Lifting: “dedicated body part days” vs. “distributed days”
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Totally agree with the compound lifts.
I do 3 days of full body weight training per week which consists of just compound lifts.0 -
i also lift and do 5/3/1, which has a day for squats, a day for dead lifts, a day for overhead press, and a day for bench press. each day starts of with a compound barbell lift. then, you do assistance/accessory/isolation lifts to target areas where improvement is desired.
I also do the 5/3/1 program for the big compound lifts and do what is basically an upper/lower split for accessories.0 -
Especially since you're trying to lose weight, doing full body workout with mostly compound lifts is not a more efficient way of working out, but will burn a lot more calories than isolation exercises.0
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3 day full body is great because anytime your in the Gym you can do whatever you want without worrying about working the same muscles on consecutive days. The other splits are good but, I like to be able to go to the gym and do whatever I want...and sometimes I workout with others so its easier to incoorperate their routines that day0
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I should clarify that my program incorporates some compound stuff, but done with dumbells. I do squats and deadlifts, step-ups and lunges (those last 2 apparently qualify as compound), all with dumbells currently.
At some point i will have to move to barbells, i think, when i can consistently work with a spotter, but right now i use a free gym at work, and can't always do my workout at the same time every day.0 -
OP - you have already received some solid advice..
I will just add that for the beginner phase three day total body workouts with cardio mixed in off days..make sure you have at least one, one hundred percent rest day ...
total body workout where you hit arms/legs/back/shoulders/legs will be optimal at beginning..once you drop that 15 pounds and become more "advanced" you can move to more of an upper/lower split with less cardio....0 -
I should clarify that my program incorporates some compound stuff, but done with dumbells. I do squats and deadlifts, step-ups and lunges (those last 2 apparently qualify as compound), all with dumbells currently.
At some point i will have to move to barbells, i think, when i can consistently work with a spotter, but right now i use a free gym at work, and can't always do my workout at the same time every day.
start learning to use the good ole barbell..
nothing wrong with dumbbells but for squats and deads you really want to go barbell style...0 -
I should clarify that my program incorporates some compound stuff, but done with dumbells. I do squats and deadlifts, step-ups and lunges (those last 2 apparently qualify as compound), all with dumbells currently.
At some point i will have to move to barbells, i think, when i can consistently work with a spotter, but right now i use a free gym at work, and can't always do my workout at the same time every day.
start learning to use the good ole barbell..
nothing wrong with dumbbells but for squats and deads you really want to go barbell style...
Another vote for the 3 times per week full body workout. I think the biggest mistake I made as a beginner was to split body parts too early (I'd consider myself intermediate now and I still do full body workouts because I'm still progressing and if it ain't broke don't fix it IMO)
Start having a go with a barbell if you've got access, it's not as scary as you'd think and remember that you don't have to work to failure to get results. After a while you'll have a good idea when you're getting close to failure and can stop that rep or two short. Hopefully your gym has a squat rack with safety rails. Set it up with the rails at the right height and practise failing a few times with a lighter weight so you are comfortable bailing out without hurting yourself if you need to.
Deadlifts would be a good one to start doing with a barbell because you don't really need a spotter. If you can't lift the weight you just drop it back onto the ground0 -
I hate to be "that" guy but this is one of those cases where one size does not fit all depending on where you are with your fitness goals.
My opinion (note opinion) is that if you are new or even just intermediate to lifting than it would be more efficient to use a full body several times a week so your body can really thrive from the frequency. I also don't think it would be an efficient use of your time to hit your triceps from 5 different angles on one day until you have a much more advanced and developed tricep.
On the other end of the spectrum where you are more developed it very well be worth it to hit your tricep from 5 different angles if your tricep has an awesome base and is an advanced state. Body part days would be an efficient use of time then because you really have a diminishing return the longer your workouts are past a certain point. That said, a bodybuilder or strength athlete would use specific body part days to hit his arms for an efficient workout.
Two things to note: most importantly this is only my opinion. Also, both workouts will give you progress but key is to find the most efficient workout for you in your current state.
^^^ this
Additionally, you need to consider your goal.... strength or physique. For beginners, these amount to pretty much the same, i.e. a good basic beginner's programme like Starting Strength or Stronglifts5x5 or similar...... for intermediate/advanced, then it does matter. If your goal is strength, then you need to do a powerlifting intermediate or advanced programme, or if your goal is physique then you need to do an intermediate or advanced bodybuilding programme. The above advice is for bodybuilding. In any case, these are all issues that you need to consider.0 -
I'm of the opinion that the best program is the one you enjoy, that fits into your overall fitness approach and suits your available equipment and workout space and schedule, and that you're going to stick with.
