Working a muscle every 10 days is way better

[Realtest]

I have to say working a body part once every 7 days is not good for me period.I always lose strength when working a muscle every 7 days.For Chest,Back,Shoulders,Arms,I do between 12 to 15 sets for 4-7 reps, while resting between sets for 90 seconds.Legs is more like 12 sets resting 2 minutes in between squats.When i give my body 3 extra days of rest at 10 days I am almost every time considerably stronger before my last work out.What does this tell me?? I mean i thought muscles had to be worked and stimulated at least once every 5 days.Is my increase in strength while resting a body part for 10 days more Power lifting then Bodybuilding even though I train like a Bodybuilder which I want to look like??I know most guys train a body part once a week but it can't work for me.I guess it takes me the 3 extra days to recuperate.The one thing that i don't understand is that if I am getting stronger working a muscle once every 10 days will this result in solid muscle or mass?? One thing i notice when working a muscle once every 5 days is that the muscle seems to have better shape and tone and is tighter.I always thought that once every 10 days can't result in muscle growth but I have been benching right around 320lbs for the last 9 years with working a muscle twice a week for many years without results.I have never gave the once every 10 days, working a muscle routine much of a chance,meaning following that schedule mor then twice or 20 days, but I am thinking if i get to bench press 375lbs in 6 to 12 months or less i should be bigger in muscle I suppose???

[Hardace]

I understand what you are saying. A few times I decided to skip my leg workout and came back the next time and was throwing the weight up like crazy. For me, it only works with certain groups, such as legs.

[Realtest]

Yeah you always here in Bodybuilding that you should lift more weight with the same reps or more reps with the same weight as the pevious workout.Thats the key to Bodybuilding to get stronger and do 4-6 reps but for so long guys have trained their body parts twice a week like i did years ago or once a week today which never ever worked for me.It only had made me weaker.I just have to wonder is it now because i am oler at 34 and my muscles need more time to recuperate or was i overtraining all those years??I started lifting at 15 sometimes working a body part 3 times a week.One of the things I know is that if I do this once every 10 days training a bodypart for 3 months I will break all my strength records but will I have a look of a Bodybuilder or Powerlifter???

[Younglifter14]

if your older you will generally need more time to recover, but if your training more frequently, dont kill yourself each workout

Young

[Realtest]

Originally posted by Younglifter14
if your older you will generally need more time to recover, but if your training more frequently, dont kill yourself each workout

Young

The thing is that the harder you work out the better results will be so working out more frequent is not the answer.I don't know what is to frequent anymore.Maybe 5 sets for all body parts twice a week but I have tried that and as far as strength it is not nearly effective as working a muscle every 10 days.When working that muscle every 10 days I am talking about putting in 100% effort.Maybe training more frequently would lead to a more defined look but I still think minimum you have to give the muscles 5 days to rest and then you will be at 50% percent recovery.Remember all of us that are natural Bodybuilders like myself don't have the advantage that steroids give to recuperate faster.10 days may seem to long to rest but going to a gym for 9 years and working a muscle twice a week like myself and never gaining strength is overtraining.In my opinion even if you are young I believe working a muscle every 10 days is the best regardless of age.Doing 15-20 sets,4-6 reps, and really working out hard while resting 90 seconds between sets.

[Realtest]

Its really not 10 days of rest for Shoulders,Back,Arms.With Chest and Legs being really worked once every 10 days extra sets and higher intensity would make up for it. if you think you should train your muscles directly once every 7 days i believe your overtraining!!

Monday-Chest,Biceps
Tuesday-Off
Wednesday-Shoulders,Traps
Thursday-Off
Friday-Off
Saturday-Back
Sunday-Off
Monday-Off
Tuesday-Legs
Wednesday-Off
Thursday-Repeat Routine again.

[hyp3r3xt3nsion]

personally, i think you're doing far too many sets (15sets for chest....gah) and not enought rest (90sec. is like bar minimum)....that's leading towards the problem.

try cutting dooooooooown the volume and training more frequently....that's where, generally, best progress is made. like in doggcrapp training...works out to training each muscle 3times in a 2week period.

heck, i knew a guy who needed a supposed 20days to recover from leg workouts. sure, it worked and gained him mass, but sooooooooooo damn slowly. once i disected his training it was like 'well, duh, what you're doing is murdering your body'.....it's all about training smarter, not harder.

but anyways, the theory behind it just makes more sense.

you- 1x every 10days; so after 140 days you've had 14 direct stimulations (ignoring overlap for like back and bicep)

me- 3x every 14days; so after 140days i've had 30 direct stimulations.

in the end, given a good diet and proper recovery and proper training regime, 30x will produce far more results than 14x.

[hyp3r3xt3nsion]

Originally posted by Realtest
II am thinking if i get to bench press 375lbs in 6 to 12 months or less i should be bigger in muscle I suppose???

oh yea, and to this the answer is not necessarily. strength is more a function of routine than muscle size (although size will determine absolute strength)...that's how u have 150pders benching 500pds.

and being big does not guarnatee strength.....look at flex wheeler, he squats 200 for 12 and that's it (although he could do more obviously, but he doesn't push it, although this is kind of an extreme case)

[Realtest]

Im 6'1 220lbs.18 1/2 inch arms.Never measured chest and lat thickness.Being a tall guy my legs are the most difficult for me to develope but over the years I never trained them anywhere near like my Chest and arms.My arms are the easiest muscle for me to grow.I don't understand why 90 seconds of rest is not enough??I thought Bodybuilding when training hard,90 seconds is an ideal time to rest for Chest,Back,Shoulders.Smaller muscles 45 to 60 seconds.If there was some kind of magic schedule out there no one has picked it up because everyone has different opinions on everything from, Recuperation,How many Sets,Reps.Like this once a week hitting the muscles.It is the worst work out i have ever tried.

