I’ve recently started working out and have found out I know very little of how often to work ‘x’ muscle groups. So, if you could please tell me I’d much appriciate it.
Arms: Biceps &Triceps
Chest/Back
Abs
Legs: Thighs, Calves, Glutes
Thank you for your help!
If you are just starting out I would suggest a 4 day split.
Day 1. Chest/tricep
Day 2. Back/bicep
Day 3. Legs
Day 4. Shoulders
Depending on your schedule rotate your off days in between these days how you see fit.
If you are just starting out I would suggest a 4 day split.
Day 1. Chest/tricep
Day 2. Back/bicep
Day 3. Legs
Day 4. Shoulders
Depending on your schedule rotate your off days in between these days how you see fit.
References :
short answer: a good estimate is 48hrs between workouts because of rates of mitosis. ALL muscles need time to rest.
why? in general, the smaller the muscle, the less complex the muscle fiber arrangement, or the less force produced the less you need to rest. biceps heal the fastest, some times in 24 hrs, while lower back heals the slowest, takes a week, after some good deadlifts and squats i’ll be sore for weeks when going back on high volume. and then genetics make everyone different so there is no specific rule for everyone and you should play around. Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness (DOMS) is when you aren’t sore immediately after your workout but become sore days after and can be a sign of over training. to speed healing, eat within 30min after a workout a meal containing carbs and protein 3:1 ratio. you can only absorb 20-25g of protein every 2 hrs so don’t waste time and money downing too much.
the three big factors in a workout program design are:
1. frequency – how often (pertaining to your question)
2. load/intensity – amount of weight or amount of rest
3. volume – total work = (REPS)x(WEIGHT)x(SETS)
as intensity and volume increase you simply can’t train as frequent because your body must heal.
*side note* on average, you can lift the most weight per rep at about 75% of your 1RM which is equal to about your 8-12RM weight. this is why the 3sets x10reps with 1min rest program is so popular, it trains slightly to all goals.
References :
arnold schwarzenegger’s encyclopedia of modern bodybuilding
NSCA’s Essentials of stregth training and conditioning
http://www.exrx.net
I really don’t think you should start a split first. You are just lifting to gain a little muscle right, or do you plan on entering female bodybuilding competitions? Splits are usually for the bodybuilder types.
I would do something like this:
Mon: Back, Chest, Bi’s + Tri’s (Your biceps and triceps already get a workout when you do back and chest)
Tues: Legs + Abs
Wednesday: Cardio
Thursday: Another Cardio day, a rest day, or you can repeat the cycle either today or Friday
You can do cardio on days that you lift, but I personally find that it exhausts me too much.
Try to limit your lifting to 45 min – 1 hour
Get a 3-5 min warm up in before you lift and stretch afterwards.
References :