In order do get results from resistance training, you need to balance the intensity and volume of work you need to stimulate your muscles with the rest and recuperation they need to grow. You should choose a system that can be tailored to fit into your schedule, and one that is appropriate to your level of fitness. Please consult your physician before beginning any exercise program.
Whole-Body Training
If you are just starting out with bodybuilding, you should train your whole body in one session. At this stage, your primary goal should be to build muscle mass, and you should stick to basic compound exercises, performing two or three working sets per exercise. Aim for three workouts over the course of a week, training on non-consecutive days. This type of training gives your body at least 48 hours to repair and grow between each workout. For example, you can work out on Monday, Wednesday and Friday and take the other days off.
Split Training
In a split training routine, you divide your body over several workouts and work each body part with more intensity. You increase the number of exercises for each body part, and increase the recovery time before working the same body part again. This style of training is suitable when you have reached the intermediate stage of bodybuilding, and have been working out for six months to a year. A typical split routine involves training legs on Monday; chest, shoulders and triceps on Tuesday; and biceps back and abs on a Wednesday. You can rest on Thursday before repeating the cycle on Friday.
Two-Week SplitTraining
Two-week split training is similar to conventional split training, but gives you more time to recover between workouts. This makes the two-week split routine particularly suitable if you are a hard gainer, or feel that you need the extra rest. A two-week split routine would involve dividing the body into two halves and working each half alternately on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. For example, work your back, biceps, thighs and abs on Monday and Friday of week one, and work your shoulders, chest, triceps and calves on Wednesday of week one and Monday of week two. You then repeat the cycle on Wednesday of week two, with biceps, thighs and abs.
Advanced Training
After several years of serious bodybuilding, you can consider yourself as being at the advanced stage. Again, advanced training involves splitting the body over several workouts, but requires you to work out more frequently, training fewer body parts with greater intensity . As an advanced bodybuilder, you can expect to be at the gym as often as six days a week, training only one muscle group at each session, with a high volume of work. For example, chest on Monday, back on Tuesday, legs on Wednesday, shoulders on Thursday, arms on Friday and abs on Saturday.
References
- "TheNew Encyclopedia of Modern Bodybuilding" Arnold Scwarzenegger; 1998
- "Encyclopedia of Bodybuilding" Robert Kennedy; 2008
- Fitsense: Sets, Reps and Weights. How Many For Gaining Mass. Tom Venuto
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