I personally am doing a homebaked 3x8 compound barbell program that suits me just fine. I up my weights regularly and am happy with my progress and the fact that I'm still enjoying swinging barbells around 10 months into it, which is a record for me.
There's many beginner lifting programs out there to choose from. If you're going for size in addition to strength, you may consider doing something like AllPro's Beginner routine, maybe modify it to the dumbbells you have available. You can do a Google search on it. Of course there's Stronglifts and Starting Strength that focus strictly on the big lifts with no accessory work for starting lifters, but you really need barbells for those.
If you stick with the basic guidelines of hitting all muscle groups and making sure you add weight regularly, then "optimal" probably isn't something you should be too concerned with because us non-professionals can get away with non-optimal training to achieve our non-professional goals of general fitness and solid base strength, with some nice muscle definition along the way, eventually.
You can make some really nice progression with heavy dumbbells if you do the right lifts. You don't absolutely *need* barbells, but they sure are a lot of fun.
Alternately if your gym has kettlebells available, you could try those out for size too. They're fun and wildly effective. You can do body weight workouts also which, if done correctly, can help you make some nice strength gains and develop a solid build. Look at stuff like Convict Conditioning or You Are Your Own Gym if you're interested.
Sky's the limit, really. There's enough programs out there that are developed by people who know what they're doing, to find something that suits you. Again, if you stick to proven overall principles, you really can't go wrong, and any debating will be strictly about personal preference.1 -
OP - you have already received some solid advice..
I will just add that for the beginner phase three day total body workouts with cardio mixed in off days..make sure you have at least one, one hundred percent rest day ...
total body workout where you hit arms/legs/back/shoulders/legs will be optimal at beginning..once you drop that 15 pounds and become more "advanced" you can move to more of an upper/lower split with less cardio....
Yup, this ^^^^
Also....it's so nice to see solid advice being given in this thread! Lot's of great info in here for you OP!0 -
I changed to 'body part specific' 3 weeks ago and the results have been awesome. I had been doing 'all body' workouts for years though.0
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Well saidI hate to be "that" guy but this is one of those cases where one size does not fit all depending on where you are with your fitness goals.
My opinion (note opinion) is that if you are new or even just intermediate to lifting than it would be more efficient to use a full body several times a week so your body can really thrive from the frequency. I also don't think it would be an efficient use of your time to hit your triceps from 5 different angles on one day until you have a much more advanced and developed tricep.
On the other end of the spectrum where you are more developed it very well be worth it to hit your tricep from 5 different angles if your tricep has an awesome base and is an advanced state. Body part days would be an efficient use of time then because you really have a diminishing return the longer your workouts are past a certain point. That said, a bodybuilder or strength athlete would use specific body part days to hit his arms for an efficient workout.
Two things to note: most importantly this is only my opinion. Also, both workouts will give you progress but key is to find the most efficient workout for you in your current state.0 -
I am grateful to have received so much good solid advice from everyone!!
TG0 -
Bump0
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Bump for later too!0
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http://www.aworkoutroutine.com/the-ultimate-weight-training-workout-routine/
I like this site a lot.0 -
It depends mostly on how long it takes you to recover between workouts and secondarily what your specific goals are.
If you recover quickly enough to do full body 2-3x a week, that's generally better. If you need extra time to workout, then splits are a good option.
Goals will also play a role in the conversation, but for the average MFPer won't be a big enough deal to outweigh the benefits of hitting each body part multiple times per week.
On a side note... adherence and effort should be considered. If you're more apt to stick with and kick *kitten* with a split routine, then go that route. A less efficient routine that you crush will be more beneficial than a "perfect" routine that you half-*kitten*.
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I like this answer! I personally like to do upper/lower body splits or full body workouts. On the other hands, some people like doing 12 chest exercises in one day. I would die if I did 12 chest exercises in one session. But I can do 3 chest exercises 4 x a week (still equals 12).0 -
This is what I'm doing, same lifts every time, and I think it'll be a long time before I outgrow it. Maybe once it takes longer than a single day off to recover. It took me a while to settle on this, but I like that I don't really have to think about which workout I'm doing today when I walk into the weight room. Just what was my work set last time, and can I beat it this time?Totally agree with the compound lifts.
I do 3 days of full body weight training per week which consists of just compound lifts.0
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