Training each part 1x wk, 2x wk or 3?!

[C3bodybuilding]

For a while people said Arnold, and his crew from the 70s had no clue what they were doing, and that training each part 2 times a week was just crazy. So for a while the 'fad' was to hit each part once a week. Now it's come into fashion again to train each part two or even three times a week! With all these conflicting views, it's easy for vet, let alone a newbie to get confused!

What's everyones thoughts on these many different views of training? I see all sorts of things working for everyone. But what's best has yet to be answered.

Are we really left to fend for ourselves, and figure out what works best? Sure lots of studies being posted, but I would personally take someones trial and error of years of sweat in the gym over a study any day of the week. Besides most of those being posted on the boards are done on begginers to the gym. How about something done on experienced lifters?

Let's get some opinions going here, and find out whats working for people, mistakes we've learned from, etc....

[CoolColJ]

Twice a week for me these days - and it's going great

[Stryder364]

I hit one muscle group once a week, and I hit it real hard. I've had good success with this current routine.

[WODIN]

Mix that shit up! Go crazy once in a while. My core is one group per day (light one week / heavy the next). However...about every six to eight weeks I will throw in a 3 to 4 week series of 2x per week or extreme HIT.

Once a month I do a Squats/DL/SLDL/Shrugs Day. It is brutal.

[Louden_Swain]

I really think it depends on training volume. . . of course the lower the volume, the higher the frequency. Guys of the 1970s were training each bodypart 3 times a week at 25 sets per muscle group.

Personally, I like recovery, so I use low volume. My body would easily become overtrained if I trained each bodypart more than 2 times per week.

[Stryder364]

I rotate my heavy movent for each muscle group from week to week, I look at my training on a monthly basis. For instance in months time I'll hit squat, the next week leg press, next front squat, the the final weel walking lunges. It keeps things fresh.

[bear82]

1st of all, u have to remember that arnold and his crew were juiced out of their minds and were being trained/directed by joe weider himself. for the amount of food he ate and drugs he took, his body could recover quickly.

2nd, if u hit bodyparts 2x week, generally u will have a higher reps day and a heavy day. my w/o split looked like this when i did it:

m: chest, light tris
t: back, light bis/forearms
w: shoulders, legs
r: light chest, heavy tris
f: pullups, heavy bis/forearms

abs + calves mwf

i was overtraining, but i didn't know better. i found out when i tried to add a second leg day on sat and i dragged ass for days. i like the once a week split, but u gotta kill the muscle till there is nothing left. period. after chest day, if u can still do a pushup or dip, u aren't finished. train like this and u will need 3-4 days recovery per group minimum. some people have quick recovery times, but i prefer to recover longer b/c RECOVERY=GROWTH.

[Louden_Swain]

Guys of the 1970s were no where near juiced up as the pros of today. Todays pros are bigger, stronger, and much more knowledgeable when it comes to training, nutrition, and preparing cycles.

All bodybuilders in the 1970s were overtrained. This explains why so many of them had weak bodyparts.

Bear82 is right. . . .there is typically a light day and a heavy day when training each bodypart twice a week.

However, this is not the way I train.

[C3bodybuilding]

I like Wodin, and Louden's idea. Infact, everyones ideas so far are great.

I personally use low volume, one body part a week. I did twice a week with dc, and it did work good, but I got injured quickly. So, now I'm doing each body part once every 6/7 days. I follow an approach much like Dorians. Not one set per body part, but rather a few. It's worked great for me.

Let's keep the idea's going....

[GUEST]

Thinking that muscle mags hold keys to training programs. and working out with Arnolds pace. For one, I do not take the drugs he took! Two, well um, there is no two.

I lost a solid amount of time due to this. I would train 2'ce a week. Once light, once moderate. Never really went heavy until a short time ago. It was tough bc all the running in basketball can shrink you faster than you can say catabolic.

These days I go simple and plain. 3 days a week split. I am very spontaneous and I change things often.

[bear82]

Originally posted by C3bodybuilding

I personally use low volume, one body part a week. I did twice a week with dc, and it did work good, but I got injured quickly. So, now I'm doing each body part once every 6/7 days. I follow an approach much like Dorians. Not one set per body part, but rather a few. It's worked great for me.

Let's keep the idea's going....

dorian's routine was crazy. he would do 2 or 3 warmup sets, then one balls to the wall set going past failure into forcereps and negs. it will no doubt get u huge quickly, but it brings tons of injurys with it. i started training like him on everything except legs (already have a wrestling knee injury from high school), and i made amazing gains. u really need those 5 days to recover, tho. i ended up with rotator cuff tendonitis and had a needle the size of a finger in my shoulder joint to drain the fluid. all i will say is be careful! if u increase the weights slowly, u should have no injuries. my strength shot up, so i pushed it and POOF...3months out of the gym for a lousy negative

[gigga]

mix it up! go 6-8 weeks with one and then go 6-8 with the other. This has worked out really well for me, preventing plateus. Shocking your system will keep everything fresh.