Splits or Total Body.. and how often?

FitandFab33

I'm not a beginner when it comes to strength training.. I started in about the 6th grade (think middle school athletics, lifting 2-3 days per week as required by my coaches) and continued into college (though then it was just to be fit). By the end of it I was going 5 days per week, sometimes twice per day, and almost every workout was fairly leg heavy. I'm not sure why I favored legs so much but my legs looked pretty dang good.

Then I got pregnant.. and had a baby, I didn't work out while pregnant. I started up again when about 6 weeks ago. I want to do things right (better) this time around. I've been sort of following a 12 week program with 5 days of strength training + HIIT/Cardiothat reads pretty much like this:

M: Bis/Tris, HIIT
T: Legs, Cardio
W: Abs/Core, Cardio
Th: Shoulders/Back, HIIT
F: Chest/Cardio

Sat is active rest
Sun is yoga/stretching

The workouts are challenging, I up the weight each week. But I'm not exactly satisfied. I want more legs... I don't like feeling like I'm focusing SO much on arms/upper body.. but I'd rather do it the right way than just wing it the way I did before. Advice? Resources to seek out?

wellbert

Some of the pros squat 5-6 days a week, all day long.

embercakez

Some of the pros squat 5-6 days a week, all day long.

I can't imagine squating every day...I did legs last night and I am hurting (in the best way possible).

With that said...I obv do splits.

iAMsmiling

Looks like a great routine.
What do you do for HIIT?

I ask because I do stair stepper for mine and I figure that goes a long way towards a leg work out.

embercakez

quoted instead of edited. oops.

FullOfWin

Do a 3 day full body and squat 3x per week or an upper\lower or push\pull and squat 2x per week.

FitandFab33

I'd ideally like at least 2 "leg days" per week. I want to do squats, split squats, front squats, DL, straight leg DL, leg ext, leg curls, standing leg curls, leg presses.. and all the other standards (calf raises etc) but not all at the same time..

NikoM5

Your training should reflect your goals. So... What are your goals?

embercakez

I'd ideally like at least 2 "leg days" per week. I want to do squats, split squats, front squats, DL, straight leg DL, leg ext, leg curls, standing leg curls, leg presses.. and all the other standards (calf raises etc) but not all at the same time..

Then split it and have two days of legs. I use to work legs twice a week and when I did I would do my first day on Wed and the second on Sat so I felt like I had enough recovery time.

FitandFab33

Looks like a great routine.
What do you do for HIIT?

I ask because I do stair stepper for mine and I figure that goes a long way towards a leg work out.

HIIT varies.. sometimes plyometrics (burpees, mountain climbers, high knees, double squat jumps.. run in a circuit) sometimes weight-centered exercises (lunges, split jump lunges, side skater lunges, reverse lunge kick-ups, donkey kicks etc also in a circuit) or (burpees, squats, leg raises, pushups) and occasionally I jump on the treadmill for sprint/jog HIIT. I have the baby with me so I work out at home so I am sort of limited though I have a pretty decent setup here.

ilovedeadlifts

It definitely depends on what your goals are.

I got awesome results from a 3x per week full body routine (5x5), and I've also done well on 4 day splits that focus on the 4 big lifts,( bench, squat, overhead, and deads.)

FullOfWin

I'd ideally like at least 2 "leg days" per week. I want to do squats, split squats, front squats, DL, straight leg DL, leg ext, leg curls, standing leg curls, leg presses.. and all the other standards (calf raises etc) but not all at the same time..

That looks like too many exercises even for 2 days. I would dump the isos and do something more like

Day 1
Squat
SLDL
Lunges
Calves

Day 2
Deadlift
Front squat
Leg Press
Calves

FitandFab33

Your training should reflect your goals. So... What are your goals?

