I don't understand why people think it's right?

[Muggles93]

Hello I was just wondering why I always see alot of people train Chest/Tri's together aswell as Back/Bi's because it totally ruins your work out?
I don't claim to be an 'expert' on training and I respect people if they use that routine but I myself am not a big fan of this routine because:

1. When you train back you also use your biceps on the majority of back exercises you do (Non-including lower back) so when it comes around to training biceps after back (Or back after biceps) you will not be able to reach your maximum potential on these lifts as the other muscle will be weaker from working before hand.

2. When you train Chest/Tri's together you use triceps for benching Etc.

No, I don't hate people who use this routine because it must appear to be working for them i'm just trying to get the point across to others who may of not tried doing Back/Tri's and Chest/Bi's together to try it and check your gains and see if they improve some.

Sorry if i've wasted your time, just trying to help.

[jonstoppable]

You just explained the strengths of the split...not the faults. You need to understand that the reason splits like this exist are so muscle groups are given ample time to recover.

If you train back/tri, you're not only working out your back and triceps, but also your chest and biceps (for the same reasons you mentioned already). Then guess what? You're not doing a split at all!

[jolanar1]

You just explained the strengths of the split...not the faults. You need to understand that the reason splits like this exist are so muscle groups are given ample time to recover.

If you train back/tri, your not only working out your back and triceps, but also your chest and biceps. Then guess what? You're not doing a split at all!

This. But really do whatever you feel like doing, everyone experiments at some point.

[Muggles93]

A 'split' not used to bb.com terminology. I have noticed far better improvements from using my routine. And how do I use my chest during triceps? I never feel my chest besides chest sessions & i have great form. I also balance my routine so everything recovers perfectly.

[musikguy72]

And how do I use my chest during triceps? I never feel my chest besides chest sessions & i have great form. I also balance my routine so everything recovers perfectly.

haha...you almost understood.
They meant you work your triceps when you do chest. Then you want to work triceps again the next day on their own.

The compound movements work the smaller muscles too. You said so yourself. that's why they are fatiqued when you do your skullcrushers or whatever. They've been getting worked the entire time. Now let them rest for a few days.

But the real answer is do whatever works for you. Just remember: you asked why people do this. That's why. It's the most optimal for recovery.

[jonstoppable]

A 'split' not used to bb.com terminology. I have noticed far better improvements from using my routine. And how do I use my chest during triceps? I never feel my chest besides chest sessions & i have great form. I also balance my routine so everything recovers perfectly.

I guess it's my own fault for using that example. I had assumed that you were basing your routines around major compound exercises. Since I'm sure you at least bench press, please explain how you bench without interaction from your triceps? How do you row without using your biceps?

Since it seems like your new to this kind of stuff, I'll let you in on a secret: everything works at first.

[IDrinkBloodLOL]

I don't see why one muscle group should or shouldn't be trained with another. Just train what you need to train.

[Rasputin4]

Since bis are hit when you work back and tris are hit when you work chest, you're not missing anything by lifting less weight on skullcrushers and curls on a back/bi chest/tri split. If you were lifting less on these isolation lifts due to some other factor, then your bis and tris would be shortchanged. As it stands, the only reason you lift less on the isolations when you get to them is precisely because they have already been worked to an extent.

There's also the recovery issue that others mentioned. Further, bis and tris are far smaller muscle groups that back and bis, it doesn't make sense to me to hit them twice per week while only hitting chest and back once per week. It doesn't make sense to me when people hit bis and tris with as much volume as chest and back, my preference is to focus most of my volume on chest and back then finish off my tris and bis with a smaller amount of volume.

If your bis and tris are your weak point, that may be another matter. It's always adviseable to hit a lagging muscle group with more volume and/or more often than other muscle groups until it gets caught up.

[nzmusclez]

If your a bodybuilder - you work muscles to look good and catch up weak spots. If you need to work your biceps it doesnt matter if they're not fresh when you do ur bicep curls. You just want to damage as much muscle fibre as you can in that muscle. So doing bicep curls after pull ups, yes you'll be weak and not fresh compared to if you did them first. But it doesn't matter what weight you're lifting, you just wanna damage as much fibre as you can in order to grow.

If your a powerlifter - you will work the muscles to be strong so arguably you may do your compound first (i would do this personally) and then do the isolating afterwards to really hit my lacking areas. So if my triceps were lacking I would do bench, then isolate triceps afterwards.

[davidlaboza]

A lot of the basis behind Chest/Tri & Back/Bi is functionality and athleticism. Training for functionality (athleticism) means using your muscles the way they would naturally work and the way they would want to work. Chest & Triceps are incorporated together quite often, which is why they're trained the same day. The same goes for Back and Biceps. Yes, it is possible to burn out your Triceps before you get to them on Chest/Tri day, but that just means you're following a bad regimen in regards to what exercises your doing for Chest/Tri day.

[PLJSocka]

I do chest/tri back/bi. If I do 3 press motion exercises, I'm working my triceps. Then when I do triceps isolation exercises to finish off, I'm working my triceps. Whether I start my skullcrusher set using 110 or 80 doesn't really matter as long as I end up at the same place.

If I did chest/bi back/tri, my smaller muscles (bi/tri) being sore would make my larger muscles (back/chest) suffer. If I kill my bi's and go to my back day without letting them recover, I'm going to be unable to lift how I normally would because my major supporting muscles would be fried, and because of that I wouldn't get a good workout in my much larger, much more important muscles. Same thing for tri's sore on chest day. If I have to bench 40-50 lbs less than usual because my triceps can't help as much as normal, I won't get a good chest workout.