[Realtest]

Originally posted by Realtest
The thing is that the harder you work out the better results will be so working out more frequent is not the answer.I don't know what is to frequent anymore.Maybe 5 sets for all body parts twice a week but I have tried that and as far as strength it is not nearly effective as working a muscle every 10 days.When working that muscle every 10 days I am talking about putting in 100% effort.Maybe training more frequently would lead to a more defined look but I still think minimum you have to give the muscles 5 days to rest and then you will be at 50% percent recovery.Remember all of us that are natural Bodybuilders like myself don't have the advantage that steroids give to recuperate faster.10 days may seem to long to rest but going to a gym for 9 years and working a muscle twice a week like myself and never gaining strength is overtraining.In my opinion even if you are young I believe working a muscle every 10 days is the best regardless of age.Doing 15-20 sets,4-6 reps, and really working out hard while resting 90 seconds between sets.

How do you split up working each body part 3 X's in 14 days??? I do agree that this once every 10 days training a muscle might not be for Bodybuilding thats why i posted it.I wanted to see what a real good schedule could help instead of the twice a week training each muscle for 9 years and going no where.For strength and mass I'm sure it would work but I like the shape of looking like a Bodybuilder myself.What is your schedule right now?? thanks

[Younglifter14]

no, what you said is wrong, the harder you work DOESNT mean more results, lets go over quickly what causes growth

1. microtruama
2. tension upon the sarcolema
3. progressive loading

okay, microtruama can be applied from lower weights, especially after a period of time off (strategic deconditioning), which will make it more beneficial

Young

[Mr.Marc]

I'm training a different body part every day of the week.
I figure I get enough rest after work and working out. And so far it's fine.
You're right the longer you rest, sometimes the stronger you are.
But to my knowledge is because you're storing more mass.(fat)
For me, the longer time off the heavier I feel. Sure I'll be able to lift heavier, but my stomach is larger and I don't see as much definition.
Thats why I'm sticking to this training style at the moment.
Plus I have lots of free time.

[hyp3r3xt3nsion]

Originally posted by Realtest
How do you split up working each body part 3 X's in 14 days??? I do agree that this once every 10 days training a muscle might not be for Bodybuilding thats why i posted it.I wanted to see what a real good schedule could help instead of the twice a week training each muscle for 9 years and going no where.For strength and mass I'm sure it would work but I like the shape of looking like a Bodybuilder myself.What is your schedule right now?? thanks

just using a standard DC setup (i train with it modified, but this is a good basic 1)

day1- chest/tri/shoulder/back width/back thickness
day2- bi/forearm/legs

mine:

day1-chest/tri/shoulder
day2- back/bi
legs- misc (because of problems can't train them other than a set or two)

so what i'll do is

(week1)
M- day1a
T-misc
W-day2a
F-day1b

(week2)
M-day2b
T-misc
W-day1c
F-day2c

(week3)
M-day1a
T-misc
W-day2a
etc...


the a, b, c are part of the DC setup where you select different exercises.

like for chest, a = flat db, b= incline bb, c= incline db


but there's millions of other ways to partition it. i just use that since that's what i'm using now

if you want to read more on doggcrapp training since it's a very popular 1 that incorporates higher frequencies, got http://www.musclemayhem.com/forum/cg...ST;f=10;t=9617

[Realtest]

I mean how frequent do you train each body parts.I was thinking
Monday-Chest,Arms Heavy 4-6 Reps 10Sets
Tuesday-Back,shoulders Heavy 4-6Reps 10 Sets
Wednesday-off
Thursday-Legs Heavy 4-6 Reps 10 Sets
Friday-Repeat Monday But Light day 8-10 Reps 10 Sets
Saturday-Repeat Tuesday But Light day 8-10 Reps 10 Sets
Sunday -Off
Monday-Repeat Thursday But light day 8-10 Reps 10 Sets
Tuesday- Off
Wednesday-Off
Thursday-Repeat the schedule.the 2 days off in a row give me an extra day of recovery before i start the cycle all over again.

[Actarus]

Realtest you have 18 1/2'' arms your training works ! Now you found a way to get stronger that's perfect ! The frequency looks like Heavy Duty.

All the HSTers believe that more frequent stimulus is better so they are saying working a muscles once every 10 days is less efficient than working them 3x in 10 days. But what if the workouts doesn't provide a stimulus because volume or weight is too low. 3x0 stimulation = 0 stimulation !

5 sets 3x per week is not comparable to 15 sets once a week. 15 sets once a week might be better or worse, who knows ? Nearly all advanced BBs train with low frequency and high volume.
There are not a lot of HSTers with 18 1/2'' arms !

[Realtest]

I am starting to agree with an earlier post.Working a muscle once every 10 Days does create more strength, but now after I did it back to back a few times I saw no muscle growth,just fat even though I was lifting Heavier weights.It's not Bodybuilding at all.As far as muscle growth its mostly in the form of mass fat,not Muscle mass and Im a pretty lean guy at 6'1 218lbs.I have recently changed my schedule working each Body Part once every 5 to 6 Days.When I was working my Body parts twice a week I reached a sticking point.Ihave never tried this once every 5 to 6 days but I think I will start to see some lean muscle soon.The only thing now is how many Sets to do for each Body Part?? I was thinking Chest 10,Shoulders 8,Back 10,Arms 6-8,Legs 8-10 sets of squats,Traps 8 Sets.Anybody think that this is still to many sets to recover for my next work out???