what muscle groups do you workout together and why?

[kenjen]

I know this thread has probably been done before. I tried to find one but didn't, sorry. I am in the process of figuring out what my workout is going to be and what my goal is going to be. I want shape but I also want strength. What I want is all points of view on which ones, when, how often and why. The only thing I am almost sure of is that I will be working out 4 days a week. Cardio is not an issue I walk 2 miles to work and most days I spend my lunch hr either walking up and down 8 flights of stairs or on the nicer days getting away from work and walking.

[bigtallox]

what muscle groups do you workout together?

I don't train muscle groups, I train movements.

Tuesday: squat and deadlift
Thursday: cleans and overhead pressing
Saturday: events, i.e. yoke, farmers, log, stones, tire, sandbag,...

and why?

Because that's how the human body is designed, ie to do movements. You can't truly isolate muscle groups anyway, attempts at trying just result in a bunch of worthless exercises ( IMHO ).

[JerryB]

I train muscle groups once a week.

Day one is for quadriceps, leg biceps, and calves.

Day two is for chest, shoulders, and triceps. This is push day for the upper body muscles were their actions are mainly pushing movements. The pushing muscles are trained directly or assist in training the other pushing muscle groups. For example the bench press for the chest will engage the shoulders, in particular the anterior deltoid, and the triceps. I continue the process of training the shoulders and triceps in this workout. All three muscle groups will have week to recover for the next training session.

Day three is for back, traps, and biceps. This is the pull day for upper body muscles were their actions are mostly pulling movements. All three muscle groups will have week to recover for the next training session just as the muscle groups trained on the other days.

I will train abs once a week on any of the three days.

I normally train on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.

Cardio is not part of my training routine.

[kenjen]

for the info guys. Was hoping for more post but if only 2 then yours I will take. of what I have been reading on here you are 2 of the guys that know there stuff. Thanks

[flat6nut]

Day 1...chest
day 2...back
day 3...shoulders and traps
day 4...legs
day 5...arms
Friday and sat off.

I do this becuase it seems to be working for adding size.
I am also wanting to add in an extra squat only day, becuase I want bigger wheels and a 405 squat for the comp.

[badidea]

i push two days a week and pull two days a week. one heavy one less heavy. six sets of 5x5-8. keep it simple for legs. squat on heavy push leg press on less heavy. deadlift on heavy pull and weighted hyper extensions on less heavy. working my body as a unit has been the most practical for me. i always struggled with one body part per day as bigtallox suggested.

as an example here's what i did last night for less heavy push:

arnold press 5x6-8
weighted dips 5x8
incline (15%) flies 5x8
front plate raises 4x8
leg press 8x8
100 push ups/100 sit ups. i know sit ups is a pull but i try to hit abs 3xweek.

[seanpecor]

This push/pull concept intrigues me. I will have to do some homework.

Here is my basic routine. I'm a n00b so take it with a grain of salt.

Monday - Biceps, Back
Tuesday - Legs
Wednesday - Walk funny to Italian restaurant for lunch
Thursday - Chest, Abs
Friday - Shoulders, Triceps

Why I work groups in this structure. I started out using just machines 7 months ago. I decided I lacked the discipline for free weights and until I graduated to another level of understanding, I'd stick with machines. So when I switched from a 3 to 4 day split in February, I built a spreadsheet listing all the machines at my gym and added fields for which muscle groups they worked primarily, and which secondarily (if any). Since my goal was to only work one pgroup out once a week, I sorted my list by primary group and then fine tuned by secondary group. That's basically how I arrived at my groupings.

This grouping works for me but of course I'm a n00b and it's subject to change at my next milestone coming up in a few months.

Sean

[Old-Time-Lifter]

I just changed up my split to get so that I am working on consistent days rather than floating as I was. I prefer the floating but it makes scheduling life outside the gym too complicated.

