Strength Exercise ''Days''

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xmel123x
xmel123x Posts: 63
in Fitness and Exercise
With regards to strength training, is it better to work a bit of everything every time I do it, or is it more beneficial to have a leg day/arm day/back day/abs day etc? Or does it make no difference?

Thanks :)

Replies

  • explosivedonut
    explosivedonut Posts: 419 Member
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    How often will you be doing it? And how long will you have?

    If you are gonna be lifting 4 days a week, or something, it will be better for you to do a split. If you are only doing it 1-2 days a week, doing a full body routine will be more beneficial.
  • jacksonpt
    jacksonpt Posts: 10,413 Member
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    With regards to strength training, is it better to work a bit of everything every time I do it, or is it more beneficial to have a leg day/arm day/back day/abs day etc? Or does it make no difference?

    Thanks :)

    I assume you're fairly new to lifting? Do you have any specific goals?

    Most people will be better served doing full body 3ish times per week.
  • CoachDreesTraining
    CoachDreesTraining Posts: 223 Member
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    Unless you're a teenage boy looking to get big 'guns' you should be doing upper and lower body every session. You do not need to do the same exercises every session though. (ex. Day 1 - squats, Day 2 - deadlfit, Day 3 - lunges)
  • xmel123x
    xmel123x Posts: 63
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    I currently try to do some strength training at least 3 times a week for 20 - 40 mins at a time. I also try and get in at least 1 body pump class a week. I've been doing it about 4 months. My strength training is occasionally at the gym but mostly at home where I do a mix of body weight exercises and dumbell/bar weights. I currently work a bit of everything each time I do it. I'm 5'6'' 120lbs and my goal is not to have 'big' muscles but to create definition and to lower body fat, I'm currently about 21% body fat according to the navy calculator. I feel like I need to 'up' things a bit as have been doing the same thing for a while. :)
  • 3laine75
    3laine75 Posts: 3,070 Member
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    as a beginner myself, i'd opt for full body (big compound lifts) 3 x. i've been at it for just over 2 months and won't be thinking about a split till i've exhausted strength gains doing full body but you've been at it a bit longer than me.

    i fancy wendlers 5/3/1 next, which is a push, pull, legs split (i think) :/
  • JNick77
    JNick77 Posts: 3,783 Member
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    If your goal is just strength and general fitness body-part splits are not ideal. You'll be more successful with either a 4-day Upper Body / Lower Body split or a 3-day Full Body split.
  • xmel123x
    xmel123x Posts: 63
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    Thanks everyone, looks like I'll just stick to the full body, maybe sometimes throwing in some upper/lower body split days. Might just look for some new exercises :)
  • jacksonpt
    jacksonpt Posts: 10,413 Member
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    I currently try to do some strength training at least 3 times a week for 20 - 40 mins at a time. I also try and get in at least 1 body pump class a week. I've been doing it about 4 months. My strength training is occasionally at the gym but mostly at home where I do a mix of body weight exercises and dumbell/bar weights. I currently work a bit of everything each time I do it. I'm 5'6'' 120lbs and my goal is not to have 'big' muscles but to create definition and to lower body fat, I'm currently about 21% body fat according to the navy calculator. I feel like I need to 'up' things a bit as have been doing the same thing for a while. :)

    Admittedly, this is pretty judgmental, but...

    If you consider a body pump class as part of your strength training, I'd suggest you increase the weight/intensity of your lifting before you worry about things like splits.
  • xmel123x
    xmel123x Posts: 63
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    Yeah I would say that was a little judgemental...

    That said, I don't see why a body pump class can't be included as strength training. Granted it is not heavy weight/low rep that is required to build larger muscles, however I lift the heaviest I can for the exercises done. I don't want to build 'large' muscles. Are body weight exercises not classed as strength training either then?

    I would say I do an equal mix of heavy weight/low rep and lower weight/high rep, I think both are equally beneficial for building the body I am working towards.
  • contingencyplan
    contingencyplan Posts: 3,639 Member
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    It depends on your goals and your current fitness level. Based on the fact that you're even asking this question I'm gonna go with "beginner." In general it's best for everyone to start off with something that has you doing full body workouts 3 days a week in a format specifically designed to build strength (such as stronglifts, starting strength, etc) because to do anything more advanced you will want a strong base to start out with anyway, and that's the best way to build that base.

