Why Chest/Biceps instead of Chest/Triceps

[danjackson999]

I have seen some workout plans recently where people choose to do biceps with chest rather than triceps. Why is this?

I am fairly skinny (178lbs) and currently do

Day 1 - Chest/triceps
day 2 - day off
day 3 - back/biceps/legs
day 4 - shoulders traps/abs
day 5 - day off
day 6 - repeat day 1

Would i benefit from not grouping primary and secondary muscles together on the same day and go down the route of chest/biceps, back triceps.

Im looking to gain muscle mass and have a good diet.I have a high metabolism and read somewhere that my body type would be more suited to a full body workout on my training days. Is this right?

[RiverRock]

i have always worked them the other way. chest/tris and back/bis.

[keys_10]

It's personal preference, I prefer back & bi's and chest & tri's

[Hut*Hut]

Basically doesn't matter unless you have specific weaknesses to bring up. Do what you like.

[kwarkii]

I have seen some workout plans recently where people choose to do biceps with chest rather than triceps. Why is this?

I am fairly skinny (178lbs) and currently do

Day 1 - Chest/triceps
day 2 - day off
day 3 - back/biceps/legs
day 4 - shoulders traps/abs
day 5 - day off
day 6 - repeat day 1

Would i benefit from not grouping primary and secondary muscles together on the same day and go down the route of chest/biceps, back triceps.

Im looking to gain muscle mass and have a good diet.I have a high metabolism and read somewhere that my body type would be more suited to a full body workout on my training days. Is this right?

Because triceps is an antagonist in most chest exercises. I can't get anything done with my triceps after a decent chest training. Same goes for back/biceps, especially after chin ups.
Which one you do is completely up to you. I guess neither is really wrong. If you're seeing results doing what you're doing now, why change right. But you can always give it a try to see what suits you better.

I'm an ectomorph with a fairly high metabolism and I've always had the best results on a 3-day split

[xStriker7]

I do chest/bis and back/tris because your hitting your biceps and triceps when you do chest and back so you end up hitting them twice a week without having to actually call that day an arm day.

[charity4thepoor]

ur gonna die if u try to do legs after back

also do it however it feels best for you

[oliedwards]

Personally ...chest / biceps

when i train triceps , i like to blast um... but if i train chest on the same day . you're triceps will get fatigued before you have chance to start

[230plus]

Because triceps is an antagonist in most chest exercises. I can't get anything done with my triceps after a decent chest training. Same goes for back/biceps, especially after chin ups.
Which one you do is completely up to you. I guess neither is really wrong. If you're seeing results doing what you're doing now, why change right. But you can always give it a try to see what suits you better.

I'm an ectomorph with a fairly high metabolism and I've always had the best results on a 3-day split

Well said...."THIS" ^^^^^^

[danjackson999]

Thanks everyone!! I have been training for 3 months solid so gonna do a week of low weights and give my body a break then try chest/biceps combo.

I like to train my chest more than once a week so how does this sound

1 Chest/Biceps (chest primary, triceps secondary, biceps primary)
2 Day off
3 Back/Triceps/Abs (Back primary, biceps secondary, triceps primary
4 Shoulders/Traps/Legs
5 Day off
6 Repeat day 1 Chest/Biceps (chest primary, triceps secondary, biceps primary)
7

Have i got all the primary/secondary right?
When Triceps is done as a primary does it also work the chest secondary?
Looking at it again maybe i am over doing it because i would be working triceps and biceps 3 times a week.
Any suggestions?

[danjackson999]

Not to self - Dont make a thread when all you americans are in bed

[marshiboi]

Thanks everyone!! I have been training for 3 months solid so gonna do a week of low weights and give my body a break then try chest/biceps combo.

I like to train my chest more than once a week so how does this sound

1 Chest/Biceps (chest primary, triceps secondary, biceps primary)
2 Day off
3 Back/Triceps/Abs (Back primary, biceps secondary, triceps primary
4 Shoulders/Traps/Legs
5 Day off
6 Repeat day 1 Chest/Biceps (chest primary, triceps secondary, biceps primary)
7

Have i got all the primary/secondary right?
When Triceps is done as a primary does it also work the chest secondary?
Looking at it again maybe i am over doing it because i would be working triceps and biceps 3 times a week.
Any suggestions?

Why do you want to train your chest more than once a week, if you're planning on doing that then you will not get the gains you're looking for, ignore the fact that you're not training it for days, the fact is you're training full stop, and this means you are not recovering or resting from the first workout, meaning you're not going to put full intensity into the effort and meaning you're wasting your time.

The body and more specifically the CNS doesn't care whether you've done legs or arms, there is only so much recovery ability within the body which you are slowly eating into with each workout. Workout > Rest/Recovery > Grow.

Again this doesn't fit in with most bodybuilders accepted doctrines which is that you must train all bodyparts and rest only occasionally, thats great for people on roids and freaky genetics.

