How many exercises are too many per body part?

[Cathedra]

How do I know that I'm not overworking a body part? I'm just starting to split my workout routine into body parts by day of the week and I'm pretty sure doing one strength training exercise per body part isn't enough, however how do I know that I'm not doing something too repetitive either.

Example if I work out biceps and shoulders on Monday how many exercises should I do on average? If I search in the database it gives me a multitude of exercises by body part and it's great, but how do I know if I should be doing all of them on the day that's designated for that part or just 2-3 different exercises. If it helps, on average I do 3 sets of usually between 10-12 reps.

Thanks for any advice!

[vanillabn]

I'm not an expert, but I do about 2 exercises per body part for smaller muscles such as biceps and triceps. For larger muscle groups (like when I want to target areas of my back) I will do a few different exercises to make sure I hit every spot.

Since I do upper body twice a week and lower body twice a week, I sometimes switch up the exercises so that I'm not always getting the same area. Maybe judge if you've done enough to each muscle by how fatigued that area feels following your workout.

[bull.dogz]

Originally Posted by Cathedra

How do I know that I'm not overworking a body part? I'm just starting to split my workout routine into body parts by day of the week and I'm pretty sure doing one strength training exercise per body part isn't enough, however how do I know that I'm not doing something too repetitive either.

Example if I work out biceps and shoulders on Monday how many exercises should I do on average? If I search in the database it gives me a multitude of exercises by body part and it's great, but how do I know if I should be doing all of them on the day that's designated for that part or just 2-3 different exercises. If it helps, on average I do 3 sets of usually between 10-12 reps.

Thanks for any advice!

They say 3 exercises per body part is enough. I tend to do more (you can read my blogs) but I don't feel like I'm over training them. But like V said above, switch up your exercises too.

[zhongnaomi]

You have to take care of your body, carefully.
I think it depend on age. I am 29. I think yoga that will let my body well. I do yoga every morning after breakfast.
I like play badminton once a week. I am good at that. It is only sport I can win my boyfriend.
I try to eat healthy food and no smoking and do not drink. When I get heavy pressuring, I will do more exercises that day. I will try to rid bike when I go out.


Talk about overload exercises. I think it is up to you do how many exercises every day.

One hour a day, you have to keep a year. Then, two hours a day, you have to keep half a year. In three months, you can training your body do three hours exercises. It is still not enough you can have an 8 hours travel by bike.
For 10 hours if you rid your bike, your musk will strong as stone. It is not good at your face when you do too many exercises. When you look at your skin there grown up something. You will know too many exercises that will really hurt you.

[Shera]

Originally Posted by lolita_zhong

You have to take care of your body, carefully.
I think it depend on age. I am 29. I think yoga that will let my body well. I do yoga every morning after breakfast.
I like play badminton once a week. I am good at that. It is only sport I can win my boyfriend.
I try to eat healthy food and no smoking and do not drink. When I get heavy pressuring, I will do more exercises that day. I will try to rid bike when I go out.


Talk about overload exercises. I think it is up to you do how many exercises every day.

One hour a day, you have to keep a year. Then, two hours a day, you have to keep half a year. In three months, you can training your body do three hours exercises. It is still not enough you can have an 8 hours travel by bike.
For 10 hours if you rid your bike, your musk will strong as stone. It is not good at your face when you do too many exercises. When you look at your skin there grown up something. You will know too many exercises that will really hurt you.

WHAT??

[Scarface2883]

Originally Posted by lolita_zhong

You have to take care of your body, carefully.
I think it depend on age. I am 29. I think yoga that will let my body well. I do yoga every morning after breakfast.
I like play badminton once a week. I am good at that. It is only sport I can win my boyfriend.
I try to eat healthy food and no smoking and do not drink. When I get heavy pressuring, I will do more exercises that day. I will try to rid bike when I go out.


Talk about overload exercises. I think it is up to you do how many exercises every day.

One hour a day, you have to keep a year. Then, two hours a day, you have to keep half a year. In three months, you can training your body do three hours exercises. It is still not enough you can have an 8 hours travel by bike.
For 10 hours if you rid your bike, your musk will strong as stone. It is not good at your face when you do too many exercises. When you look at your skin there grown up something. You will know too many exercises that will really hurt you.

Ignore everything she said basicly. 10 hr bike ride, 3 hour exercises...LMAO

[TurbulentFluid]

Ummm yeah oooh-kaay...

