General strength question

wezaddison01
wezaddison01 Posts: 40 Member
edited 3:56PM in Fitness and Exercise
So I've began to move more towards strength training from Cadio work and I've been doing it for a week now. I've found a workout which focuses on all body areas however I have a question.

I go to the gym 4 times a week and this is my routine
Day 1 - calves and abs
Day 2 - back and biceps
Day 3 - Legs and chest
Day 4 - shoulders and triceps.

My question is, is this enough to gain strength and have a defined look as effectively it's another week before I work on a body part?

I still need to lose about 10lbs but with MFP, this is working. Thank you

Replies

  • hill8570
    hill8570 Posts: 1,466 Member
    Sounds like a recipe for continuous DOMS to me. Why the iso work? Starting out, a progressive full-body routine is a far more effective use of your time.
  • piperdown44
    piperdown44 Posts: 958 Member
    ^^^x2!

    Big compound lifts build strength and a defined look.
    If you're still in a deficit you won't gain muscle (newbie gains aside) but you should be able to hold onto what you have already.
  • icemaiden37
    icemaiden37 Posts: 238 Member
    Is it a recognised, tried and tested program? If you find a decent beginner program and follow it, you'll get the best results for the amount of time you can spare.

    Starting Strength, ICF5x5, Strong Lifts, New Rules of Lifting are all good programs for beginners.
  • loulamb7
    loulamb7 Posts: 801 Member
    x2 to all the above. if you are a beginner, pick a program that hits all the body part multiple time a week. Split program, like you listed, are for more advanced lifters I'm a fan of Allpro because it hits all the major lifts 3x a week.
  • hamlet1222
    hamlet1222 Posts: 459 Member
    Hi,

    There is an endless debate about the merits of split routines (like you're doing) and full body routines (where you do everything each session), and how many rest days you should take.

    As a beginner you're likely to get some great newbie gains whichever you do, so I would stick with what you're doing and see how you get on. When I started I did full body twice a week and made good gains. A work colleague of mine is doing a split routine similar to yours and seeing excellent gains too.

    As for losing 10lb while gaining muscle - again as a newbie it is possible to lose fat and gain muscle (although 10lb is quite low, so you can't be very overweight) - but this gets harder, and eventually ends up as a choice between losing fat while minimizing muscle loss, or gaining muscle while minimizing fat gain.

    You'll also need to make sure you're getting enough protein (1.2 - 2 grams per kilo of body weight when strength training are numbers I often see), and I would probably just eat a maintenance level of calories rather than run a deficit (which I guess you're doing to lose this 10lb with MFP at the moment right?), then see how you get on for a few months. After that you can look into doing bulking and cutting cycles.

    As for cardio, again there's a lot of debate about how much if any strength trainers should do, but there is a general consensus that many hours of cardio per week is detrimental. I think 3 or 4 30 minute hiit sessions a week is plenty.

    Anyway, hopefully you'll get some other answers too.

    Good luck!
  • hill8570
    hill8570 Posts: 1,466 Member
    hamlet1222 wrote: »
    There is an endless debate about the merits of split routines (like you're doing) and full body routines (where you do everything each session), and how many rest days you should take.

    As a beginner you're likely to get some great newbie gains whichever you do, so I would stick with what you're doing and see how you get on

    I gotta disagree on this one. OP sez he wants to start "strength training", but is doing a body part split than is more than likely geared towards bodybuilders. Why bother with a bodybuilding routine while on a deficit? For beginning strength training, either a full-body routine (easy, efficient) or an upper-lower split makes way more sense.
  • hamlet1222
    hamlet1222 Posts: 459 Member
    Yeah, stronglifts is a great one for beginners, but I was assuming the op had his reasons for deciding on a split to begin with and just wanted reassurance that he'd still make gains doing it.