[Aftermath145]

I do chest/back one day, and then shoulders/biceps/triceps on a separate day.

It's been working for me.

Though as others have written above, it's really personal preference.

[Aftermath145]

Why do you want to train your chest more than once a week, if you're planning on doing that then you will not get the gains you're looking for, ignore the fact that you're not training it for days, the fact is you're training full stop, and this means you are not recovering or resting from the first workout, meaning you're not going to put full intensity into the effort and meaning you're wasting your time.

The body and more specifically the CNS doesn't care whether you've done legs or arms, there is only so much recovery ability within the body which you are slowly eating into with each workout. Workout > Rest/Recovery > Grow.

Again this doesn't fit in with most bodybuilders accepted doctrines which is that you must train all bodyparts and rest only occasionally, thats great for people on roids and freaky genetics.

His workout gives him 48 hours + between chest workouts. If your chest muscles can't recover between the four days between his 1st and 2nd chest workouts, then starting over the week with a 48 hours rest between chest workouts, then you shouldn't even be in the gym working out.

You should be baking cakes or something. lol

[Aftermath145]

Thanks everyone!! I have been training for 3 months solid so gonna do a week of low weights and give my body a break then try chest/biceps combo.

I like to train my chest more than once a week so how does this sound

1 Chest/Biceps (chest primary, triceps secondary, biceps primary)
2 Day off
3 Back/Triceps/Abs (Back primary, biceps secondary, triceps primary
4 Shoulders/Traps/Legs
5 Day off
6 Repeat day 1 Chest/Biceps (chest primary, triceps secondary, biceps primary)
7

Have i got all the primary/secondary right?
When Triceps is done as a primary does it also work the chest secondary?
Looking at it again maybe i am over doing it because i would be working triceps and biceps 3 times a week.
Any suggestions?

Are you taking Day 7 off?

If Day 1 is a Monday in your workout, I would probably take Wednesday off instead of Tuesday, since it would space stuff out better.

I'd have it like so:

(Monday) Chest/Biceps
(Tuesday) Back/Triceps/Abs
(Wednesday) Day off
(Thursday) Shoulders/Traps/Legs
(Friday) Chest/Biceps
(Saturday) Day off
(Sunday) Day off

I also notice u only have shoulders and legs once a week, while you have chest and biceps twice a week. You should really have stuff equal out, instead of hammering one body part more than the other.

Also, do abs more than once a week.

I prefer chest and back on the same day, and shoulders/biceps/triceps on the same day.

[sircharles032]

Why do you want to train your chest more than once a week, if you're planning on doing that then you will not get the gains you're looking for

Really? Your body muscles need 6/7 days for recovery? You fail at this. In reality if you're eating enough and training correctly, it shouldn't take your body parts more than 3 or 4 days to recover from their last workout. If your body recovers in 3 days and you wait 7 days to workout again, then you're sitting idle for 4 days out of that week for that body part. I don't see much logic in that.

[solidstatebody]

chest/bi and back/tri allow for all those muscles to be hit twice a week

[MWheatley]

If your bi's and tri's cannot handle the crammed volume on those days; it would be better to spread out the frequency of stimulation.

[marshiboi]

His workout gives him 48 hours + between chest workouts. If your chest muscles can't recover between the four days between his 1st and 2nd chest workouts, then starting over the week with a 48 hours rest between chest workouts, then you shouldn't even be in the gym working out.

You should be baking cakes or something. lol

It doesn't matter which muscle group he's giving 48 hours to rest! The point is another muscle group will be getting worked out, I.e any energy that was being used for the recovery of his chest muscles are now being used on another workout. So not only is the chest actually not properly recovering it also means his other workouts are going to be less intense effort wise.

Look at your energy expenditure like spending money, you have $10 and you spent $2 on a chest workout, just because you wait 5 days to do chest doesn't mean you'll start again at $10 at the end of it because in the mean time you'll have spent $2 on chest, $2 on legs, $2 on back, $2 on arms etc, till you're in defecit and you have no energy to grow.

[BulkMeGood]

I've been trying Chest/Biceps and Back/Triceps recently instead of my normal split and it's okay so far... it would be interesting to see if people are getting good results from it.

[RobSil]

Because triceps is an antagonist in most chest exercises. I can't get anything done with my triceps after a decent chest training. Same goes for back/biceps, especially after chin ups.
Which one you do is completely up to you. I guess neither is really wrong. If you're seeing results doing what you're doing now, why change right. But you can always give it a try to see what suits you better.

I'm an ectomorph with a fairly high metabolism and I've always had the best results on a 3-day split

Quoted for truth.

[Chuck2600]

Give back and Legs their own day, their your biggest muscle groups it's more important to give them proper attention then your smaller muscle groups.