Sun - Chest/Back
Mon - Legs
Tue - off
Wed - Delts/Triceps (3 sets of 3 reps Heavy Machine Bench also)
Thur - Deads/Biceps (3 sets of 5 reps Heavy Leg Press & 3 sets of 10 reps Heavy Seated Rows also)
Fri - off
Sat - off

Over the summer I'll likely throw in some walking in the am but other than that I'm not a big cardio guy.

[Whiskeyjack]

Work each bodyart 2x/week, but with reduced sets. Never gotten satisfaction with once/week. Plus I like to train by days in the week, not different days each week. I followed this routine in my competing daze too, but with more sets.

Tue & Sat - torso
AB exercise - 3x20
Chest press (could be any one of various types of press) - 3x8
Chest dips - 3x8
Shoulder press - 3x8
Wide grip upright row - 3x8
Wide grip overhand pullups - 3x8
Heavy row (DL every 3 weeks or so) - 3x8

Wed & Sun - limbs
Calf raise - 3x8
Squat or leg press - 3x8
Leg extension - 3x8
Close grip bench press - 3x8
Lying tricep extensions - 3x8
Barcell curls - 3x8
Preacher curls - 3x8
Forearm curls - 2-3x10

This routine includes hitting the pec-delt area only twice, not 4 times as many routines do, as consistent with advice I personally received from Bill Pearl (i.e. Train pecs and delts together); the close grips are, like all exercises, sometimes substituted. Back grows quickly and comes last but I stop after most tired. Legs grow fast so don't need too many sets; I'm not interested in competing again so I don't train hams formally.

If I need variation I change exercises or reps. If I want to add sets I can, always with a thought about how I'll feel at the end. I always stop at maximum pump.

The other change I'll sometimes make is doing a push-pull: chest, delts, tri's; legs, back, bi's.

[ironwill2008]

..what muscle groups do you workout together and why?

What I'm currently doing has little/no relation to what someone else should be doing. You need something tailored more closely to what you require.

... what my workout is going to be and what my goal is going to be.

You should furthur-define your goal before you attempt to pick a program.






As a couple of suggestions, either of which would be perfect for a noob, are:

An excellent beginner bodybuilding program:
*Routine: http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showthread.php?t=4195843


An excellent beginner strength program:
*Farley's SS writeup: http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showth...hp?t=131379243










And while mass and strength aren't completely mutually-exclusive, it's better to go with a specific plan tailored to suit one goal or the other. The two paths are somewhat parallel, but you'll get where you want to go a little faster if you pick a specific path.







One thing I don't suggest is trying to piece together your own "routine." There's much more involved in making steady progress than just throwing together a few exercises. Both of the programs I linked are just that; programs, thoroughly-thought-out with all factors taken into consideration.

[Boyd76]

mad cow 5x5 modified - went thru my first cycle of 13 weeks of this just deloaded and starting again.

monday-
squat
barbell rows
bench
weighted sit ups
cardio = tire drags - modified sled pulls etc.

wednesday-
light squat
overhead press
deadlifts
body weight glute ham raises
light and heavy farmers walks

friday-
squat
barbell rows
bench
reverse hypers
weighted dips
chin ups
and light tire flips for cardio

tuesday and thursdays rest

saturday and sunday will walk about 2 to 3 miles with wife for fun

[PhoenixBuff]

Day 1...chest
day 2...back
day 3...shoulders and traps
day 4...legs
day 5...arms
Friday and sat off.

I do this becuase it seems to be working for adding size.
I am also wanting to add in an extra squat only day, becuase I want bigger wheels and a 405 squat for the comp.

This.....my exact workout. I don't see how someone can do more than one body part per day, do enough sets and not spend 2 hours in the gym. I've always been a high volume trainee.

[ParatroopVet]

My Split....

Monday: Chest & Triceps
Tuesdays: Back & Biceps
Wednesday: Legs
Thursday: OFF
Friday: Shoulders & Neck
Saturday: OFF
Sunday: OFF

[bodyhard]

My split

Mon
Back, traps and Bi's

Tuesday
Chest and Triceps

Wed
Off

Thur
Quads and Hams

Friday
Shoulders and Calves

I do back and bi's because the biceps are targeted when doing back.I include traps cause the traps are part of the back.

