how many days should i train

[Green_day]

Hey sup guys
I was wonding, How many days a week should I be training to get bigger?? I usually train four days per week but this last week I train six days and did everything twice... I know that six days per week is too much.. I read some articles that if you get your food and recovery in then you can train as often as you like... Right now, I'm in college and so, I'm pretty much hanging around until school starts up again... should I return to the four day split or hit a five day?? hitting everything once a week??what do you guys think should be my next move???

Thank You

[John Prophet]

Welcome to the forum.....

I personally dont think once per week programs are ideal.....I like 2x per week or even stuff like splitting the body 3 ways and then training "2 on, 1 off"

like this

M-chest/delts/tris
Tu-legs
W-off
Th-back/traps/bi
F-chest/delts/tri
sa-off
Sun-legs
Mon-back/traps/bis
Tu-off
etc

thats more than once per week, but less than 2x per week


also you dont HAVE to do the same split every week.....you can do 6 days per week, then 4 days, then 6 days, then back it down more on the 4th week for recovery

check my first post in this thread where I went over this same thing in detail.....plus be sure to check the article that is linked in the thread

http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showthread.php?t=876941



JP

[Green_day]

Thanks for the welcoming John, I've always used this site to get my supps and today, just decided to join you guys...

get ideas... but will I end up overtrain and beating myself into the ground??

[pumpinainteasy]

Thanks for the welcoming John, I've always used this site to get my supps and today, just decided to join you guys...

get ideas... but will I end up overtrain and beating myself into the ground??

i beleilve less is more in this game you grow out of the gym it takes on average 48 to72 hours for a body part to recover from hard balls to the wall training the structure of your workout is as important than how many days you go to the gym if your new to this overtraining will slow your progress down 4 days training or more the best way is 3 days mon wed fri of weekends train back biceps legs mon chest triceps calfs wed shoulders traps abs on fri mix up exercises sets and reps keep intensity high and elvaluate your progress every 2 months this wont make you huge but will give you a great foundation for the future and on the right track a beginner should not be following a pros program

[Green_day]

I'm not a begininer, I've been training for four years now.

[SpeedUp2]

Training 6 days a week is OK as long as you periodize your training and do a back-off when you feel like overtraining. Its not all about how much you eat or recover - training 4 days a week and eating ~4000 cals each day (I'm 5.7, 177lbs) + 10h sleep still makes me feel overtrained after around 4-5 weeks.

The debates about one vs two times for a muscle group are endless, especially if it refers to more advanced trainees. I personally have FAR better results with two times per week protocol with more back-off days, but still I'm not an advanced trainee.

[reflexions]

One of my splits are

Monday
Chest
Shoulders
Triceps

Thursday
Back
Biceps

Following Monday
Legs

Thursday
Repeat cycle


But usually people go Monday, Wednesday, Friday.

[John Prophet]

One of my splits are

Monday
Chest
Shoulders
Triceps

Thursday
Back
Biceps

Following Monday
Legs

Thursday
Repeat cycle


But usually people go Monday, Wednesday, Friday.

hehe, if you split it up that way you have endless options........that is how I have been doing it for a few months now "push", "legs" and "pull" days

first when i was trying to push the volume I did it 6 days per week

M-push
Tu-legs
We-pull
Th-push
F-legs
Sa-pull
su-off

that is old school high volume...some guys like Melvin Anthony still do it that way


I did that for 2 weeks, then deloaded for a week, then went to my current setup....which is just doign the same thing but using a "2 on, 1 0ff" schedule

M-push
Tu-legs
W-off
Th-pull
Fr-push
S-off
Su-legs
M-pull
Tu-off
etc

one could also do the same but without working out on Sundays....that would add an extra rest day on occasion

or, you could do the same split but not work the weekends, like this

M-push
Tu-legs
W-off
Th-pull
Fr-push
Sa-off
Su-off
M-legs
Tu-pull
W-off
Th-push
F-legs
sa-off
Su-off
etc

that is working 1 bodypart twice per week and the other bodyparts 1x per week.....so it is a little less than "2x per week" and it is slightly less than the "2on, 1 off"


then of course there is the Lee Haney way..which was popular in the late 80s....some pro's probably still use it....the "3 on, 1 0ff" approach

M-push
Tu-legs
W-pull
th-off
F-push
Sa-legs
Su-pull
M-off
etc

that is slightly less than the 6 days per week schedule...but still pretty grueling in the long run

so its a very versatile way to split things up