[ab1992]

i do

Rest
Chest/Biceps
Legs
Rest
Shoulders/Triceps
Back
Rest

[Orlando1234977]

If your a bodybuilder - you work muscles to look good and catch up weak spots. If you need to work your biceps it doesnt matter if they're not fresh when you do ur bicep curls. You just want to damage as much muscle fibre as you can in that muscle. So doing bicep curls after pull ups, yes you'll be weak and not fresh compared to if you did them first. But it doesn't matter what weight you're lifting, you just wanna damage as much fibre as you can in order to grow.

If your a powerlifter - you will work the muscles to be strong so arguably you may do your compound first (i would do this personally) and then do the isolating afterwards to really hit my lacking areas. So if my triceps were lacking I would do bench, then isolate triceps afterwards.

Exactly.

And both schools of thought on this work (Chest/Tris, or Chest/Bi's) etc but for different reasons. Bodybuilders seem almost split down the line, so do what you think is right for you. But this guy I quoted nailed it imo.

[GeneralSerpant]

Hello I was just wondering why I always see alot of people train Chest/Tri's together aswell as Back/Bi's because it totally ruins your work out?

Are you talking about bodybuilders, or people at the gym?

I don't claim to be an 'expert' on training

Damn. I thought an expert at bodybuilding was posting.

1. When you train back you also use your biceps on the majority of back exercises you do (Non-including lower back) so when it comes around to training biceps after back (Or back after biceps) you will not be able to reach your maximum potential on these lifts as the other muscle will be weaker from working before hand.

2. When you train Chest/Tri's together you use triceps for benching Etc.

When you do arm isolations after the compounds, you are 'finishing off' the arm aspects of the compounds.

No, I don't hate people who use this routine because it must appear to be working for them...

This must mean that they're doing something wrong, in general..

i'm just trying to get the point across to others who may of not tried doing Back/Tri's and Chest/Bi's together to try it and check your gains and see if they improve some.

Yes. It's because they have not read your post. It's about time we see more bodybuilding articles targeted towards an arms-only day, or alternative upper-body splits.

[Muggles93]

Ah I see, I appreciate the in-depth replies.

My routine:

Monday: Back/Tri's.
Tuesday: Rest
Wednesday: Shoulders/Legs
Thursday: Rest
Friday: Chest/Bi's.

Gives me plenty of time to recover between each and this routine seems to be much more effective from when I trained Chest/Tri's together. I guess it's just to what people prefer.

[JOHN GARGANI]

MUGGLES: you have done something very important, in that, you have THOUGHT FOR YOURSELF, and figured out why, in your case, a split would not be as effective....

keep that type of logical reasoning in ALL of your dietary and lifting regimens....


however, I must chastize you on this: if you are going to partake in any type of organized endeavor(s), you owe it to yourself to become familiar with the jargon and vernacular: meaning: not knowing something as simple as a "split" just won't do...read a good primer on BB and be knowledgeable of all the terms.

[chazzy1864]

You just explained the strengths of the split...not the faults. You need to understand that the reason splits like this exist are so muscle groups are given ample time to recover.

If you train back/tri, you're not only working out your back and triceps, but also your chest and biceps (for the same reasons you mentioned already). Then guess what? You're not doing a split at all!

I could be completely misinterpreting this, but it seems you are just as ignorant as the OP, just on the other end of the spectrum.

The strength of that split is also the weakness at the same time. It depends on the individual choosing the splits. Many prefer Chest/Tri and Back/Bi so they can finish off the smaller muscle group after it has already been fatigued. Others choose chest/bi and back/tri, so the smaller group is more fresh when they get to it. also, it provides a day where the muscle gets direct work once and indirect work another day.

I don't see why one muscle group should or shouldn't be trained with another. Just train what you need to train.

^ This.

[-Lucifer]

I used to train my triceps after hitting back, and my biceps after hitting my chest. The reason: I simply didn't want my ego hurt because I couldn't curl enough to impress the milfs checking me out. You may try this out and see if it hampers recovery or not.

MON: Quads, hams, calves
WED: Chest, biceps, abs
FRI: Back, triceps, forearms

[kingdlicious]

I dont do this split.

However I agree with it. By the time you've finished chest your triceps are warmed up and ready to go, same with back and bis. Its also more time convenient than doing bis and tris on their own days.

[sharpieblet]

i think as long as you're not using a terrible split (say, one that has a bad muscle size-volume ratio, or one that gives more attention to certain parts of the body than others- chest/bis over legs), you'll do just fine regardless of what you choose. finding what's optimal takes some experimentation. when i first started lifting again, i was on that there 5 day pro BBer type split. then i read up on the forums and adopted the chest/tris, back/bis, legs/shoulders split. then i read up some more and right before the new year i adopted the upper/lower 2x a week split i currently use. took me over a year to find a split that is actually giving me the best gains ever.

trial and error. THAT, is bodybuilding.

[SIG4]

I could be completely misinterpreting this, but it seems you are just as ignorant as the OP, just on the other end of the spectrum.

Very true. If you pair chest/bi and back/tri you're not doing a split? WTF? If you pair back and tri's, you're also training chest? Even if you do CGBP on back/tri day, that's one exercise that incorporates the chest and this shouldn't get you worried about your chest recovering. Organize your days accordingly. I have never felt like my bi's or tri's have been hammered after training back or chest, at least not to the point where I would be worried about training them directly within two days.