I do chest and tri's because the triceps are targeted when doing presses.

I do quads and Hams to save time

I do shoulders with Calves cause I have to find a place to put in calves.

[erikjh]

mine....

day 1 legs
day 2 chest
day 3 back
day 4 shoulders
day 5 arms

usualy 2 days off mixed in somewhere.

[gbg]

mad cow 5x5 modified - went thru my first cycle of 13 weeks of this just deloaded and starting again.

monday-
squat
barbell rows
bench
weighted sit ups
cardio = tire drags - modified sled pulls etc.

wednesday-
light squat
overhead press
deadlifts
body weight glute ham raises
light and heavy farmers walks

friday-
squat
barbell rows
bench
reverse hypers
weighted dips
chin ups
and light tire flips for cardio

tuesday and thursdays rest

saturday and sunday will walk about 2 to 3 miles with wife for fun

I like your set up.

Reverse hypers helped my back, GHR are just awesome ( don't understand why more people don't do them)
The sled is the best conditioning work out there as far as I'm concerned, and well...squats,deads, presses and rows go without saying.

[Sheppe]

Workout Day 1: Legs and Abs
Rest Day
Workout Day 2: Chest and Bi's
Rest Day
Workout Day 3: Back, Shoulders and Tri's
Rest Day
Rest Day

On my rest days I still try to be active... hiking, yard work, etc.

I do it this way because on chest and back days, the opposing/secondary muscle groups still get exercised even though it's their "off day".

That said, I'll do it this way for another 4-6 weeks and then I'll probably switch to a Legs/Shoulders, Chest/Back/Abs, Bi's/Tri's split. I try to keep my routine from being too much of a routine for too long so that I don't get conditioned for it and hit plateaus.

[bigtallox]

I try to keep my routine from being too much of a routine for too long so that I don't get conditioned for it and hit plateaus.

Bodybuilding broscience, that's not what's going on. It's most likely because your program lacks progression. Repetition is what makes your body get efficient at the movement and that's how you become able to move more weight, if your program has a progression. If no progression, then yeah, it's by definition a plateau ( but not because you haven't switched it up ).

Good luck.

[JerryB]

This push/pull concept intrigues me. I will have to do some homework.

Here is my basic routine. I'm a n00b so take it with a grain of salt.

Monday - Biceps, Back
Tuesday - Legs
Wednesday - Walk funny to Italian restaurant for lunch
Thursday - Chest, Abs
Friday - Shoulders, Triceps


Sean

You should train back before biceps. The biceps assist in back exercises. I like the push pull approach because the smaller assisting muscles for the larger muscles get equal time to recover and I need to do less exercises to train the smaller muscles.

As you can see there is a variety of ways to train with good results. You just need to experiment and find one that works for you.

[jayluk4600]

I train each body part 1 time a week. Hit it hard and let it heal up good. But I dont do specific days I just go with the flow of life. (but I will admit I rarely miss a day)

day 1 - chest
day 2 - back
day 3 - bi
day 4- shoulders ( I do ALOT of shoulder stuff so I do traps a diff day)
day 5 - tris and traps (love traps)
day 6 - legs - lower back - calves

Prob looks kinda retarded to some but works well for me I also try to get at least 15-20 minute of cardio every other workout keeping my heart rate about mid 150 ish. Also if I miss a day..well so what I just pick up were I left off the next day. I dont compete nor do I intend to I just like to be big, healthy and have muscles so this routine works for me.

But I am always changing stuff too keeping my body in WTF mode so I feel the once a week thing works good due to the intensity I try to bring.

[Phattso]

Monday: Chest & Triceps - Triceps are worked during Chest compounding exercises, so I keep my overall Triceps sets to about 4 to 5 good working sets.

Tuesday: Back & Biceps - Biceps are worked during Back compounding exercises, so I keep my overall Biceps sets to about 6 or 7 good working sets that include 2 or 3 sets of Hammers, either with DBs or cable.