    Regarding the calories, the question is whether a newbie who wants to lose fat and gain muscle should start on a bulk or a cut, I would aim for maintenance calories until i plateau on the weights, then decide whether fat loss or muscle gain is the priority and do cut or bulk accordingly.

    Op: Here's an interesting video that talks for 45 mins about the merits of different splits.

    https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=TRuIahMByC8
  • Sam_I_Am77
    Sam_I_Am77 Posts: 2,093 Member
    edited October 2015
    hill8570 wrote: »
    hamlet1222 wrote: »
    There is an endless debate about the merits of split routines (like you're doing) and full body routines (where you do everything each session), and how many rest days you should take.

    As a beginner you're likely to get some great newbie gains whichever you do, so I would stick with what you're doing and see how you get on

    I gotta disagree on this one. OP sez he wants to start "strength training", but is doing a body part split than is more than likely geared towards bodybuilders. Why bother with a bodybuilding routine while on a deficit? For beginning strength training, either a full-body routine (easy, efficient) or an upper-lower split makes way more sense.

    It's more than just the split that dictates your training outcome. If he trains with the appropriate variables, while perhaps not ideal, he can still gain strength. I've come to the point where if training a certain way is motivational to them getting their butts in the gym versus sitting on one's butt, then do it. My only point of contention would be to use a PROVEN program or a program built by somebody that truly knows what they're doing. Simply saying today is "Leg Day" and throwing in a bunch of "leg" exercises and throwing it around for a few reps is not enough. Have a well-structured program and set performance goals to judge your progress by.
  • FrankWhite27330
    FrankWhite27330 Posts: 316 Member
    I would do full body exercises. Deadlifts Rows Bench Squats (leg press ,curl. & extensions if no squats)

    Trust me Deadlifts will get you RIGHT you need to go heavy though.. and REP IT!! IMO the 1 set of 5 wont cut it

    talking 3 sets of 10 4 sets of 8 type action... work the 3 bench types Flat Incline Decline pick a weight and try to do 3 sets of 8 on all 3 (its HARD TRUST ME) DO iso excersises AFTER your burned out from your Big Core Moves... Lat Pull Downs, Cable Curls ect ect ect

    All of this is just advice.. ahahha
  • wezaddison01
    wezaddison01 Posts: 40 Member
    Some brilliant advice there thank you. I've lost a total of 52lbs since March and I'm only 10lbs-ish from a healthy weight so I though I should begin to strength train. I've been doing body weight exercises for a month prior to joining the gym. The routines I'm doing I believe are compound exercises so in effect although I'm working on 2 particular ateas of my body each day I'm also working others in the process.
    My calorie goals at the moment are to eat approximately 1800 a day but I have began to focus more on protein consumption to help with recovery.
    A long road ahead but for the moment I think I will take the advice of hamet and see how I progress before reviewing it.

    Thanks again guys.
  • ryanflebbe
    ryanflebbe Posts: 188 Member
    No need for calf and ab day. Otherwise a split is fine. Most do something like a day each for back, chest, legs, shoulders. Training a bodypart once a week is enough. You can do calves and abs whenever. Arms with shoulders, or bis with back, tris with chest, or don't work arms directly at all. For you, isolation exercises for your arms aren't even needed.
  • hamlet1222
    hamlet1222 Posts: 459 Member
    Yep, just keep posting updates and questions as you go, you may find you need to tweak things here and there along the way (calories, rest days, number of sets/reps,...), and your priorities may change.
  • emilydawkins2
    emilydawkins2 Posts: 18 Member
    If you want to gain strength here is a good example for a 4 day split

    Monday- shoulders and arms
    Tuesday- legs
    Wednesday- off
    Thursday- chest and back
    Friday- legs

    Frequency, volume, sets, reps, rest all matter. Depending on your goals these factors can vary. Nutrition is a major part in losing weight and to give you enough energy for your works AND to stop/ reduce muscle catabolism. If you wanna chat about it feel free to drop a friend request, happy to help anyone :)
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