Which is better for lifting weights?

muriah2

Is it better to work one or two areas at a time (arms and chest one day, legs and butt another day, etc) or is it better to try to work all muscle groups in the same day?

Rage_Phish

i think most people concentrate on certain areas each day. I would like to know as well what is most recommended

taso42_DELETED

Since you need to give each muscle group some rest time, you might as well split up the days. For example, I do upper body one day, cardio the next, lower body the next, cardio the next, etc. That will also keep your workouts shorter.

dd_salas

my trainer said that working multiple muscle groups at the same time is what will give you the greatest calorie burn. For example, doing curls with free weights while simultaneously doing squats. She said the key is to have 2-3 routines that you rotate once a week, so that you have good muscle confusion. If you keep doing the same circuit all the time, in about 2 weeks, your body gets really efficient at doing those specific exercises and you will be able to do them with less energy burn.

I rotate my cardio with my strength training. My schedule looks something like this:
M- 60 min cardio
T - 100 min strength + cardio intervals
W - 60 min cardio
Tr - off
Fri - 100 min strength + cardio intervals
Sat - 60 min cardio
Sun - 100 min strength + cardio

If you're short on time, my trainer also said to jump on the treadmill for 2 minute intervals in between sets at a good solid run - that will keep your HR nice and amped up during your repetitions, and you'll get the benefit of working the major muscle groups in your legs.

amysj303

I think it depends on how conditioned you are already are, this article seems to suggest that women benefit from full-body workouts:
http://figureathlete.t-nation.com/article/training/kiss_bodybuilding_workouts_goodbye&cr=/p90X
but I have heard of "splits" also. I haven't gotten serious yet, I am working myself up to the idea!

aippolito1

Whatever works for you! I like to lift for about an hour so I have to split up muscle groups. I do chest/shoulders/arms in one day, abs & legs in one day, and then shoulders/chest/back on another day (yeah, a lot of it is double duty but I need a lot of help in those areas - I don't do them back to back to chest/shoulders/arms though).

barefootbeautiful

24 hours is the suggested time to allow muscles to rest, so realisticcally you could work out every day. Personally, I work as many muscle groups as possible at once (I use kettlebells for a majority of my workout), and add abs in every night. I may be a little sore, but the muscle fatigue is minimal, and the calorie burn is maximized. We also integrate new workouts every few weeks.

davejlee

Most people who are serious lifters (concerned with significant mass and strength gains) work out 5-6 times a week, concentrating on one area.

For me, because of my schedule, I lift 3 times a week and work out 2-3 areas per session.

What's key is doing as many compound exercises as possible: exercises that use more than one joint. And always include lower body exercises. The results are significantly greater than just doing upper body exercises.

audjrey

I mix up my weeks and do both. One week I might do nothing but total body conditioning and the next week I'll do splits. Why? To keep my muscles guessing so to speak. Muscles adapt VERY QUICKLY to strength training programs. That's why it's so vital to switch things up as much as possible. Ideally, especially if you are fairly new to strength training, you'd like to train with one method for 4-6 weeks and then switch it up. However, the more athletic you become, the more you have to switch things up. If you don't, you plateau much faster.

Doing a total body workout is great if you only have two or three days a week to lift. It allows for a steady cardio factor (providing you have minimal rests between exercises) that split training doesn't. Therefore, for the limited amount of time you have it allows you to get the most bang for your buck if muscular endurance and minor strength is your primary goal.

On the other hand, split training is best if you want to gain a bit more muscle mass so that your body continues to burn calories and fat long after you stopped working out. The more muscle you have, the more fat your burn. Split training focuses primarily one certain muscles and allows you to lift heavier and slower and for less reps. Total body conditioning tends to use lighter weights and higher reps.

My suggestion is to try both. Do total body one week and split training the next. And on days that you do split training, add a little extra cardio workout for greater gains. One final note, when you do split training and cardio on the same days, do one in the morning and the other later in the evening. Otherwise what'll happen is you'll compromise one for the other. In other words, if you want to give your best to your strength training but do cardio first, you might not have the energy to give it your all in your lift training session and vice versa.

muriah2

My #1 reason for doing weight training is to gain muscle to burn more calories naturally. I dream of defined biceps, a ripply back and a six pack, but that's not my focus right now. In the past I've done 5 minute cardio to warm up, 45 minutes of all over strength training, followed by what was supposed to be 30 minutes of cardio but honestly was never more than 15. I think I will try both and see what works better for me. Thanks everyone for your help!