Wednesday: Legs

Thursday: Shoulders - Triceps are worked secondary, so had plenty of time to recoup from Monday and plenty of time to rest before Monday.

Friday, Saturday and Sunday: Off from weights. Might do some cardio

Why? Have tried many splits over the years and this one has given me the best results.

[Forgettoned]

Day 1 - Back and Biceps + 20 min of cardio
Day 2 - Legs + 20 min of cardio
Day 3 - Chest, Shoulders and Triceps + 20 min of cardio
Day 4 - 1 hour of cardio
Day off
Repeat

[alex2363]

I know this thread has probably been done before. I tried to find one but didn't, sorry. I am in the process of figuring out what my workout is going to be and what my goal is going to be. I want shape but I also want strength. What I want is all points of view on which ones, when, how often and why. The only thing I am almost sure of is that I will be working out 4 days a week. Cardio is not an issue I walk 2 miles to work and most days I spend my lunch hr either walking up and down 8 flights of stairs or on the nicer days getting away from work and walking.

on which ones, when, how often and why.
biceps and tris, they are close

[Smelly bull]

Push/Pull Routine here....

Day One: Heavy chest and light Tris
Day Two : Heavy Deads, lighter back
Day Three: Cardio (If I get my lazy azz out of bed)
Day Four: Light chest, heavy tris with some shoulder presses mixed in
Day Five: Light squats (I rotate Day Two and Day Five, one week heavy squats, light deads, next week light squats heavy deads) and heavy back.
Day six and seven, eat and rest.

[Smelly bull]

Bodybuilding broscience, that's not what's going on. It's most likely because your program lacks progression. Repetition is what makes your body get efficient at the movement and that's how you become able to move more weight, if your program has a progression. If no progression, then yeah, it's by definition a plateau ( but not because you haven't switched it up ).

Good luck.

Ox is spot in here....I lacked progression for years, and made little in strength gains. Switched it up (thanks Bill Starr) and have maed some great increases.

[ljimd]

I use push/pull. Each muscle 2x a week. Large muscles first, small muscles last. 4 w/o's a week. Cycle up reps and poundage every 5-6 wks. Been working great for me the last couple years. Diet is the game breaker - needs to be spot on.

[2nd_chance]

Monday - Chest and Triceps (upper)
Tuesday - Quads, Calves and Abs (lower)
Wednesday - Shoulders and Traps (upper)
Thursday - Hams, Calves and Abs (lower
Friday - Back and Biceps (upper)

I run my split this way so that I never hit upper body 2 days in a row. To each their own but I can never understand why someone runs 2-3 upper body days in a row then legs. I get extra recovery time by strategically placing lower body in between.

[SwissTony]

Never understood why people do chest & tri's......your tri's are already being hit from most chest exercises....better to work another muscle group, and target tri's specifically another day.

Tho, would be happy to hear a good reasoning for working both on the same day.

[bodyhard]

Never understood why people do chest & tri's......your tri's are already being hit from most chest exercises....better to work another muscle group, and target tri's specifically another day.

Tho, would be happy to hear a good reasoning for working both on the same day.

I do Tri's with chest, because just as you stated, Tri's get hit when doing chest and also when doing shoulders (Mil Press, DB press) so in essence if you do shoulders on one day chest on another and then triceps on another you are hitting the triceps 3 x in one week. Once directly and twice indirectly. IMO the tricep is a small muscle and does not need that much stimulation to grow.

[ntrllftr]

Never understood why people do chest & tri's......your tri's are already being hit from most chest exercises....better to work another muscle group, and target tri's specifically another day.

Tho, would be happy to hear a good reasoning for working both on the same day.

Yes, they do get hit indirectly BUT they don't get "worked".
I am a firm believer in warming up before every exercise. So indirectly hitting them warms them up. I have in the past switched to chest/biceps Back/triceps. I noticed that my elbows and joints hurt when I did it that whey. So I have been doing the chest/triceps again with less discomfort. However, I am thinking about making a new split and doing bi's and tri's on thier own day. It's hard to break old habbits but I hope to change things up this week. After a few weeks we'll see how things go/feel.