Lately the training frequency has been discussed alot and it has been shown that training more then once a week with smaller volume each time is better for hypertrophy.
I've always trained each body part once a week except for legs and got great muscle gains. Soon, I was thinking of switching to a full body workout done 3 times a week or an upper/lower/off/upper/lower split. But when I think about it...I find I have enough muscles and just want to maintain and lose body fat to be more defined.
So now I'm thinking I should just stick to each body part once a week and do more cardio?? I don't know what I should do anymore..any suggestions?
I've been training for 3 years so I've tried alot of splits..does someone who maintain have a good one that they really like right now and that allows them to do enough cardio?
p.s I'm only asking for a training split idea to maintain. I know I still have to lift heavy blah blah
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01-18-2006, 07:10 AM #1
Training split to lose fat and maintain muscle mass
Last edited by Helene; 01-18-2006 at 11:30 AM.
WORKOUT
M: Full body workout
T: Off
W: Full body workout
T: Off
F: Off
S: Full body workout
S: OFF
Walk dog 1 hour a day.
DIET
Protein and good fats, low carb
Goal: Loose fat and gain muscle!
Just do it!
Obsessed is a word the lazy use to describe the dedicated!
You are what you eat!
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01-18-2006, 11:18 AM #2
Well, actually, I think you can change your rep scheme and either do very low reps (i.e., 3 or less) for strength but not hypertrophy, or higher reps (i.e., 12 or more) for endurance but not hypertrophy.
Here's an article that discusses this. http://www.abcbodybuilding.com/musclefiberspart2.php It's a lot to digest, but there is a very helpful chart about 2/3 of the way down that matrixes reps with muscle fibers so you can pick the right range for each muscle group.
More on reps here: http://www.t-nation.com/readTopic.do?id=620430
And here's is Waterbury weighing in on reps: http://www.t-nation.com/readTopic.do?id=651322
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01-18-2006, 11:27 AM #3
hey dbflgirl, I was still planning on lifting heavy and staying in the 6-10 rep range. I was just wondering since I want to maintain if I should forget switching to training each muscle more then once a week since training them more then once a week is more for hypertrophy?
You are currently doing the full body training 3 times a week right?
And your goal is to build muscle?
What if you wanted to maintain..would you decrease to training each muscle only once a week?
Thanks for the links..WORKOUT
M: Full body workout
T: Off
W: Full body workout
T: Off
F: Off
S: Full body workout
S: OFF
Walk dog 1 hour a day.
DIET
Protein and good fats, low carb
Goal: Loose fat and gain muscle!
Just do it!
Obsessed is a word the lazy use to describe the dedicated!
You are what you eat!
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01-18-2006, 11:49 AM #4
From what I've read, training more frequently will help you put on mass particularly if you are an ectomorph, which I am. I have to fight for each little bit of muscle. But I think that other body types do fine with once a week training (per bodypart). It seems to me that every competitor's journal I have looked at shows them doing 1x week per bodypart. So I guess it depends on how you respond to the less frequent training as to whether this will let you maintain.
Waterbury lays out very nicely in his article which rep ranges are best for burning fat, gaining mass, and increasing strength.
I am currently doing a 3x/week full body routine (with varied sets and reps) and I like it but I am thinking of switching. I am getting stronger but not bigger and I am after some size. Maybe we could switch bodies for a bit
Here's a routine designed for fat loss -- maybe this will give you some ideas...
http://www.ruggedmag.com/index.php?t...icle&i=17&a=10
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01-18-2006, 03:29 PM #5
wow, thanks dbflgirl!
I just read the routine and I think I'm going to do it!
I'd like to be an ectomorph...I think I'm a mesomorph. It's a good thing in a way because I build muscle really easily but I really have to watch what I eat because I gain fat easily too and tend to look bulky (fat over muscle) when I have too much body fat.
What's your plan of attack for your next routine?
How long have you done this full body traininig 3 times a week?
Thanks again for all the great links!WORKOUT
M: Full body workout
T: Off
W: Full body workout
T: Off
F: Off
S: Full body workout
S: OFF
Walk dog 1 hour a day.
DIET
Protein and good fats, low carb
Goal: Loose fat and gain muscle!
Just do it!
Obsessed is a word the lazy use to describe the dedicated!
You are what you eat!
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01-19-2006, 06:47 AM #6
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01-19-2006, 07:46 AM #7
Hey Helene!!
I am so glad you posted this article. I am mesomorph as well and can gain muscle and fat with no prob. I was just thinkin of a way I could lose more body fat. I started doing the spinning classes at the gym (Gold's) and yoga to help move things along faster. I am goin to start that work out that was posted. It seems like it will work really well!! I will keep you posted on the progress. Goodluck and thank you!!!
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01-19-2006, 11:55 AM #8
hi helene,
do a search on the forum for HST, it is a pretty solid full body workout. for the first month you would be in a high rep range, but you are changing that every two weeks for continual gains. -you'll see what i mean when you read about it.
myself, i am an endo/mesomorph, i have been doing this for two weeks and i am feeling pretty lean.
i used to do a 3 day split alternating between upper and lower, but you plateau pretty easily doing that.
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01-21-2006, 07:23 AM #9
Here is another workout that might be of interest. I haven't tried it yet as i found a three day per week full body program that I'm trying right now but the feedback was extremely positive and the writer seems to be well-reputed and know what he is talking about.
http://www.ruggedmag.com/index.php?t...icle&i=15&a=12
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01-23-2006, 05:11 AM #10
Thanks everybody, great advice. I'm going to start with the Full body fat loss routine and will keep the other advice in mind for the next change.
WORKOUT
M: Full body workout
T: Off
W: Full body workout
T: Off
F: Off
S: Full body workout
S: OFF
Walk dog 1 hour a day.
DIET
Protein and good fats, low carb
Goal: Loose fat and gain muscle!
Just do it!
Obsessed is a word the lazy use to describe the dedicated!
You are what you eat!
-
09-13-2006, 01:07 PM #11
Old link?
Can someone please let me know what that workout is? The link is not working properly.
Helene and smith21, have you tried this workout? What did you think of it? What did you like and dislike? I also gain muscle mass very quickly and would just like to maintain while I focus on fat loss, so I'm really interested to hear your opinions. Thanks a lot!
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