[bsnyds]

I'll throw in my 2 cents. I like working back/bi's & Chest/Tri's bacause yes my tri's are a little worn after working chest, but I don't see that as a bad thing. They have been worked some and now I'm going to go do some more work on them. I feel that this is how I break them down better and get them to grow. For me it's a matter of how hard I'm willing to push them at the end of a work out. Same goes for bi's after back. I do also like to change it up sometimes and hit back by itself as well as chest and work Bi's and tri's together in supersets. I think the change and the variety are good for growth and a mental break as well.

As far as rest goes I've alwys felt as long as I get a day or 2 of rest mixed in each week I'm good.

[Aftermath145]

It doesn't matter which muscle group he's giving 48 hours to rest! The point is another muscle group will be getting worked out, I.e any energy that was being used for the recovery of his chest muscles are now being used on another workout. So not only is the chest actually not properly recovering it also means his other workouts are going to be less intense effort wise.

Look at your energy expenditure like spending money, you have $10 and you spent $2 on a chest workout, just because you wait 5 days to do chest doesn't mean you'll start again at $10 at the end of it because in the mean time you'll have spent $2 on chest, $2 on legs, $2 on back, $2 on arms etc, till you're in defecit and you have no energy to grow.

If you think doing chest exercises once a week is adequate, go for it. You are never going to have big gains on bench press and incline bench by doing chest exercises once every 7 days, 4 times a month.

I do a chest (with back) workout one day and then the very next do triceps (with biceps/shoulders) and I've made more gains currently than I have since I've started working out.

I bust my ass in the gym but I give my body the proper amount of fuel to recover.

Your entire point is ridiculous, btw . . . I devote Wednesdays and Saturdays to legs, and legs only. So when I'm in the gym working out the muscles in my legs, that's taking away from the energy in my chest exercises? lol

That's a rhetorical question btw, so I don't need an answer. =)

[danjackson999]

Thanks everyone for their input, Its appreciated!!

Im struggling to get to grips with exactly what sort of routine is needed for my body type.
I read in some places that it will be best to do a full body workout on a 3 day split and others say 5 day.

Its not like i dont get good results in the gym but i think its important to keep experinting and challenging myself with new routines because i may get better results from routines that differ from my usual workout.

Was thinking about this routine

1 Chest/Biceps
2 Legs/Abs
3 Rest#
4 Back/Triceps
5 Rest
6 Shoulders/Traps/Abs
7 Rest

This gives 2 days in between chest and triceps and biceps and back and then 3 days rest until chest is worked again. Is this giving myself too much rest inbetween chest workouts?

The routine im currently using has 2 full chest/triceps days per week,with 4 days in between surely this is enough rest and my workout now isnt that bad after all

Do most of you do strictly Monday to Sunday? Or do you repeat your workout days on like day 6 or 7 and start all over again.Sorry if that sounds confusing!!

[danjackson999]

Anyone?

[Orlando1234977]

If you think doing chest exercises once a week is adequate, go for it. You are never going to have big gains on bench press and incline bench by doing chest exercises once every 7 days, 4 times a month.

This is how nearly every bodybuilder trains, do you think their training is inadequate?

What if you were to add 5 lbs every workout (2.5 lb plates each side), 5X52=260lb progress.. Does that rate look slow? In reality, even once/week progress will need to eventually be managed as the rate of progress is fast.

For a powerlifter maximizing a 1RM force output, that's a different story as you're maximizing neural efficiencies through various cycling methods.

[Hut*Hut]

If you deadlift & row on back day then dip or close grip press for triceps you're training every single muscle in the body that day. Just an observation.

If you shrug on shoulder day you'll train both your traps twice and legs twice.

Yet with separate shoulder and chest days you'll train your triceps heavy 3 times a week.

So....
1) Chest shoulders, triceps, biceps
2) Legs
rest
4) Full body
rest
6) Shoulders, triceps, upper back.

There must be a more straightforward way of programming training.

[pistolpt]

Because triceps is an antagonist in most chest exercises. I can't get anything done with my triceps after a decent chest training. Same goes for back/biceps, especially after chin ups.
Which one you do is completely up to you. I guess neither is really wrong. If you're seeing results doing what you're doing now, why change right. But you can always give it a try to see what suits you better.

I'm an ectomorph with a fairly high metabolism and I've always had the best results on a 3-day split

Agreed. However, the triceps brachii is an "antagonist" for the biceps brachii only. As it opposes this muscle group and counteracts the action of the biceps. The triceps is a "secondary" muscle used when performing a good number of chest exercises.

[danjackson999]

So....
1) Chest shoulders, triceps, biceps
2) Legs
rest
4) Full body
rest
6) Shoulders, triceps, upper back.

This seems interesting. Doing 4 different muscles seems quite excessive but how many sets of each did you have in mind?

Where is lower back,lats etc in this? Or does that only get covered in the full body day?

I feel like im going on and on trying to find a decent workout plan. If anyone can give some info or links to intermediate workout plans it would be appreciated.