Weight training - Full body vs single muscle group

Making up your own program is often (but not always) a recipe for an ineffective work out routine.

If you're interested in weight training take a look at this thread which has a summary of lots and lots or established programs: http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10332083/which-lifting-program-is-the-best-for-you

To answer your question though, I guess for a couple of lifts every other day I would go for the big compound lifts since they use multiple muscle groups. So, Squats, Deadlifts, Bench Press, A big Row (Pendlay) and Overhead barbell press.

Notthegirl4u wrote: »

I have recently started doing just a couple of lifts for each muscle group every other day with cardio on the other days. Thoughts on which is more effective, working full body or single muscle groups? What do you do?

If I define "effective" as "leading to increased strength and/or muscle" beginners are better off doing a full body lifting program than a bodypart split. A full body program can be done 3+ times per week, meaning that you are working the same muscles 3+ times per week. A bodypart split usually has you work each muscle group less often than that. People who are more advanced in their training generally have to work muscles more intensely in order to progress and that requires more rest between sessions that hit those muscles. Newbies do not have to work at the same intensity and can train more often. (Note: if 2 days a week is all that can fit into your schedule, 2 full body days are fine too.)

i do compound lifts because i'm a simple bear with a short attention span. just not into nickel-and-diming my way through my whole self one isolation move at a time.

with that said, i find isolation has a definite place for me too, when i find i have a relative weakness in some specific area which is affecting my form or progress with those lifts. but i wouldn't do isolation stuff just for the sake of doing it; i'm not conscientious enough or something.

adding this though:

within the most common compound lifts, there's still a little bit of specialization. bench and ohp are compound but with upper body emphasis, while squats and deadlifts are mostly done with the legs. and some of them move the bar 'with' the direction of your body, while others move it 'across' your body.

so i liked the stronglifts distribution which mixes them, and also pairs a push with a pull within alternating planes of movement. to me, deadlift and overhead press are 'vertical' days (you push/pull in the same direction as your own body). and bench/pendlay rows are 'perpendicular', i.e. you push and pull at right angles to it.

with wendler it doens't really apply since you do one lift per workout. but i still seem to keep something like the same alternation patterns.

I've very recently gone back to a full body program after a long time running an upper/lower split. I like both methods but needed a switch and I'm enjoying it so far. I like Wendler's 5/3/1 full body template with a couple of small revisions and then I add a little bit of isolation or hypertrophy work at the end (time permitting.)