    Heavy weight/low rep does not build muscles. It builds strength. It trains the nerves as much as it does the muscles. Bodypump is more or less just cardio with weights (designed to maximize calorie burning). The tempo and rep ranges are not conducive to optimizing strength gains.
  • jacksonpt
    jacksonpt Posts: 10,413 Member
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    Yeah I would say that was a little judgemental...

    That said, I don't see why a body pump class can't be included as strength training. Granted it is not heavy weight/low rep that is required to build larger muscles, however I lift the heaviest I can for the exercises done. I don't want to build 'large' muscles. Are body weight exercises not classed as strength training either then?

    I would say I do an equal mix of heavy weight/low rep and lower weight/high rep, I think both are equally beneficial for building the body I am working towards.

    It certainly can be included. "strength training" is a pretty broad topic that includes a variety of things. My point was that most people who consider classes like that strength training haven't or won't consider low rep/heavy weight lifting. If heavy work is part of your routine, then you're probably doing fine.
  • astronomicals
    astronomicals Posts: 1,537 Member
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    Answer: Full body workout

    Reason: As a novice you cant lift enough volume (total weight lifted when multiplying repsXweight) to do enough damage to your muscles to require more than 48 hours of recovery time. When you be ome more skilled you'll want to do a split so you can hammer different bodyparts harder and give them more recovery time. That is why novices are supposed to do full body workouts. You dont have the capacity to necessitate a split.

    When do you switch? When you stop making progress with your full body routine.


    Its quite likely that a 3 day fullbody workout will have better results than

    both

    a 4 day upper/lower split

    and

    a 6 day push/pull/legs
  • LilMissTalyn
    LilMissTalyn Posts: 106 Member
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    well, I split...I don't know the whys or "science" behind which is better for muscle growth, weight loss, or whatever but...
    I do a split.
    I go to the gym five days a week. I do arms/upper (i get upper abs and back in there), then lower, lower abs and back sometimes in there) upper, lower, upper again. So I get three arm days and two leg days. I push my legs hard every day essentially, during my cardio, whatever i choose, so two days is plenty for me, and i push hard, so it's good they have more healing time.
    I NEED that day in between for each half. It's what works for me. I am trying to build muscle along with losing weight, somewhat to hinder loose skin but mostly because I want to be strong and the stronger I am the more cardio I'll be able to handle later.
    WHEN i was trying to do full body strength training, I'd skip a day, and sometimes it wasn't always enough. I'd still be very sore...I don't KNOW if that was because my body was trying to repair my WHOLE body and I needed more time or what, sometimes two and three days wasn't enough...maybe I pushed too hard then, I don't know.
    But what I do know is on top of that, I PREFER strength training to cardio...so I didn't LIKE rest days on weights and i would be less likely to force myself to go work out on a day that I knew was gonna be spent huffing till i felt like I had to puke without any sweaty, burny glorious lifting sessions in-between!
    Doing it this way I've been able to steadily increase my weights, I'm able to work out every day like I want to and occasionally If I feel super awesome I'll throw in a little bit of both sides only on friday because I have two days off after...but I can handle that since I've gotten stronger so...
    Trust your body! That's really all I should have said lol
    Try it one way...if you are noticing growth, in your ability, strength, endurance, weights, and likeing the way your body is looking after a month, stick with it...if it's not feeling right, change it up and try another way till it's ideal for you!
  • prat27
    prat27 Posts: 73
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    Work a group of muscle that work together. Example. I do biceps, back and rear delts on the same day (pulling motion), Triceps, chest and front delts the same day (pushing motion). This way you get them worn out together. Wearing out or damaging your muscles out is what is it all about and the recovery process is what speeds your metab (calories burn) and causes them to get leaner, bigger and feel hard.

    Most people don't realize that when you lift weights you are damaging and wearing your muscles out and the recovery process (fed with protein) is what makes them bigger.

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