounds a bit low for your size and activity level, also are you breastfeeding? You could probably increase those cals as long as you are eating cleanly, which we won't know til you post up your diet.

As far as training different body parts on different days, well, for one, if you are training everything in one day, then you simply aren't lifting HEAVY or intensely enough because trust me, it is very difficult to have enough energy and stamina to lift as heavy as you should be to get results if you're doing EVERY muscle group in one day. I mean don't get me wrong, it's good for a beginner who was previously sedentary, like circuit training is good for beginners. But I'd venture to guess that you aren't lifting heavy enough especially if you're working out to DVD's, those are generally for beginners or for females who are deceived by the "toning" myth from what I've seen anyway. But don't worry, I've been there myself, I used to strength train everything in one day too, that was before I knew what I was doing, I too was deceived by the "toning" myth. So I would go to the gym and go thru ALL the machines, doing every body part. Eventually I quit because I was not getting any results. It wasn't until years later that I learned why. Number ONE, 80% of it was due to not eating correctly. And TWO, it's because I wasn't lifting heavy enough. You should be lifting as heavy as you can in the 6-12 rep range, meaning, you cannot physically do anymore reps past 12. You do that, and eat clean, and you will attain the coveted "toned" body that most women want.

Oh, and I can TOTALLY relate to the body composition change (more fat, less muscle after the pregnancy even at the same pre-pregnancy weight!) and the fat around the belly button. I've got a 19mo old and I STILL have more fat there than I did pre-pregnancy. That stuff is darn stubborn!

Anyway, hope this helps.

[Firepower]

You are supposed to focus on one/two body parts a day and switch them up everyday so your muscles have a chance to rest and rebuild. Working out everything on one day is really bad, since it is really hard to focus and develop the core area of a certain body part.

i don't agree with this. your routine is going to depend on a number of things: your goals, the time you have available to train, and your training experience.

http://www.t-nation.com/readTopic.do?id=933431
http://www.t-nation.com/readTopic.do?id=1388191

in these articles, some strength coaches discuss splits vs total body training
Article 1 (http://www.t-nation.com/findArticle.do?article=06-181-training)
Article 2 (http://www.t-nation.com/findArticle.do?article=06-182-training)