How many exercises per session?

christinefrano

I've been doing this 4 day upper/lower split (see images), but some say you just need to go hard for 4 excercises?

What do y'all think? If it's not broke don't fix it?

JaysFan82

I just go hard for 4 exercises. Takes me about a half an hour tops. And then I go for a run. I hate lifting weights so this definitely works for me.

Retroguy2000

I assume workout #2 is 6 exercises total? The images above appear to repeat the last four lines.

Seems like an excellent split to me. You're in the 10+ working sets per week range for chest, back and legs, but not so much that there's junk volume. You aren't wasting time flitting between too many exercises for the same group in one session. Two or three exercises per muscle group is sufficient in one session, ideally two if it's not a dedicated PP day. It only looks like a long list because of some abs and core at the end, so that's fine.

A couple of minor, minor talking points though. First of all, I assume those are all working sets, i.e. not incl a warmup or two. Second, do you really need db pullovers, since you've already done two back and two chest in that workout? You could do an extra working set of a previous chest or back exercise, or an extra working set for shoulders, and save the setup time.

Last thing, have you ever tried Myo-reps? I do those for arms and lateral raises. They'd be perfect for your finisher isolation work. First set, 10-15 reps. Rest about 15 seconds, keep going, repeat until you cannot reach 5 reps. You get a lot of effective reps that way and in a shorter time than X sets of 10 with typical rest times.

claireychn074

What are you trying to achieve? A bulked physique? Lifting heavier weights? Just keeping mobile? Your programme will really depend on what you’re looking to get out of it. The poster above doesn’t enjoy lifting so smashes out his session in 30 mins, I train for my sport so take a stupidly long time. Give us a bit more info and you’ll get some more targeted advice!

tomcustombuilder

You want between 10-20 sets per WEEK per muscle. Lower end for beginners, upper end for more advanced. Add your sets per muscle group and see where you fall in

christinefrano

@Retroguy2000 Woops sorry, yes #2 is 6 exercises. Yes these are all working sets. I do a full body warmup routine or 10 min on the treadmill, then do a few light sets.

What excercise do you recommend replacing the DB pullover with? Should I do myo-reps for all 3 of high/low/lateral excercises?

Thanks for the help!!

christinefrano

@claireychn074 I'm looking to build muscle and lift heavy. I love lifting so I don't need to smash it out fast, I'm just worried about my routine not be effective.

tomcustombuilder

christinefrano wrote: »

@claireychn074 I'm looking to build muscle and lift heavy. I love lifting so I don't need to smash it out fast, I'm just worried about my routine not be effective.

as long as you’re getting in the recommended volume and you’re recovering ok then you’re fine. Hitting each muscle at least twice a week and the program will work. Smaller muscles more often. Larger muscles, less often.

Retroguy2000

christinefrano wrote: »

Retroguy2000 Woops sorry, yes #2 is 6 exercises. Yes these are all working sets. I do a full body warmup routine or 10 min on the treadmill, then do a few light sets.

What excercise do you recommend replacing the DB pullover with? Should I do myo-reps for all 3 of high/low/lateral excercises?

Thanks for the help!!

It's really no big deal, however with the goal of time efficiency, replace the db pullover with 1 or 2 more sets of a previous exercises. You're already set up in those, you're already warmed up for those, quicker to do one more set than switch to a new exercise just to do two sets. If you're not concerned about time, then carry on, it's no big deal at all. Basically, getting your set volume in fewer exercises is more time efficient than doing more exercises that basically do the same thing you did earlier in the workout. You don't need to set up the weight for the new exercise, get yourself positioned, do a warm up, put those weights away after, etc., when you could just do one more set where you're already positioned. In this case, if you're targeting your back with the db pullover, save time by adding one set each to your barbell row and lat pulldown.

Re Myo-reps I mean shoulder lateral raises, you could include rear delt raises in that list too. Myo-reps typically aren't for compound exercises, certainly not free weight ones. For isolation stuff though, it's time efficient and you get a great burn. Think arms, side and rear delts, calves, things where aerobic and CNS capacity are not the limiting factor for rest.

To answer your above post, it's effective if you're progressing, and getting sufficient protein with enough calories.

christinefrano

Awesome, thanks all!!

neanderthin

christinefrano wrote: »

@claireychn074 I'm looking to build muscle and lift heavy. I love lifting so I don't need to smash it out fast, I'm just worried about my routine not be effective.

For me I generally will do at least 6 to 8 sets of 8 to 10 reps within 1 or 2 reps of failure which generally makes me rest a little longer between sets, maybe 2 minutes or so. I do this twice a week per muscle group and I workout 5 days a week. This routine seems to get the best results for my goals which is increasing muscle mass and strength.

nossmf

I like it.

Jesse62

Recovery is very individualistic with a lot of variables involved. If you are feeling recovered and making progressions on your lifts your probably fine based on your current intake and NEAT, but if your progress is stalling, your overly fatigue or simply can’t find the motivation to get it done you may want to cut those sets in half and chase standardized progression (meaning your form remain constant throughout the set

I_AM_ISRAEL

3-6 sets per session in the rep range of 5-30 for adding mass