Anyway this question vexes me a lot too, so I'd like to add up to it... I figure you mean "too many to achieve maximum growth", because "too many to do damage" is pretty much self explanatory - when you overtrain, you know.

I'm curious about the "smaller muscles" notion. My workouts are mostly FBWs with compounds, and I do some isolations "on the side" (usually as supersets to compounds). What I'm not sure about is, whether you count the smaller group to have been exercised if it was used in a compound exercise? In other words, if one does:

bb rows
bb curls

is it 1x back + 2x biceps or 1x back + 1x biceps?

[misstransformer]

I'm currently doing two per body part, but thinking of adding a third for my legs. Hey, does anyone do forearm isolation exercises? T

[Cathedra]

Wow! Thanks for the feedback ladies...and LOL on that odd bikeriding comment. I think I'm going to go ahead with 3-4 exercises for each body part for now. I have just recognized though that I probably have surpassed the 5lb. dumbells I'm working with which is why I feel unsatisfied after doing 2-3 exercises and 3 sets of 12 reps for arms..especially biceps. You gals have motivated me a lot with the comments, thanks - tonight's w.o. is going to be hardcore.

[Cathedra]

Originally Posted by misstransformer

I'm currently doing two per body part, but thinking of adding a third for my legs. Hey, does anyone do forearm isolation exercises? T

Nope, my forearms are pretty lean by themselves and I've already had double tendonitis in both forearms/wrists because of work so I have to be gentle with them as is.

[OraOcon]

yeah i got to agree. i use forearms in most upper body exercises so i never isolate them.

same thing with my calfs. i run and hike and that is what i use to build those.

[brukaoru]

Originally Posted by misstransformer

I'm currently doing two per body part, but thinking of adding a third for my legs. Hey, does anyone do forearm isolation exercises? T

I do 3 sets of 12 reps of reverse curls whenever I work my biceps/shoulders (once or twice week).

[nockowt1]

Originally Posted by misstransformer

I'm currently doing two per body part, but thinking of adding a third for my legs. Hey, does anyone do forearm isolation exercises? T

I work my hands, wrists, and forearms every workout (3 times a week). Doing so has enabled me to work out without straps or gloves. I normally do wrist/reverse wrist curls, some kind of pinch work, and grippers.

[nockowt1]

Originally Posted by Cathedra

How do I know that I'm not overworking a body part? I'm just starting to split my workout routine into body parts by day of the week and I'm pretty sure doing one strength training exercise per body part isn't enough, however how do I know that I'm not doing something too repetitive either.

Example if I work out biceps and shoulders on Monday how many exercises should I do on average? If I search in the database it gives me a multitude of exercises by body part and it's great, but how do I know if I should be doing all of them on the day that's designated for that part or just 2-3 different exercises. If it helps, on average I do 3 sets of usually between 10-12 reps.

Thanks for any advice!

I prefer a high volume of exercises (depending on bodypart up to 6-8) and low to moderate reps (4-8). I normally do 3-5 sets. I really don't think there are any set rules as to how much you should be doing (within reason). If you find it difficult to recover from your workouts and your nutrition is good you may want to cut back on the volume. If you feel that you can do more and are not making the gains you want, increase the volume. Most importantly listen to your body.

[Cathedra]

Thanks nockowt1 that's good advice!

[misstransformer]

Thanks Cathe, Kevin, Brukaoru, and OraOcon for all of your feedback. Miss T

[nicoledominique]

...Back to the original question...

It really depends on what your goals are, but some general rules:

Endomorphs tend to respond to higher volume workouts (more exercises and reps in the 8-12 range) with moderate to heavy weights. This allows the body to build muscle while burning off excess fat.

Ectomorphs do not require high volume training. The hardest thing for an ecto to do is build mass, so low-volume workouts with HEAVY weights work best. Stick to compound movements and keep the workouts short but INTENSE.

Mesomorphs do not necessarily require high or low volume, as their bodies respond fairly easily to anything they throw at it. Stick to moderate volume, high intensity workouts for best results.

This is just really a rough starting point -- you're going to have to adjust your workouts as you develop so you will continue to grow. As with most things in bodybuilding...a lot of it is trial and error.

[misstransformer]

This was a great question Cathe! I always like to read how everyone customizes their workouts. Hopefully more people will respond. I tried to rep you for this, but was told I need to spread it around. lol T