I'd like to lose fat and build lean body mass (and lose weight overall- I'm still up since baby). I eat at a deficit, always get ample protein, but I'm also breastfeeding so I'm holding on to extra fat (not sure if I'll be able to drop it all while breastfeeding or not). Long-term goals- get back in a size 4/6 and compete in a bikini competition. I'll breastfeed until early next summer so I won't be able to compete until the end of next year (I can't cut that much while maintaining milk supply).

n0ob

my body won't let me do squats and deads (both) 3x week.

I currently do 3-5 sets of the main core exercises (deads, squats, bench press, shoulder press, pullups, rows) split into 3 workouts with usually 2 variations of rows, shoulder press, and bench done during the week. I do 2 days of squats OR deadlifts each week, and only one day of the other.

NikoM5

Your training should reflect your goals. So... What are your goals?

I'd like to lose fat and build lean body mass (and lose weight overall- I'm still up since baby). I eat at a deficit, always get ample protein, but I'm also breastfeeding so I'm holding on to extra fat (not sure if I'll be able to drop it all while breastfeeding or not). Long-term goals- get back in a size 4/6 and compete in a bikini competition. I'll breastfeed until early next summer so I won't be able to compete until the end of next year (I can't cut that much while maintaining milk supply).

Cool. Considering how often you like to train I'd say you can probably chip away at both of your goals at the same time. This is only because you're likely able to eat a fair bit (even at a deficit) due to your training volume. To maximize muscle growth I'd adjust your routine so that everything is hit twice a week. Some people can handle three times per week but I'm not one of them. It all comes down to recovery. There really is no such thing as over training, just under recovery. With a baby I'm going to guess your recovery (sleep) isn't optimal so I'd stick with twice a week per muscle group.

I've spent years trying to determine the best routine for me to most efficiently build muscle and recover. I've settled on the following mon-fri routine.

Legs and pulling, high rep
Chest and pushing, high rep
rest
Legs and pulling, low rep
Chest and pushing, low rep

FitandFab33

Your training should reflect your goals. So... What are your goals?

I'd like to lose fat and build lean body mass (and lose weight overall- I'm still up since baby). I eat at a deficit, always get ample protein, but I'm also breastfeeding so I'm holding on to extra fat (not sure if I'll be able to drop it all while breastfeeding or not). Long-term goals- get back in a size 4/6 and compete in a bikini competition. I'll breastfeed until early next summer so I won't be able to compete until the end of next year (I can't cut that much while maintaining milk supply).

Cool. Considering how often you like to train I'd say you can probably chip away at both of your goals at the same time. This is only because you're likely able to eat a fair bit (even at a deficit) due to your training volume. To maximize muscle growth I'd adjust your routine so that everything is hit twice a week. Some people can handle three times per week but I'm not one of them. It all comes down to recovery. There really is no such thing as over training, just under recovery. With a baby I'm going to guess your recovery (sleep) isn't optimal so I'd stick with twice a week per muscle group.

I've spent years trying to determine the best routine for me to most efficiently build muscle and recover. I've settled on the following mon-fri routine.

Legs and pulling, high rep
Chest and pushing, high rep
rest
Legs and pulling, low rep
Chest and pushing, low rep

Thanks.. I'll start here and build a program to follow. And yeah, baby doesn't sleep so recovery is lacking at the moment.

JasonDetwiler

Thanks.. I'll start here and build a program to follow. And yeah, baby doesn't sleep so recovery is lacking at the moment.

Shockwave Protocol from Dangerously Hardcore would do you some good. It's designed to keep the CNS fresh but delivering a good training effect.

FitandFab33

Thanks.. I'll start here and build a program to follow. And yeah, baby doesn't sleep so recovery is lacking at the moment.

Shockwave Protocol from Dangerously Hardcore would do you some good. It's designed to keep the CNS fresh but delivering a good training effect.

Thank you so much for the suggestion- that site is AWESOME. I've never heard of it before.. but I've spent the last half hour or so exploring/reading.. and I downloaded the Shockwave program guide to go through..